Saturday, October 31, 2009

Race Report: Monster Dash 8k

I ran a race today. Did I mention that before? Probably not because I didn't intend to really 'race' it, but once I got there - well, you all know what's up. Pre-Race Since I didn't intend to race this I wasn't really too into race prep. I didn't wear my racing flats, I wore brand new shorts that I took the tag of that morning, and I didn't really take my usual pre-race routine before I left the house very seriously. The race was local. Very local. As in the start was literally right in front of the running store that my running group runs out of. I left the house 40 minutes before the race start. Got to the running store, said my hellos, shot the shit for a few minutes the headed out for my warm up. I did a short run, a few plyos and a couple of strides. Just over a mile. Then I was off to the start. Race So once the race started I got sucked in. I knew right away I was totally racing this for the best PR I could get. I ran the first half just under a 9:00 pace. At the turn around I was starting to fade but I didn't want to hit the wall so I slowed down a bit. Then when we had just passed the 1 mile mark guess what happened. A cop stopped the runners to let cars pass through an intersection. WHAT?! Oh, I was soooo mad. I was totally going to bust that last mile like I never ran a mile repeat in my life and boy was I pissed when I had to stop like that. Grrrrr. I totally understand that cars needed to go...blah, blah, blah, and if I weren't an athlete I probably wouldn't have understood...ONE FREAKN` DAY! One day. UGh. So anyways, that kind of pissed me off but I still finished strong. I got to the home stretch which was about an 800 meter dash around a corner and kicked it up about 20 notches. I totally chicked one poor bastard and then another. The second guy I heard literally sprinting after me and I was like, "Hell NO" and really let it rip. He didn't pass me and it was one of the best finishes of my life because of it :)! Post race Since it was such a small event (wasn't even chip timed) I just hung out at the running store with some of my fellow peers. Despite the forced stop at the last mile, I loved this race. I'm disappointed a bit because I hit the lap button on my garmin after we stopped at the intersection (when I realized it was going to be more than a quick minute at least) plus after my crazy ass sprint finish I forgot to stop my watch directly after so my splits are inaccurate, but this is my best guess 8k time. 45:00 minutes (conservative, rounded up estimate) 9:03 av pace/169 bpm (based on 45 minute finish time) That's an 11 minute PR!!!! Ok, granted the one and only other 8k I've ever run I was still a little drunk from drinking boxed wine the night before (yeah, not my proudest moment), but still. Yay!! I'm totally cool with that because I wasn't training for it, and more importantly, I was less than one month out from running a marathon.
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In other news I got my training plan for November. Project Suck IT: The Sequel is on!! Also, since almost all of you reprimanded me for 'quitting' the wine (actually, it was more like detoxing) you'll be happy to know I'm celebrating tonight. Wine and ice cream bars all around!! Happy Halloween!!!

19 comments:

Kelly said...

Awesome job on the impromptu race. Fun times and yay PR. I'm sure it was a lot more fun this time without the boxed wine the night before haha

Kristen said...

Awesome job! My 5k PR is one that I woke up in the morning and decided to run - no prep involved!

Sometimes it is nice to throw all the rules out the window. :)

Unknown said...

Sooooo glad to hear that you're celebrating the "right" way ! What an awesome PR but I can't believe the runners were stopped for cars, what's that about!! Grrrr...
Kind of scared about the box wine story but I'm sure it would make me laugh so DO tell sometime...

Niki said...

Awesome job girl!! Looking forward to hearing more about Project Suck It The Sequel!!

Running and living said...

I always worry that a cop will let drivers go by and stop runners. Never happened to me, though. I am a calm and nice person, but I would have still gotten in the face of that cop. C'mon. It's a race and you paid for it. Nice job at channeling that anger and getting the HUGE PR. YOu are on a roll!

Molly said...

ah! Can't believe the cop stopped the run! I just read somewhere about how a train crossing halted a marathon for a few minutes....

Missy said...

Yay for PRs! That's great. Way to put it ON at the end. Sometimes, the best races are the unplanned ones. Nice job. Can't wait for the sequel.

ShutUpandRun said...

Great job on the PR!!

Jamie said...

Way to go! Congrats on a great race. How annoying that you were stopped to let cars go by. I would have been pissed! Can't wait to hear about the sequel.

Unknown said...

Boxed wine before a race, love it! Great job on a big PR. I love that you passed those guys at the finish!! Thanks for telling me about that lady who ran and had a good delivery...that can be my motivation to get out the door!

Amy said...

Is it weird that I can hear you saying "HELL NO" and then sprinting to the finish? Cause I can.

What an awesome race (sans the cop - wtf?).

I'm glad you're back on board w/ the ice cream and wine. So am I.

Amy said...

PS- congrats on the PR (duh. that sorta goes without saying though.)

Tara said...

Wow, congrats on that PR! And no...you never mentioned racing, but that's ok, I like surprises!

Glad to hear that you're back on the wine. I went and bought some boxed wine the other day. Have you ever tried the Black Box wines? Yummy! Pretty decent for boxed wine!

Chic Runner said...

YAY! I love fun races like that and great job on the PR too! :) That is the best when you aren't expecting anything and have a great race :)

Alisa said...

Yay PR!

Sometimes I totally think overthinking a race leads to making me slower =).

I'm not sure if I've ever seen an 8k! What an odd distance.

So Project Suck It: The Sequel...I really need to go back through and read your project suck it, the first round and copy it all down. I would really like to not be the slowest person I know.

Jenn said...

Nice job on the race! You deserve a little wine celebration!

X-Country2 said...

Yay for a PR!! Good luck in November.

Keith said...

The cop stopped the runners, in a race, to let the cars go??? WTF is that all about. My understanding is the cop is there to stop the cars. I'd have been tempted to get the runners to do a group dash, dodging the cars and flipping the cop the bird. Odds are with the doughnut ingestion they couldn't have caught you.

Congrats about coming to your senses. I mean, joining the civilized world again. I mean, drinking wine.

Anonymous said...

Wow, 11 minutes? Great job!