Is anyone else as excited as I am about all of the spring races going on?! I’m genuinely motivated by seeing everyone post their pre-race gear pictures and post-race recaps. There is nothing like this sport. I heard a really interesting statistic on the radio the other day – “People are 2X more disappointed when their sports team loses than they are happy when their team wins.” What’s interesting to me is that I never feel that way when I am cheering on runners. Maybe it’s the optimist in me, or maybe it’s just the nature of the sport, but when runners for which I am cheering finish the race, whether they met their goal or not, I am still extremely happy for them - and motivated and inspired by their accomplishments. I still feel empathy for a runner who doesn’t achieve their goal, but it’s not in my nature to be devastated by the outcome of the race, but to instead encourage that runner to try again and lift that person up in every way possible. And conversely, when they do achieve their goal, I am 10X more excited for them! Isn’t that a great feeling? This is one of the main reasons why I love being surrounded by runners!
Earlier this year I set a goal to place in the Top 5 of the Oiselle Tenacious 10k, not knowing what shape I would be in or what the field would look like, and last week I ran one of the best “short” races of my running career (PC: Heather McWhirter).
After the marathon I made a decision to start training for shorter races for the first 6 months of 2018, no longer than 12k (determined by the length of Bloomsday). I’ve been working with my coach to get some better turnover in my legs and work on training up to my VO2max. Breathing hard has always been really uncomfortable for me, which is why I tend fall into half marathon and marathon training. These workouts I have been doing over the past 6 weeks have really challenged me to get out of my training comfort zone and have ultimately increased my tolerance for speed.
When I hit the start line of the Oiselle Tenacious 10k I was feeling really relaxed, mostly because I was surrounded by SO MANY encouraging and supportive women, and so many friends (new and old). I hadn’t raced a 10k in over a year, but I knew that my pace was going to be fast (based off of my 5k training), so I made a pact with myself that I would not look at my watch until the 5k split (I didn’t want to psyche myself out). The first half of the course was mostly a gradual uphill climb separated by some flats. Every time we hit a hill I backed off just enough to be strong on the flats. At 5k I went through at 17:38, it was perfect; I was breathing hard, but I wasn’t uncomfortable, and my legs were feeling really good. I thought to myself at this moment “go for a negative split.” The last 5k was fairly flat, so it was time to compete. I held top 3 for most of the race and within the last mile I was passed by another runner. At this point in the race, I was thankful to have her pull me along because I was hitting my limit. I pushed through the finish and looked at my watch: 34:52! I had just run a 17:12 negative split (my track 5k PR is 17:11)! It was a really good day – I broke my 10k PR by over 2 minutes and I placed 4th overall, achieving my goal of Top 5!
As I prepare for Bloomsday in exactly one week, I’m thinking back to how I felt in the Tenacious 10k, and it was just that – Tenacious. I’ve never really run well at Bloomsday, but I have also never specifically trained for it. This is my year. I have a goal to place Top 15 and be one of the Top 5 Americans. This will require me to not just be an elite participant, but to be a competitor. So much of racing is having strength of the mind, which I’ve been working on for the past year, and I’m ready. This is my year.
I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing group of Oiselle Volée runners. My experience last weekend was unlike any race experience I have had – from pre-race talks with Kara Goucher and Lauren Fleshman to post race donuts and a killer dance party put on by Oiselle! I met so many fun and energizing women and I am so excited for more races with all of them!
