Winter Series II (8 mi)

My goal for today's race was to beat 1:00:34, my 6.5 mile time on the first race of the series.  The first race is mostly grueling trail, but today's race is flat, slightly uphill on the way out and slightly downhill on the way back.  I anticipated running a 7:30 pace out and 7:00 pace back, without worrying about place.  In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.

I ran a comfortable 6:30 for the first mile, and let my body decide when to fall into pace on subsequent miles.  Watching my Garmin, I was continually faster than my anticipated mile times.  While I was nervous about burning out early, my body felt good at the current pace, so I decided to go with it.  I had no idea where I was in the standings for females.  I really hadn't paid any attention to the people around me.  Though, I began falling into place with a couple of younger guys at the third mile.  As we approached the 4 mile turnaround, I became aware that we hadn't seen a female, yet.  I knew one woman was in front of me, and I was becoming aware that this put me in second place.  I wasn't ready for that much pressure, but quickly began to change my thinking.  Many women were close behind, and now was my opportunity to create a larger gap in the race and the series.

I picked up my speed to 6:30 again for a couple of miles.  The two young men kept close behind.  After about two miles, they passed me at a 6:50 pace.  We ran shoulder to shoulder for the remainder of the race.  I didn't care about beating them, I just knew that if I gave up a cascade would begin: my pace would dwindle and the girls behind would catch me.  My mantras became, "don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me"  and "don't lose 'em, don't lose 'em, don't lose 'em."  In truth, I was probably quite annoying.  At a 6:50 pace, they were clearly just clocking some miles for the USAFA Track and Field team.  They held a casual conversation with each other the entire way.  I kept my best to stay out of it, but I was an uncomfortably close third wheel.  I lost them with about 1/2 mile to finish, when they began pushing their pace.

I finished at 56:38, about 9 minutes faster than last year, in 2nd place overall.  I owe my finish to the cadets that brought me in.  I was sure to thank them in the end.  I've moved from 8th to 3rd in the series, and I'm confident that I can keep my standing.  People ask me how I've improved my running so much all the time.  I'm really not sure.  There are so many variables to consider.  Perhaps it's the large amount of cross training, allowing my body more adequate recovery for the few runs that I do during the week.  Maybe it's that my few runs are long distance, hills or speed.  I never do a recovery run.  I save recovery days for swimming, cycling and yoga.  I'm also listening to my body and am more apt to take breaks.  I plan on taking March, April and May off from running and racing to allow for minor repairs and rest.  I think it's also the positive mental attitude.  I had a taste of speed and a year of PR's.  Now, I am testing my limits only to find that the human body is truly limitless.