running 10k race number two

PART ONE: sunday morning. about three degrees outside. it's a race day for me. a 10 k race. i'm nervous but confident about this one. i haven't actually run a 10k distance since my last race, (which was in september) preferring to focus on speed over a five or six k distance. the confidence part comes from a few things. first, i am at peace with the competitive element of my running. i have a goal. a time i would like to match and i have not felt any of the negative feelings that come when i visualize myself being passed or watching someone rocket off into the distance. second, the run is almost entirely on flat ground (an old rail trail) which means i will not be wrestling with the uphill and downhill sections as much as on the last race. finally, running in cold air is the best excuse i've had yet for not doing as well as i liked so i have a pretty good out!

PART TWO: sunday afternoon, post race, post euphoric rush of runner's high, post hot bath, and soon-to-be post big bowl of bean soup. the race was really good for me . . . . i timed myself at 53 minutes - same as my last race - but there were rumblings among the more seasoned runners that the route was more than 10k. in fact the poor guys at the front of the run ran past the (at that time for some inexplicable reason) non-existent turn-around point and actually added another five k plus to their run!! ouch!!

the run was almost entirely flat which was amazing for my breathing because i was able to develop a rhythm and my speed was a little higher than i can usually sustain. that's why i wonder at the distance given my time. not to worry. the weather was sunny and yeah it felt cold in the beginning but it's like when i'm biking in january, it's just the first bit that you feel the cold, then the thermostat kicks in and you actually sweat.

oh and i should add that, as in my first race, kasey (a bridesmaid from my wedding fourteen years ago) was entered. in the last race i told her (stupidly) i was gonna kick her ass. she ended up ahead of me by a hundred metres or so. so when i saw her at the start of this run i told her i wasn't going to say anything. i ended up finishing ahead of her this time around.

the moral of the story - shut up and get it done.

next weekend i have a competitive race called the "dirty duathlon" which i have entered with my bikefreak neighbour matt who is 22 years old and regularly rides 50k distances in the woods with his club. the dirty duathlon will see matt handle the 10k bike section, and me handle the two 3.8k trail runs bracketing his ride. am i nervous about that one? you can absolutely bet on it. it's competitive. it's trail running which i last did when i was a serious cross country runner pre high school............ yep, pre - high school folks.

after that run i expect i won't run again until new year's eve when i am in a 5k called "the resolution run" which runs through downtown peterpatch in the early evening of the last day of this year. i may regret that one just because it will be cold, sloppy, and maybe even very cold and very sloppy, or hey wait a minute - maybe even slippy and snowy and very cold!

so, for those of you used to the cerebral creative cogitations of the golden one, don't despair. i have other stuff to upload later today. for now, i am going to think some more about running and if it turns into something clever or insightful then i'll tack it on here and see if the golden fish editorial team gives it the thumbs up.