5/8/2010 - Lake Run

It's amazing...the voices that visit your head when you're running a tough race. But that's for later in the post. The 34th annual Lake Run came 'round again this weekend. It's a 12k run around Oswego Lake and is known as a very hilly course (brutal). My sister Abbie and I have created a tradition of this event, and this year was great. We tend to run at our own pace(s), so this time we consciously did not run together at all and would just meet up at the end. Last time I ran it, I placed 72nd overall out of 751 runners with a time of 54:03, running 7:15 mile splits. My goal for this year's race was to place in the top 50 overall, finish under 53 minutes and even shoot for mile splits under 7:00. All attainable, I thought. However, I ran the exact course during training last week and was a little surprised that I came in at 58 minutes flat. I wasn't sure what to make of that. Can I really improve by 5 minutes just based on the adrenaline and competition of race day?

Well, as the horn sounded and the race began, I felt great and trotted right along. Then the first hill came... I pushed through it. A great part about the course is that it runs through many of the neighborhoods I roamed while growing up. Fun to see some of the old personal landmarks, etc.

However, it's amazing how many demons visit my head during competition. "You can't run this hard all the way." "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." "This is really hard, you should probably take it easy." "This hill is steep...Walk for a bit." "What are you doing here? You're not a runner. You can't hang with these guys." All kinds of thoughts (negative and positive) roll through my mind as I'm going. I want the nay-sayers to go away, but it's so easy to start doubting...and even strong consideration of giving up. At least I would have an excuse, right? Just say I was pushing too hard and my body said "stop". Well, I know my body too well, and I know what I can handle, and I wasn't gonna to give in to the demons. Yeah, it'll hurt tomorrow...but I'll know I gave it my all. Nearing the finish line, I could see I was going to hit my targets. Should I ease up for the final stretch? No, of course not. I want to make my best time. So I started striding harder. Then I noticed a dude in a blue shirt passing me. I definitely didn't like that, especially since I was hitting it hard right then. So, I dug deep [...REAL deep] and sprinted as hard as possible. Man did it hurt. But somehow it strangely feels good. I just can't explain it. He saw me turn on the afterburners and it was on. We both sprinted as hard as possible all the way to the finish. After crossing (he did beat me, but barely), through the pain we managed to smile and high-five as we panted for any morsel of oxygen we could find.

My time? 51:12 with 6:53 splits. 32nd place out of 808 runners. I feel very good about that race. Abbie also acheived her goals and paced/placed better than last time. We were both happy with our performance. Could I do it again? Yeah, probably. Can I improve on that time? Maybe, but I'm not positive it'll be by much. I really hit it hard. I feel good that I gave it my all and beat my goals soundly. I also discovered that I'm an uphill guy. I like to push hard up the hills and end up passing some people. But then, down the hills and on the flats I'm getting passed by the same folks. Hhmm. Gotta work on my downhill/flat game.

A good start to the race season. As I write this the next day, my legs are SO sore. Walking down the stairs is particularly painful. It's primarily sore calf muscles, but I've also never had ankle pain like this after an event. New aches! Aging is a real drag, man. I have a few more races this year including a mock triathlon in 2 weeks, a 10k in June and I'll compete in my first olympic distance triathlon in July. Why do I do this? Well, I guess it keeps me motivated. The energy of raceday is great, too. I suppose the sense of accomplishment and overall competitive outlet are major factors. But when you're this sore after a race, it's hard to imagine competing again!