I usually run significantly faster during a race than I do on my own. Adreneline is probably a factor as is peer pressure and being in a new location. There is a joy and energy that pushes you to perform.
Yesterday our family participated in an 8k/5k, the crowd was larger than other post-Covid races and seemed a little loosely organized for such a large event. The teenagers handing out the race bibs weren’t especially friendly, there were 2 bathroom stalls (only one with toilet paper) and the weather turned for the worse.
The vibe was off and it never felt “right.” I struggled after 3 miles ( I was running the 8k), I probably haven’t trained for 5 miles enough, I should have been running 6 miles to be ready for 5 miles. Humidity was at 100% and the light rain turned into a downpour. At the 3 miles mark, I looked longingly at the 5k finish line. Instead, I trudged on, quite literally through the remaining 2 miles.
The last 2 miles were off the pavement and onto a muddy and rocky fire road. The fourth mile was downhill, leading to the inevitable, soggy and muddy turnaround. I began the slog up the hill, through the mud for the last mile. I finished, it wasn’t pretty and I didn’t have that, “let’s do it again!” feeling. The joy was missing.
After the race, too many people were crammed into the the too tiny pavilion in an attempt to avoid the torrential downpour. We didn’t stay. The parking lot was a half mile back down the road, we headed to our car and changed into dry shirts. It was so muddy that several people were stuck in the mud, their wheels spinning.
The perfect metaphor for how I felt this race. Stuck in the mud with my wheels spinning. But just like my slog uphill, the unlucky motorists pushed and pulled themselves out and eventually found higher ground.
How could I have prepared for this race differently?
- Train with enough distance running close to race speed. I needed to do some tempo runs in addition to some longer runs.
- Look at the course map! I assumed I knew this course, I had run a 5k in this same park, I had no idea about the fire road and would have paced differently
- Check more than one weather site, when I looked, there was a slight chance of rain. It poured.
- Bring old shoes. Once I saw the course and how wet everything was, I would have opted to wear my older shoes. Instead, I wore my new Hokas which look pretty sad right now.
Not every race can be a good race. There were things I could have done to better prepare. Out and back courses are not my favorite and I don’t enjoy neighborhood loops. In the future, I should sign up for races that I will likely enjoy. Life is too short to feel pressured into running every local race!