The Lake Agassiz Pacers, our local running club, sponsored a 5m Turkey Trot on Saturday, November 17th. Morning weather was about 38* with a 10mph south wind. The race started at Edgewood Golf course, and followed the river south through the residential area. It was out and back and flat. About 160 runners participated. I set my goal for 55:00 about three weeks ago, and spent the last two weeks wishing I had not. But I published it to my blog but had decided I could not reach it. My mind was telling me I would not break 56:00 and 57:00 might be more realistic.
I was switching shoes in the car right before the start and talking to Paige. (yes, I actually ran in a “racing flat” shoe for the first time!). I noticed an older gentleman in bright orange coveralls (the “road construction” type, not “jail” type). I remember him from the 5K LAP had last month. I said to Paige that he would toy with me for the first half and then blow me away by the end; which he did.
The race was small enough that I was able to get “on pace” right from the start, but there was also quite a few at my speed or slower so I was never really running alone. I found it easy to maintain my race pace and just focused on running ‘easy.” Again, I used “Easy” for a mantra and it worked well. I also pulled the Chesty Puller quote a few times: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
Then, I exposed my racing inexperience and my lack of confidence. In the last ⅔ of a mile, my Garmin freaked out. It went to a screen that is not in my manual! It showed the compass setting from the GPS (claiming I was running SW, not east), and the time of day. It would not reset. I was panicked with no idea how far to the finish, what my pace was, anything. I slowed to a walk for about 25 seconds and tried to reset it, but nothing worked. So I decided to just run at a pace that felt OK and hope that I could sustain it to the end and it was not too slow. My actual finish was 55:24. So the Garmin lock-up probably caused me my “A” goal. I was still much closer to my “A” goal than I thought was possible. So, overall, I am very enthused with what the run says about my progress.
Good cool-down and then the Garmin resets itself and returns to normal function. It is still running and tracked both the end of the race and my cool-down. I then went into the Chalet for a banana and the awards that included door prize drawings for turkeys and fixings. Then home for a shower and an afternoon spent with Paige and Cooper.
I really like my new Saucony Kinvara 3 racing shoes. They are light and fast. I still use the Triumph’s for my training, but I have lost enough weight that I can go with a lighter shoe for races without negative effects. I had an active afternoon Saturday and I logged 6 easy miles on Sunday. I had run with them for a couple of easy runs, and had planned on debuting them on Veteran’s day, but the rain pushed that back a week.
I am disappointed with letting my Garmin throw me off. It was simply something I was not ready for and had no contingency plans. I charge my Garmin before every race, clear out the memory, etc. so I don’t have problems. But I have never seen this before. I was feeling good during most of the race that I was able to maintain my pace without much effort, it felt natural and the Garmin splits show I was consistent. But at the end, I let its failure shake me and throw me off my run. So, I will have a back-up plan in the future!
I have one more 5k this year (Jingle Bell run on 12/1) so I am transitioning into two goals of: don’t gain weight with holiday food and get ready for spring half-marathon program.
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