Mentor Flag Day 5K - Easier Said Than Done

My friends and loved will know this about me...that I sometimes have unreasonable expectations of myself when it comes to racing. They accept that about me because I have been known to throw a temper tantrum after a bad race (I'm working on this). The Mentor Flag Day 5K was one of these instances. It was a last minute decision to sign up and I wasn't really trained. I know what you're thinking...train for a 5K...who needs to do that? It should be easy right? That is what I thought too! Considering I had just started running again two weeks before and hadn't run more than 2 miles I somehow did not think I would stand the chance of bombing this race. In fact, I thought I might even be able to win if the super fast chicks stayed home. I thought I could pull out a 21 or 22 minutes easy. I thought wrong.

The race starts downhill and I mean downhill! So my first mile was 6:03! Just a wee bit more than the 6:45 I was aiming for. So by mile 2 I was pooped out and took a little break. Back to it and holy crap was it hot and hilly that last mile. Clearly I had underestimated this little 5K. I walked a couple more times that last mile and figure I easily lost 2+ minutes because of it. I was not a happy girl at the finish when I looked up and saw 23:57. Yuck! Not a bad time really but I was certainly capable of the 21 or 22 I had hoped for had my race went better. So I was mad and wanting to leave.

Steve on the other hand had a great race of 19:36...a personal best for him. I didn't think there was anyway I would place but thought he might so we stuck around for the rewards, which took a while. He placed third in his age group and amazingly I took first in my age group. The winning female times were 20-22 minute range. So while I should've been happy I even placed I was mad at myself for having a bad race. This is just me. I knew I could have done better.

Another one in the books. Lesson learned. The training continues and I hope to get my endurance back soon and to learn to be a little easier on myself.

Twinsburg Duathlon - Let the Good Times Roll!

I am a little late with this post considering the race was June 5. Better late than never I suppose. I am just happy to be writing in my blog again. Don't worry, I will not wait so long this time!

What can I say about the Twinsburg Duathlon? I thought it was a great race and I think I did well - especially because this was my first duathlon. North Coast Multisports did an excellent job of communicating and organizing the event. Packet pick-up and the little expo were the Saturday before the race so no scrambling on race morning to get that stuff.  Steve and I picked our stuff up and headed home to chill out and get our bikes and gear ready for race day. It was a pretty smooth evening prerace. We were a little nervous (me especially since I had just started running again that week following my heel fracture - yikes)!

On race morning we got up, brewed some coffee and had some multigrain waffles and juice, got dressed, loaded up the car and took off around 6AM. We arrived at the race site and I was feeling very excited and a little nervous. How would I run I wondered.  We racked our bikes and setup our gear and warmed up. I went to the bathroom a couple of times as I always do when the nerves are flared up and we lined up.  My friend and fellow competitor Laurie stood by me at the start and we chatted for a couple of minutes beforehand, which helped me relax.

We started and I blanked out everything but the run. Worries subsided and my feet took over. My first mile was sub 7 and then I thought I had better slow it down or I will be dead on the bike so I slowed it down and finished the first 2 miles at a 7:09 pace. Jumped on the bike and like an idiot I had my helmet on backwards so I stopped to adjust. Lost a few seconds there. The bike was fun but tough. The hill around mile 7-8 was killer. My legs were feeling it. Time on bike was 36 minutes for 10 miles but think my T1 and T2 times are in there as well since they don't break them out seperately. I think I averaged around 18-19mph. The second run was tough as I had not done one brick all season being out with the fracture. First mile was okay, second was rough and I stopped for a minute or two at the water stop. I lost time there not thinking I had a chance to place. I finished strong with a time of 1:07:12 - good enough for 2nd place in 30-34 age group and 8th overall female in the race. Not bad but I should have placed higher as 2nd and 3rd place were only 2-3 minutes ahead. Next year I will be ready to battle.

Steve also did well. He finished his first ever multi-sport race in 1:01:37 good enough for 4th in his age group and 19th overall in the race! We both had fun and at the end of the day that is what is most important! 

Thanks to North Coast Multisports for a great event! We will be back next year!