Bad News, I let myself down on Race Day...
It started when I felt tired going in to Friday night so I decided to get my race gear ready but also to add some extra carbs in just in case I needed them (Bad Idea #1) Then after putting about 90 carbs I started getting my gear ready
After everything was all set out I watched a little TV then tried to go to bed but all the carbs decided I wasn't doing that and my brain wouldn't shut down. I slept from 2am to 4am (Bad Idea #2) got up rechecked all my gear watched some more TV then took a shower got ready. Arrived at the race not ready due to the cold. It was in the 30's and I don't deal well with the cold, I feel like I never fully warm up. I was wearing running shorts a T-Shirt so I wasn't in cold weather gear but I hoped it would warm up (Bad Idea #3). The race started and I was OK I felt out of rhythm but OK. As we took the 1st curve it seemed like everyone was on top of each other and as the road opened up I saw the 1:30 Pace Group and felt like it was just a short sprint away so I took off (WORST Idea #4) I ran the 1st 3 miles with this group so my 1st 3 miles went 5:43,5:22,5:28 which is insane. I train for a pace of 7:30-8:30 per mile and so I'm used to drinking at this pace I can pull a gel out of my pocket and rip it open and down it no problem. but at the pace I was running I couldn't take a gel out, trying to grab a cup out of someones hand is more like just slapping a cup out of there hand so lets just say I skipped the 1st drink station and did nothing other then yell at myself to keep up with these guys. It was brutal and I should have never had done it but I did. After that the wheels fell off for the rest of the race. Here was my plan. Run with the 1:50 pace group have a nice and smooth 1st race and with a mile to go push it to the limit and hopefully PR by a lot. Once the race started I changed my plan to run with the big dogs for a few miles then drop my pace to the 1:40 group and since it was 10 minutes slower it should feel good and I would still sprint the last mile and set a crazy PR. This is how it really went. I took off as fast as I could run, caught the group with out any problems, then realized my full out was there pace so a lot of crazy talk went on in my head alot of just keep pushing it. Did I just miss the drink station, my legs are on fire, this is crazy. then I started to slow down and people just kept passing me. I was done. I train in a warm gym, I take a drink every 2 miles and rarely miss a much need gel and at this point I was cold, couldn't get enough air, missed a drink station and hadn't taken a gel and now it felt like most of the runners had passed me. So I walked the next drink station took a gel and started a very slow pace which I kept for the rest of the race. I ended up around a 9 minute pace and PR the race by a little more then 1 minute which to me isn't a PR so I will use this as a life lesson and train on...
Some things I learned
- Some people train to race 13.1 miles (I don't)
- Don't run someone elses pace (Run your own)
- Race the way you train (My body is used to swim, bike, run) so my pace is a little slower on the run but it's what my body knows so just quit being stupid and let my body do what it's trained for.
- if your worried about the cold train more in the cold.
I did OK, but I didn't do my best and that does nothing but eat at me so I will train smarter and harder and be ready next time. I make no excuses for my poor performance because it's my own fault but next time I will be ready.
Quick lifestyle Update
Since going Paleo and juicing for breakfast/snack a day. I feel amazing better then I have ever felt and have decided I'll never go back to just throwing what ever chemical created fast food is around into my body. I only get one body and I should treat it like that. If anyone is in my area (Kansas City, MO) there is a awesome Meat Market not to far for Grass fed Beef, farm fresh eggs, Bison, etc and it's not priced to crazy http://stevesmeatmarketks.com/ , It is crazy weird, I haven't had a Mountain Dew this month (April) and to be honest once I made it passed the 1st 10 days I don't even crave it anymore.
33 days til my very 1st Tri....
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