Race Report: 2012 Race the Roof 8k ~ 40.56

At the start line, getting ready to run.

Saturday (10/26) brought another race, the Race the Roof 8k. It was a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and it was held in the beautiful Verandah community. Before I get started on my race report, I have to share R's (my oldest) race report.  She ran in her very FIRST race on Saturday. When I asked her about her race, she said, "Good". She is so very proud of the finishers ribbon she received. Since the tot trot was held during the 8k, my hubby had to manage getting her to the trot on time, film her running, and take care of A. He's superman! Here are some pictures of my awesome little runner!

Showing off her ribbon.

So proud of herself!

 

The Racing Crew

The 8k race for me was interesting.  My personal goal was to run at a 8.15 pace. At the 10k two weeks ago, I ran at 8.45 per mile and it was a good challenge. I felt winded and like I put in effort to accomplish that pace. Based on that, I thought an 8.15 would be an appropriate time challenge. I am horrible at pacing, so I kept having to look at my phone as I ran, but each mile I was right within my target pace, give or take a couple of seconds. I was so excited throughout the race. I was doing the math in my head and when my nike+ announced my split time at each mile, I literally was giddy - clapping my hands in excitement or doing a mini fist pump. (Yes, I know...kinda silly). I felt GREAT. I wasn't winded and my legs felt amazing. I kept passing people as I ran. Just like with the 10k, I kept mentally checking in with myself and found strength and energy. I finished in 40.56 (adjusted time) and was extremely happy with myself.

Until I saw the race results.  

The Results

I missed AG by one minute and one place. One.

If I had run a 39 minute 8k, I would have come in second in AG.  I went from thrilled with an excellent race to frustrated. I knew that if I had pushed myself, I would have easily been able to place in AG. I wasn't winded when I finished the race, it had been an easy pace. In fact, my nike+ said that my average pace for the race was actually an 8.08 because I ran two of the 5 miles in the upper 7s. 

This guy paced with me for the first 3.

I chalk up missing the AG partly to the fact that I am inexperienced in racing the 8k distance. It's an odd distance, but I'm also inexperienced with anything past a 5k. If it had been a 5k, I would have been able to judge, based on pace, what a good time would be. I also would have known approximately what I should have been aiming for time wise. With a race that was essentially 5 miles, I was afraid that I would tire myself out if I aimed for an 8 minute pace. I didn't dare aim for lower than 8, because I haven't put up consistent 8s. Plus, I'm not even sure what I'm entirely capable of right now and for what distance. 

R wanted to help me finish.

The other part is training. I've been consistent.  I've been adding mileage and I basically accomplished my distance goal in the time frame I had laid out originally. I've been getting consistently faster due simply to the mileage I've put in. But I'm not pushing myself.  I need to add in speed work and more tempo runs.  My tempo runs need to be at a faster pace.  I know that there are groups that I can join - Speedsters and Endurance Sisterhood - that would help me improve. The problem there is time. They meet at times that are not feasible for me to join them between what I need to do as a mama and what hubby does as a basketball coach. I also feel like I'm nearing a point where, if we had the money, I would visit a dietician and join up a local group that is coached. I know I can do a lot on my own and I simply need to push myself a lot harder in my own training to get there.  The race was a wake-up call in that respect.  No longer can I do a 10.30 minute warm up mile as I did last week on my tempo run.  My warm ups need to be in the high 8s and low 9s now.

The Big Finish

The feeling I'm left with after this race is a weird mix of happy with what I accomplished and irritated with what I didn't. Happy because I was right on pace and felt so strong during the race. Irritated because I didn't push myself and I know I could have gone faster since it was such an easy pace, having never felt winded at any point during the race.

I also know how to fix my irritation to a degree. I need to also find the mental fortitude to push myself.  As the quote goes, "running is 90% mental and the rest physical". With my last two races, I've discovered some of the mental toughness (those check-ins with myself), but I need to push myself harder to get there during my training runs. It's too easy at 4.30 am to slack off.

So that's where I leave this post...in kind of the same mental state I'm in right now...I know where I would like to be and what I need to do to get there to a point.  I just need to push myself.