Sub 20 minutes

You know it’s time to blog when your mother sends a text asking, “Where’s my favorite blogger?”

My mom is my #1 fan and that is good enough for me!

I guess I’ll catch you up on things.

I am completely done with my running season. I competed in three races.

1. Vanderbilt (3k)
2. Home Meet – Southeast Missouri (5k)
3. Ole Miss (5k)

I talked about Vanderbilt’s race and I guess I’ll talk about the other two since I have not yet done.

Home Meet – 5k

Went into this race hoping to run a sub 20 minutes 5k.

Problem: Insane amount of wind

I stretched

I spiked up and hoped for the best

This is how the race went:

Was on pace for 20:20 for the first 2.25 miles then I died and ran around 7 flat pace. The wind just killed me and exhausted me. My legs were also extremely heavy and hard to pick up.

I ended up running a 20:57 which is still a PR, but I was supposed to run at least a 20:30.

Now Ole Miss. This was just last weekend. I had a big goal of 20:15 or better. I felt there was no way I could run that because I just have been fatigued and physically and mentally burnt out. I’ve never ran competitively for this many seasons in a row before.

My race was at 6:50pm and we got to the meet around 11am. So I had to wait around inside the indoor football field for 7 hours before I could even warm up.

Throughout the day it got even more humid in the building and I started feeling really hot and sick. At 2pm I ate a foot long from subway, thinking I had a long time until I raced.

At about 4 or so I asked coach if the meet was running on time, he said yes. Then he was like “wait, what time do you think you run at?” and I said 6:50 and he was like “oh no, the 5k is now at 5:45”

Great. It was 82 degrees with 15 mph winds at the time of my race. Honestly though the wind was nothing compared to our home meet.

I had ice bags on me to cool me off before I started to warm up.

The Race

Gun goes off and I start in dead last.

Thoughts:

1. This pace feels really slow but I feel great
2. Why am I in last?
3. This girl is going to slow and dying, time to go around her.
4. Caught the next girl, she’s going a bit slow too.
5. I want to be up with that group of girls.
6. I’m gaining on them! Looks like I’ll be able to catch them!!
7. OH MY GOD cramp under my rib!
8. Maybe, please, please, please go away!
9. It’s not going away and instead getting worse!
10. Oh god, I am making embarrassing noises trying to get air.
11. Now I’m crying. This is wonderful. Glad everyone is out here to watch me cry for a mile.
12. I am going so slow, this is slower than training run pace. I cannot move though. Every breath I take feels like someone is stabbing me.
13. Thank god I am done. A mile has never lasted so long in my life.

How it played out

Went out in a 92 (6:10/mile pace)

Held great pace and ran a very smart race for 2 miles.

I was on pace for sub 20 minute 5k for 2 miles of the race. Then once I got my cramp/pulled muscle/whatever the heck it was I ended up running around 8 minute pace. Yes, bad.

Why I thought I was going slow from the start? 5 girls who were supposed to run the race didn’t start. Therefore they must have been the slow girls because looking at seed times there looked to be 3 packs of girls.

1. The girls who run 18’s
2. The girls who are close to breaking 20
3. And the others who are high 20’s-22’s

I knew I would be in pack two, but yet I was dead last so I thought all the slower girls were in front of me. But nope, I was right where I needed to be.

Worst part of the race besides getting the cramp or whatever: Seeing the pack of girls all break 20 minutes. I should have finished with them. That was supposed to be me!

I ran a 21:24. That time is awful. I ran a 21:08 en route a 6k on grass in cross country. That should put it in perspective.

Although I didn’t break 20, I still believe my PR is sub 20, because I know I would’ve been there based on how I felt before my cramp. I felt wonderful and it felt so easy. I know I could’ve remained at the pace if not even got faster.

I’m sub 20 material, regardless of what my PR says.