Good morning…
Friday Doug informed me that all our Saturday morning Winter Pacers group would not be in attendance, as they would all be running the “Run Before You Crawl” 5K. Over the past few years I have run very few races, so I pay little attention to the when races are happening. Typical Doug and I, the conversation turned to “If you run, I guess I will run,” and in short time we agreed we would run.
I was not sure what to expect yesterday morning, especially with 20 to 30 mph winds expected. The first 2 miles of the course were mostly uphill, and I have run these hills many times over my years in Dover. However, I am unsure I have ever run them with such a wind attacking head on! I used my Garmin, but only to pay attention to my heart rate, with a goal of keeping it under 135 BPM’s for the first 2 miles. By the time I got up the first Washington street hill, my heart rate was at 135 BPM’s! From that point on, my heart rate hung around 140 and that became my new goal. When I began my ascent up Whittier hill, my heart rate climbed to north of 150 and had I wanted to get it back down, I would have had to walk.
As I approached the top of Whittier hill (where mercifully I would be turning), I was giving strong consideration to walking some. I knew the turn on to 6th street would be some much-needed relief with a long downhill, but I was tanked, and I even had a cramp of sorts. Finally, at the top of the hill and turning, I willed myself to keep running. As I began descending a long hill, I gained back some breath and the realization of a single mile remaining gave me a mental boost. I picked up my pace some, however I resisted going too fast, instead choosing to enjoy the final mile as best I could.
Having only watched my heart rate I had no idea what my time was, but based on my effort, I believed I would finish around the 25-minute mark. There was a bit of an uphill when I turned off of 6th street and knowing the end was near I pushed through it. When I neared the finish, I heard the race announcer say the race was approaching the 27-minute mark and I must say I was a bit surprised. Sure enough, when I made the turn to finish the clock was about to click on 27-minutes.
After crossing the finish line, I was most definitely gassed and thrilled! The hills and the wind skewed my feel considerably and yet being slower by 2-minutes did not bother me at all.
My official chip time was somewhere just under 27 minutes and I believe around 8:36 per mile pace. I am pleased and proud of my run, as I battled and gave it the best effort I could on this particular day.
As a running coach I have core beliefs and one of them is: every run is unique and must be run uniquely. We train our runners to run for time (instead of distance), because each run has variables such as climate, terrain and most importantly physical being. On any given run, one if not all three of these variables can make a significant impact on our performance. Focusing on forcing yourself to run a certain distance if your body is not functioning well, can lead to frustration if not injury. Running for a period of time without forcing yourself to run a certain distance, allows your body to dictate the logic instead of the other way around. In my case, yesterday, I did my best to use the logic of my heart rate to dictate my pace, instead of forcing a certain pace. I have no doubt had I watched my pace, I may have been a bit faster, but I would have been miserable and physically beat up much more.
My splits yesterday were: 8:43 – 8:35 - 8:25. We always work at negative splits and I nailed them! Without a doubt the final downhill stretch benefited my final split, but my coaching experience tells me that keeping control by following my heart rate for the first 2-miles helped me that final mile. I am pleased with my results as a runner and as a coach, but overall, I am happy to have been able to enjoy the run!
Time to get along to church. Have a great week and may God bless each and every one of your steps!
Mike
