I completed my second race yesterday and despite my Independence Day celebrating actually managed to shave three minutes off of my time.
Hooray for me!
The Pickle Race was a tough race. Unlike the first one, it started earlier in the day. The course was a little over twenty minutes away and the heat hadn’t kicked in yet. However, *this* course…whoa.
The race description was that it was a slightly hilly scenic route through the woods of Linvilla Orchards. Slightly hilly my butt! Those ‘hills’ seemed to go straight up and down as opposed to a gradual incline.
I actually trained this time, testing what foods work and don’t work. I determined which times my body responded to the extra push or I needed to pull back. And rather than punk out and run in air conditioned bliss at the gym, I went to the actual track.
Alas, I was unprepared for the grass, sticks, rocks and other outdoorsy things I had to tread over. I know I turned my ankle on a stone and my right knee was screaming for relief. The water station I promised myself to use as a marker was out of cups.
That almost made me cry. This was about the 2 mile mark and there was a little creek we had to run over. I swear I was tempted to lean over and gulp some of that water.
The course wasn’t well marked. Some other runners and myself were lost and actually ran part of the course twice. I was so frustrated that I wanted to walk back to the Mister and head home.
Just as I was about to quit, I saw the finish line. I forced myself to go through and wah-la! I was done.
Things I gleaned from this race:
1. Add an extra half to a mile to my daily training to make the 5K seem a little quicker.
2. Vary my work out time and place. This way, I can get my body used to different temperatures and terrain.
3. Stop going out the night before! Races and raucousness just don’t mix.
4. Stretch before AND after. I think if I had done my yoga before I left, I would have been a little more limber. If I had done it when I got home, I wouldn’t have looked and felt like an old lady for the rest of the day.
5. Pace myself. When the race starts, it’s tempting to try to keep up with the crowd. Shucks. I need to keep up with my lungs and body.
I’m proud that I finished. As Bookwoman says, I did better than the person who didn’t show up at all(that would be you, Sleeping Beauty).
Now on to the next race!
Created on the fly by Mrsrkfj
Oh stop it! I know how I felt when you were cheering me on at the beer race and I had a few more steps that I thought I couldn’t make. I’ll keep your pickles in mind.
I was very happy to see you there! And you finished, without being the “longest pickle” (which reminds me, if you need pickles, give me a call). Thanks for waiting to cheer me on (even though the Mister had my key, so you felt compelled). Keep it up!