Yesterday, I was scheduled to run a 5K in Raleigh, but the 9am start time put a time constraint on the rest of activities going on, so I had to back out. Instead, I chose to perform my own 5K right here on the east campus loop. Appropriately named the Charles In Charge 5K, I picked a starting area on the loop and began to run as fast as I was able while pretending there were people I was beating. I tried to envision hundreds of runners along side me, motivating me, pushing me to run harder, but that didn't work out so well. Instead, I picked markers along the way and attempted to see how fast I could get to certain spots, or how fast I could pass another person on the trail. I wore my Bull City singlet, my Garmin, my new shoes that I'm trying out, and away I went. Official time (no chip timing), was 23:41 and that was good enough for first place! Yeah, if only I could have won some prize money along with that, or even a shirt! It was fun, and it was a good way to test myself and see what sort of pace I can push myself at. The Brooks Launch seemed to serve me well, very light feeling!After finishing the run, I headed over to the pool for a 1.2 mile swim. I still had my running gear on, including my visor, so as I walked into the pool area with my head down, I was completely shocked upon lifting my head! I instantly realized that I had not been paying attention! There in front of me, all gathered together, were about 15 Duke Aquatic male swimmers standing about 10 feet from me....yes, all in the tiniest black speedos. Aye.....it's so awkward to look up, not look startled, and then quickly look away and keep walking. By the time I walked out of the changing room, they were all in the water swimming, that helped. A few interesting things about my swim: one, I'm competitive by nature, so swimming in a lane next to many fast swimmers only makes me want to swim faster and at each flip turn, I could see who I was going to pass next. Totally ridiculous, for sure. Two, with all those huge men swimming in all the lanes next to me, there were waves in my lane and I was gulping gallons of water with each breath! Each breath became a quick spit, short exhale, huge inhale, face back in the water sort of move. I kept thinking about how much more difficult open water swimming will be and how it's a good thing the Triathlon has the swim first, otherwise I would surely drown. My heart rate was all over the place, I found it difficult to slow my breathing, and I was taking in way too much water, something needed to change. After 500M, I stopped to catch my breath and gather my senses before going any further into my swim. Once I started back up, I began to fall into a rhythm that continued easily until 1.2 miles.
This morning, Sunday, was long run day!! My favorite run of the week! Today was 14 miles and I was able to hook up with some fabulous Bull City women on the ATT. With the low temps, low humidity levels, today was FAR easier than any run since Spring and it felt amazing. The first 7 miles were an easy pace (staying around 8:25) although I was worried that my legs would be too worn out to make it all 14 since I haven't had a successful long run in quite some time. Miles 7-14 were way faster than I anticipated and that I've run in months, so it completely took me by surprise! 8:19, 8:15, 8:02, 7:56, 8:07, 8:15's to the end! Maybe all these horrific runs in the heat/humid conditions are paying off? I know that running with these fabulous women (Alicia, Caren, Kara, Becky, Ellen) is also part of the good run today, they are all motivational and inspiring (and much faster than I) and I'm thankful for the added "pace push" they gave me today, it brought out the best in me. :) My legs felt tired and my feet were hurting towards the end, but I just kept thinking that I wanted to finish with a good pace, a good feeling of success, and a good test of where my fitness level really is at. It was fabulous. 8:18 ave pace
All in all, a fairly decent week (tough).
31.5 mi Running
4000M swimming
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