Turkey Trot

I did the Turkey Trot 10K this morning as sort of a test-run for the half-marathon, since my only competitive race experiences have been at the Sun Run. I'm glad I did it (and skipped my 16K clinic run yesterday to do it) because I figured out some things about my racing strategies (like knowing how to spot old men who will hock loogies into the wind without shoulder-checking).

After the first congested kilometer, I was running two minutes ahead of my goal pace and continued to do negative splits. I went in with low expectations and the understanding that since this wasn't my goal race, I had every right to pull it back a little and just enjoy the experience.

But by the time I hit the last kilometer, I realized I was going to beat my goal time of 1:05 by almost five minutes. It's too bad I didn't realize that a little sooner because I would have pushed myself a little harder so that I could finish in under an hour. As it was, I finished in 1:00:10 minutes--still a personal best for me. I shaved 10 minutes off my Sun Run time from this April (which sounds really impressive but it's difficult to compare my performance in the Turkey Trot, with 1,800 participants to maneuver around, to the Sun Run's 55,000).

One thing I've learned from my clinic training--in particular the tempo runs and seemingly endless hill repeats--is that it's okay to push myself, and that my body can handle it. I read a NYT article recently about how women are generally less competitive in their running and more content to "run easy."

I don't know if I agree with the article's assertions, especially the idea that only older women have the confidence to fully test themselves. I think it's probably more experience than age, which isn't necessarily the same thing. I used to be afraid to go at a pace where I couldn't really carry on a conversation or where I was breathing hard, because I had the idea I was doing something wrong. But I feel like I can trust my body now, and that any momentary panic I have about passing out or feeling like I'm going to throw up will pass. I go in now feeling like an actual runner instead of someone participating in a race. It's a subtle difference but it's given me a lot more confidence.

I'm also starting to take up yoga, mostly because I'm inflexible with poor balance and have no patience for weight training anymore. Wearing Lululemon while running in torrential downpours, I sometimes feel a little too Vancouver for my own good.