Personal best (of the non-Sapphic variety)

I posted a personal best 10K time of 57:35 at yesterday's Vancouver Sun Run. I did a 1:00:10 at the Turkey Trot last October and a 1:11:52 at the 2007 Sun Run, down from 1:17:20 in 2006, so I'm pretty thrilled, even though I've probably now done as much Dramatic!Improvement as I can. (I credit almost all of this, by the way, to joining the half-marathon clinic last year and doing all my running outside.)

This despite the fact that so many of the 59,000+ participants seemed to have underestimated their finishing times and had seeded themselves in sections far beyond their abilities. I was running in the group that expected to finish in 59 to 69 minutes, and I estimate that 75% of this group was walking after the second kilometre--which is fine, except you won't finish in that time frame when you're walking. Meaning you're blocking the way of everyone else who wants to run and meet that goal time, especially when you don't keep to the right, as almost none of the walkers did. Don't even get me on started on the ones walking at the extreme left--eight abreast like the cast of Melrose Place--talking on their cell phones, drinking coffee, and getting annoyed with anyone who tried to go in between them.

Next year I'll sign up for the 50 to 58 minute group. Although I'm not sure it will make a difference in terms of avoiding annoying walkers who LIE, at least I'll get to start sooner. Under ideal conditions (which I don't consider the Sun Run to be), I think I could do 10K in 55:00 or even better. The distance actually felt really easy, even the uphill portions; it was over sooner than I wanted, which affirms for me that I'm more of a long-distance runner. I'm really looking forward to doing my next half-marathon in June and setting a new personal best for that distance.

I'm also enjoying my runners' yoga class. It's not as intense as a regular hatha yoga class, but we do some challenging poses and I sweat (a lot). I don't think I'm any more flexible yet; however, I have become better at breathing (as opposed to holding my breath) and being present. Last week, my instructor said, "Focus--don't think about what you're going to have for dinner tonight," at the exact moment I was in downward-facing dog and thinking about whether I should have defrosted a chicken breast that morning. So he had my number.

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.