All things Running
The before, during & after
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You never understand what true runner's high is until you experience not only a goal PR, but a first place finish as well. My week/weekend was filled with so many emotions but ended on such a high note! (See what I sort of... did.... there...?). There's something to be said for being patient and training to a T -- it definitely pays off! God, I honestly get excited every time I tell someone about this weekend's experience, because the week prior was such a disaster and I have no idea how I possibly pulled off a performance like that. First let me give you a "brief" rundown on how the week was looking prior to my race on the weekend.... Earlier last week was relatively a rough patch for me, had an awful workout Saturday morning, exhausted/painful calves going into Wednesday, the 2017 CDPHP Workforce team challenge (3.5 mile race) coming up on Thursday where I was competing for team Fleet Feet Albany | Malta, and well... I was slightly intoxicated on Friday (no bueno) so Saturday before my race on Sunday I was completely hungover... (oops). It was quite the eventful week to say the least... but let's start with Saturday prior to this weird week. Saturday (May 14th) my expected workout was 7 miles with 3 miles @ 6:30 pace... and let me start by stating that barely any of that happened...at all. I ran in my new neighborhood where literally everywhere you turn there is a hill -- with almost no signs of flat land what-so-ever. It was expected that I would do the 7 miles on a flat out and back. What actually ended up happening was that I found myself running through an awful 2 miles of hills and almost 3 miles on a track at about 6:55 pace with 1 mile "cool down" if it can even be considered that. Mentally, I was a disaster. Nerves were kicking in for the week because it was a multi week for me (2 races in one week) and I just felt like sub 20 minutes in a 5k wasn't even an obtainable at this point. Monday through Wednesday were rough.. i've had a lot of stress on my calves recently and well the pain was just about at it's breaking point Wednesday morning (I would assume part of this stems from my nerves). Oh and along with all of this... the weather channel was calling for 96 degree weather on Thursday... HA! Well Thursday approached and let me just tell you I was sweating bullets sitting outside my office.. I knew this was going to be brutal. Albany is the host of the CDPHP Workforce Team Challenge -- a 3.5 mile race through the city (mainly Washington Park which sucks, and back to the State Museum). Businesses are allowed to put together teams to race as a corporation against other companies and as stated before I was running for Team Fleet Feet Albany | Malta. The local news reported had notes that the temperature had reached 98 degrees at the starting line with about 70% humidity. Saying that I felt like I was in an oven is an understatement. This heat was BRUTAL and the sun was not helping at all. Along with the unbearable heat, the course overall kinda of sucks, it mostly consists of rolling inclines through the park and the last half mile is a fast, painful decline back to the museum. The top finishers had even stressed their difficulties adapting to the weather and the course post-race. I ended up crossing the finish line in 24:01 which is about 6:50 pace (once I went through mile 1 I had decided to tempo instead of race). I was pretty surprised with my performance, however my main focus was the upcoming Sunday. Sunday I worked and raced the SPAC Rock and Run 5k in Saratoga. The race features a 5k, 10k, and Half marathon with the 10k being the "main event". I don't think i've ever been more confident about a race like I was on Sunday. I felt great, my warm up with my training partner Sam (girl on the right in the photo above) was a hell of a lot better than expected considering I had to be up at 4 AM to be in Saratoga at 5:30 AM. There was one hill shortly after the 2nd mile marker, but we went up it on the warm up and I felt ready to go. The temperature couldn't have been more perfect I believe it was in the low 60's, with mostly an overcast sky, and there was a comfortable faint breeze. My plan was to tackle the first 2 miles @ 6:30 and then if I felt good after mile 2 to just give it everything I had. Sam and I stuck together through the first mile, and I was feeling so comfortable it was insane. I slightly pulled away and went after the lead pack of guys ahead -- I could tell I was the first female and I was PUMPED. As I approached mile 2 a woman came up on my right, her name was Liz she used to run for the Albany Running Exchange and she was quick. She pushed me to drop to about a 6:20 pace and as we approached the hill I was slightly nervous. One thing I will forever be thankful for is my body's ability to tackle hill. I don't have the build of a marathon runner. I have strong legs (mostly because of my collegiate javelin career) that are extremely powerful and allow me to make my way up steep inclines without much of a struggle. My legs surely helped me on this hill, I was able to push myself to about a 6:18 pace and power up that hill like there was no tomorrow where I would then turn right onto the 2nd to last straightaway of the course. I am a firm believer in that an adrenaline rush in a race stems from the energy of the crowd that appears on race day. As I was coming down that 2nd to last straightaway I happened to glance up and see two of my favorite guys at the end pushing me to kick it into high gear. Jacob and Eric are elites in our area, true speed demons. I've learned a lot from these two when it comes to running since i've met them both this year. As I heard their excitement over the potential time I was going to finish in I knew it was my time to shine. I gave it my all that last half mile of the course and broke the tape across the finish line in a time of 19:55, 1st female, and 4th finisher overall. I DID IT! I FINALLY BROKE TWENTY IN THE 5K! Like whaaaat?! It may sound kinda slow to those of you who are all sub 18 and under in the 5K but to me this is a HUGE DEAL. I've proven to myself that there is still another barrier to be broken in the 5K and now i'm ready to work my way down to sub 19! I can't wait to see what the running world has in store for me next...Until next time... Stay Green, Amanda
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February 2018
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