My legs keep no pace with my desire - A Midsummer Night's Run

Well I lived up to the theme of this year's midsummer night's run.

"My legs keep no pace with my desire..."

My goals weren't aggressive, but the humidity and the killer Crossfit workout Thursday morning weren't a good mix. As a confidence builder for pacing the Army Run (1:50 continuous) I wanted to hold 5:00/km pace and I wanted to take no walk breaks. Missed the mark on both counts.

I drove to Kitchener Friday after work and had a reasonable night's sleep, but come morning I could still feel my glutes and hams after the walking lunges from Thursday morning's Crossfit WOD. I had brought a street hockey ball and sat on that most of the day to try and work out the kinks. I think Advil would have been a good idea, but it didn't occur to me until after. So I rolled, I stretched, I squatted, anything I could think of to get in race shape by the evening.

I spent a couple of hours at a business seminar my older sister wanted us to attend, so I was off my feet and rolled that hockey ball a lot.

I drove down to the race start and got my kit, then went to my friend Lesley's (thank you gracious host) and got ready. And after getting a $40 parking ticked, headed back to the race start area where I ran in to a few running friends. Just before the start of the 15km, I went for a warm up run backward along the 30km route, I figured I might see some of my friends running the 30km, and as luck would have it, I ran into Jesse, and ran a fun couple of hundred meters with her.

The race started pretty well, I had to work hard to keep my pace slow, and I succeeded for the most part, I was hitting the kilometre markers at 5:00 bang on. At 5km some guy asked me what our time was and it was 25:00 even. The next 5km got harder, I'd often be slipping in my pace, slower than 5:15s, but i was always able to pick up it up as soon as I noticed and keep my average pace at 5:00/km. I spotted Lesley on my way back from the turn around and she was having a good race. She was working hard, to be sure, but she wasn't hurting. It was gonna be good. We (me and the guy from 5km) hit the 10km marker at 50:31, so slipping a bit, but acceptable variance. There was still 5km to go, so it wasn't a big deal.

But it started to get harder to pick it up when I noticed I was lagging. I started to get sore in place I don't normally get sore: my knees, IT band/TFL. My legs were trying to compensate for my under performing glutes and hams. Then I got the water station just before 12km and the volunteer hadn't been keeping up filling cups of water, as I ran past the station I had been unable to nab a cup.

Right after passing the station I came to the realization that I'd really been looking forward to some water (I only had gatoraid on me) so I stopped and went back to get some and they had to fill one for me as none were ready.

I thereby aborted goal #2. From that point it just kept getting harder and harder. Pace was slipping and it looked more and more like goal #1 was going to happen either, so I just gave up. I ran with what I could muster, I took a couple more walk breaks. In the last two km, a group of 3 runners passed me, going marginally faster than I was, I picked it up to try and follow them in, and I held on to them for good stretch, but ultimately I couldn't and did the unthinkable, I walked in the last kilometre of a race!

I crossed the finish line, spent. 1:19:42, worse than last year, if that was at all possible. Got my giant medal and awesome water bottle. But I felt defeated. I'm still  glad I did it, my body will adapt stronger for it.

I didn't stick around after the race. I had a long drive back to Ottawa ahead of me and figured the sooner I got the road the better. I was treated to a fantastic lightening show in the last hour and a half of the way home which had me laughing out loud it was so awesome.

I've had some great runs lately, but in cooler, dryer weather, so I'm NOT really worried about the Army run, but a solid long run next weekend would be really nice.