Well, due to my vacation this is getting up really late, but I really wanted to write this all down as it's always fun to look back at later.
The days before the race went pretty smooth. I had a few really good runs up north and with the cooler temperatures up there I was feeling pretty confident going in to this race. I was a little nervous as to how to pace myself. I would have loved to PR (personal record for my non running friends) this race, but I knew I wasn't in as good of shape as I was the last time and I've only been running again since March. That and thus far every race I've run since Natalie has been born has been considerably slower than where I was in 2009. I didn't want to run too slow that I didn't have a chance at PRing, but I didn't want to run too fast where I wore myself out and wound up walking. Last time I ran this race I knew that I wound up walking parts of it so going into this one I had set a goal to pace myself better so I didn't wind up walking and could finish strong.
I've been working with a running coach this time around (Thank you John for all your help! You've truly been awesome to work with.) I went back and forth on the coach thing, but knew that I didn't know what I was doing as far as tempo runs, speedwork, and all the other running workouts. Up until now I really have just run with no specific structure on how to do my running workouts. Since I was interested in heart rate training and knew that I have had a sucky heart rate during exercise for a while and had a pretty good idea that this is part of my problem with getting faster. Working with John, I realized my training paces were all wrong. I was running them all the same pace, a lot of them too fast, and some too slow. I felt going into Charlevoix though I had a much better idea of what I was doing. I knew that I needed to be realistic with my pacing as I've only been running consistently since March and shoot in March it was still taking me 40 minutes to run 3 miles and with a lot of effort at that. I figured I'd just go into it with an attitude of having fun with it and practicing my pacing with the goal not to walk and finish strong.
Now onto the race. Showed up at the race, talked to a few runners before the race, did my usual pre race potty break, and got ready to run. This time I didn't line up in the way back like I did the last time because I knew I wasn't super slow. I lined up more in the middle. I figured I'd just play it by ear on my pacing. I had my training paces in my head, but thought maybe I'd be able to run faster since it was cooler and Charlevoix is a relatively flat course. I also decided to wear my heart rate monitor this time as well. I wasn't sure at that point if I would use it to guide my pacing or if I'd just look at it afterward. The race starts and within the first mile I'm looking at my heart rate and realizing it's not super high like I was expecting and from my previous running logs I knew I could sustain that pace. It was actually pretty comfortable, but my speed on my watch was showing faster than I thought for that heart rate. At that point I decided what the hell I'm going to use my heart rate for a guide as to when to go faster and use my "perceived effort" on when to go slower. I decided I was going to aim for a HR of 165 and try and keep myself at that level throughout the first 9 miles and then step it up the last 4 miles.
This strategy worked pretty well for me and with the slight decline for the first few miles it helped me feel confident in going faster than the pace I had initially planned. At mile 3 I passed a band (like a school marching band kind of) and they were playing something. I can't remember, but it just made me smile. I thought how cool for these kids to come out and play music like that for the runners. Kept trucking along, felt really good. I passed a sign on the road that said "Run Faster" and of course that made me giggle because my 12 year old son always says that to me. Kept running still feeling really good. I watched my watch periodically to check my pace and heart rate, but at this point was in a pretty good groove and just tried to keep in a good rhythm.
Mile 5,6,7, all good. Around mile 8 there was a slight incline. I won't quite call it a hill, but it definitely took more effort. I was watching my heart rate and seeing it creeping up. I also remember that last time I ran this course I pushed hard at this point, but wound up walking around mile 10 so with that I decided instead of pushing hard right now to back off my pace a little. I slowed down a little and got my heart rate back down to 165 and just kept a nice even pace thinking hard about mile 9. I wasn't for sure if I wanted to step it up at mile 9 or mile 10. I knew I did NOT want to be walking through the finish this time. I kind of mentally decided to split the difference. I figured I'd increase speed a little at mile 9 and then push things harder once I hit the 10 mile mark.
I was quite proud of myself once I hit the 10 mile point. By mile 10 I was kind of sure I wasn't going to PR this, but it was still there in the back of my head and I set a new goal of 2:15 and figured whatever happens happens. By mile 10 I was giving it pretty good effort. I felt real good as I was watching people starting to walk at this point and reminded myself that these people weren't faster than me they had been running the same pace as me up until now and just maybe they had wore themselves out and I could finish strong and ahead. There was a hill on the 11th mile (the same one that was the decline on the beginning of the race that had me crusing faster). I powered right up the hill and just kept thinking about how that hill work I have been doing was paying off. Once I got past the hill I just tried to keep my pace as strong as I could and just kept looking for the finish line. I was still running all the way to the finish so I felt real good about meeting that goal. I didn't PR this, but I felt really good about my finish and had a lot of fun with this race. definitely want to run this one again as it's still one of my favorite races.
Now to the splits and finish time - Official time for this one 2:18:31. Not too shabby for me. I'm almost back to where I was pre-Natalie (my darling littlest one). HR info in parenthesis as I logged that too.
1- 10:21(157)
2- 10:03(164)
3- 10:39(164)
4- 10:48(164)
5- 10:55(164)
6- 10:18(164)
7- 10:39(165)
8- 11:15(166)
9- 10:56(164)
10- 10:21(168)
11- 10:31(171)
12- 10:07(174)
13- 10:05(174)
I wish I had photos, but my cheering crew has lost interest in my races and went out to breakfast instead.
Great work, lady!!!
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