Sunday, March 8, 2009

Runnin' of the Green 4-miler Race Report.

You would think that I would know how to pace myself at this stage of my running life. Clearly, I do not. But I'll get to that later.

So. My big race back after a winter of not racing at all was yesterday at 10 am. I'd been looking forward to this 4-miler for a few weeks and my anticipation increased with every weather forecast. Sunny! Highs in the mid-5os! Sunny!

I wasn't sure what to wear but settled on capris and a long-sleeved top. Oops! That was a little too much clothing for a race but, well, let's just put that in the "lesson learned" column.

I got up in the morning and had my usual pre-race toast with peanut butter, water and coffee. Then I proceeded to become more and more nervous as the morning wore on. By the time we arrived in (not so) Green Island, I was all kinds of antsy. With only 20 minutes before the start of the race, I left Owen and Conal and hurried to the registration to pick up my race t-shirt and bib. Unfortunately, they only had XL t-shirts left so I was out of luck.

After a quick warm-up and stretch, I made my way to the starting line. Here I am with Conal before the race:


The race started right on time and I settled in to what I thought was a good pace. My goal for the race was to finish somewhere between 30 and 32 minutes. This was my first race since October so I wanted to run it just to get back into the swing of things. But I also wanted to get a sense of how I'm running to help with setting some new goals for this spring and summer.

I thought I would run the first mile in about 7:45 and then see if I could speed up to about 7:30 for the rest of the race. Well, that didn't happen. I ran the first mile in 7:05. Big mistake. I went out way too fast and that hurt me for the rest of the race.

Here I am in the second mile, looking particularly dorky, but still happy:


I went through the second mile in 14:54 and was starting to drag. I really fell off in the second half of the race as my breathing became labored and I started to feel really hot. I was cursing myself for being over-dressed and for starting out too fast. Then I told myself that all that negative self-talk wasn't going to do me any good and I had to just suck it up and run as well as I could for the rest of the race. At some point, there was a water stop and I grabbed a cup and walked while I drank. Then I trudged on, finishing with a very slight kick in 31:05.

Here are my stats:

Mile 1: 7:05
Mile 2: 7:49
Mile 3: 8:01
Mile 4: 8:10
Overall pace: 7:46/mi
Age group: 7/30 (F 35-39)

Look at the difference between miles 1 and 4! Ack! Well, now I know that I really have to work on my pacing. And to think that I just posted about how starting out too fast is a big mistake . . .

Overall, I had a great time. It felt wonderful to run a race again, especially on such a nice day. I'm already planning the next one!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

~ Felice

23 comments:

Heather said...

That was a great race, even with the overdressing and super fast first mile! A good start to spring . . .

Unknown said...

Chalk it up to lessons learned. You still did a great job!! :-)

Diana said...

You did great, even though you feel you could have done things differently! It's just something to work on.

The Laminator said...

I think it's hard to race well in the first one back after a long layoff. Pacing, breathing and racing are skills that you really can't mimic during training. So, given that, I think you did a great job! You'll do so much better in the next one. Congrats on running a good race on an unexpectedly warm day!

X-Country2 said...

What a cute kid! The first race of the season is always hard. Especially when the weather is nice and you just want to RUN.

joyRuN said...

Great job on a fast race! I'd kill for those paces.

Denise said...

You still did really well, even if you started out too fast! Great pace!

J said...

I start out too fast all the time! Don't worry you still ran well! Congats on your first race of 2009!

Rookie on the Run said...

Good job! Overall, I think your average pace was very impressive. Cute pictures, by the way! Your little guy is adorable. :)

Alisa said...

Great run! Your pace was impressive...I can only hope to race that fast someday =).

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Great job on your first race of the season... lessons learned are always a good thing :)

Aron said...

wooo that was a speedy first mile :) i think you were soo excited to be racing! great job on your race even though it didnt go as planned, you still did awesome!!!

Lindsay said...

congrats! you still met your time goal even though you went out like a speeding bullet! it is definitely hard to hold back in the first mile - i mean it's a race! all the competition is running with you. great race, glad you had a good time.

Anonymous said...

no cursing yourself woman!
it's all information for next time and yes.
I have to say it again.
you have surpassed so many of us (waves hand) but registering and RUNNING!

Vava said...

Hey, you still hit your target even if you went out too fast! That's amazing! It shows you are in good enough shape to recover after such a fast start (7:05?! Are you kidding me!!!). Nice report! And I love Conal in his hat, even if I am not a Giants fan...

RunToTheFinish said...

I'm going to keep this in mind for my race next weekend!! Look at those mile times though, you still did great

Marlene said...

Congratulations on your return to racing! Sorry to hear you struggled through the second half (this always happens to me *sigh*) but you still hit your goal!

Marcy said...

Your overall pace is still good! Ain't no thang, chicken wing! YOu still did a great job ;D ;D

Aileen said...

Either way, ALL of those times are still faster than mine! You were out there and running, so I think you win :)

tfh said...

Great race-- it must have been hard hanging on after that speedy first mile. Nice photo of you and Conal-- I'm always impressed by the speedy moms at races (and a little envious that they have tiny fans).

RunnerMom said...

Wow, that sounds so fast (and so foreign) to me! You still met your goal, so that's a plus.

I always make that same mistake.... I hate negative splits.

I Run for Fun said...

Great race...you made your goal pace. And that's what counts.

BeachRunner said...

You did great!! Congrats. And there were lessons learned too. The pic with Conal is precious.

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