Rookie

Well, things didn't go so well on the weekend, but it wasnt as though I was completely caught off guard. I didn't feel very good going into the race and it is partially because I made a couple of rookie mistakes like all the biking last wednesday, taking friday off completely, only going for a very short run on saturday after a few hours in the hot sun. When I went for a jog saturday evening to do a shake out, it felt like death, which wasnt entirely surprising. What was surprising was how strange my legs felt when the race started. I can't really describe it but they just felt funny and not like they wanted to run. I went out conservative and figured maybe things would feel better around 7 or 8k and that didn't really happen. Never the less at 7k I picked it up and went after Jim and Jason who I let go from the start. I managed to get up ahead of jason by 10k and ran with him until the turn around until it turned uphill and the wheels(what little I had) fell off. From that point on I just struggled home. I had resolved before the race that I would not drop out save for injury and the way I felt put this to a serious test. In the end I struggled home in just under 72mins which was entirly depressing but with a minor victory, in not dropping out, and by the guided realization that my groin did not bother me even a little bit. What did hurt were both my calves and hamstrings in a way that was foriegn to me and I can only assume is from the effects of the cycling. I guess I have to take the good with the bad, but one conclusion is that there is a good chance I may have to get into a half marathon sooner than Richard and I planned, to erase this memory.

So, on to next week. 8k! yow, that is slightly frightening. I suspect it will take me most of the week to heal up but I am going to have to get into some strides and drills and stuff to make sure I am good and loose and ready to do a fast paced race. I have no idea what to expect and wont really expect anything I suppose other than a lot of pain, it can't be worse than the 5k is going to feel at UBC the week after...