Last weekend I ran two races. Initially, I didn’t plan to do both. However, it just worked out. I needed to stay in New Jersey until Saturday, and at that point, I was in town for my local running stores biggest 5k of the year: The Adrenaline Run 5k. Before my plans changed to stay in New Jersey, I had already signed up for the Shamrock Half.
My new goal was to run as hard as possible at the Adrenaline and then just pick up the pieces at the Shamrock. I know I’m in good shape, but in short, Adrenaline didn’t show that. I had reasons I needed to stay in NJ, and I underestimated how busy I would be the week before.
I arrived to the Adrenaline Run and didn’t feel as good as I would have hoped. I felt very meh. I warmed up with my friend Shae, arrived to the start, and by the time I knew it, we were off. During the first mile, I was caught in a pack of people and got a slow start. Not only that, but I just felt stale. My legs felt heavy, and my speed wasn’t there.
I hit the first mile in 6:00 and immediately felt defeated. I couldn’t get in a rhythm and I felt like nothing felt easy.
I know I’m in PR shape and possibly in sub 18 shape, but it wasn’t my day. After I realized that, I just moved past my mentality and just wanted to run a strong race.
During the second mile, I was running with a pack of women, many of whom I knew personally and are friends. We went around a few turns and down a small hill. I nearly slipped, and I panicked I had pulled something. Due to my form, running downhill in a race is one of the most likely places I’ll get injured.
I rounded the turn and saw my coworkers at the water stop, and I gave a quick wave and mile. To be honest, seeing all three put me in a better mood (thanks, Shawn, Ralph, and Jeff) and I knew I was halfway. I climbed a hill and hit the second mile in 6:10.
I went from feeling happy back down into a slump. Apparently, I rode a lot of emotions during that race. The last mile felt like I finally woke up and just powered to the finish line. I was still with the pack, and we all powered through. We ran the last mile in 5:47 and I crossed in 18:32 with a chip time of 18:29.
Thank you for the photo Norm
While I’m not exactly satisfied with the race, I do know I didn’t feel good and it wasn’t my day, I had a great time seeing so many of local NJ friends and runners. I was 10th women overall and I believe 106th overall. It is my fastest 5k in the calendar year, despite not the fitness I know I’m in.
Questions for you:
Do you use positive self-talk to get you through races?