As I've said before, I'm taking a break from the long distance races given that I've plateaued in making progress there and that recently in distance races if I do push hard to get the time I want, I end up suffering from severe leg cramping later in the race. Meanwhile, every time I run a short distance race, something really great happens. My times keep improving and it's such a great ego boost. I always feel like a million bucks after a short distance race, regardless if I make a time improvement or if my improvement is minor, likely a bit of that runner's high I only seem to experience after running hard and fast. So in talking about my goal to improve my 5km, 8km, and 10km race times, coach John suggested I try this 1 mile race. It seemed like a ludicrous idea to register for something so short in some ways (don't you somehow get more for your money when the race is 26 miles long, not 1?). But in other ways this was the absolute perfect idea. I can try to run my fastest mile any time I want as it only takes a few minutes of my time and you don't need to be a genius to figure out a 1-mile route. But nothing beats the conditions and the adrenaline rush of race day. Being surrounded by athletes all with their own goals, all with their own achievements, all geared up to go - there's something about it that motivates you to give it your all. I was excited about trying and seeing what I was capable of.
My mile times from interval nights have hovered around the 8min mark for some time, so I was not sure what I could do in a race setting. Again, a bit of plateauing, or because I'm finally recovering from being down and out several weeks could be what made those times slower than what I know I can do. My last few weeks were bad too because of poor sleep or other lame excuses. I really didn't know what kind of mile time I could do on race day because my mile times just weren't budging on Tuesday interval nights. And on interval nights, if we were doing 1-milers, I'd run each knowing I have another 1-miler to do after, and I'd be probably somewhat tired from whatever I did before. Here on race day, there was just the one mile to contend with. You warm up well, and then when the gun goes off, you have to give it all you've got because it'll soon be over.
I am really fortunate to have really incredible athletes in my life that I can talk to and who are really happy to offer me advice. What Nancy told me the last time we worked at Running Room together really stuck with me (although I likely don't have it down verbatim so it won't be in quotes) and she said some of the same when I saw her pre-race -- run hard and be prepared to feel quite uncomfortable by the 400m mark, but keep going, because the discomfort will be over in a few short minutes. Receiving advice from a former Olympian runner, well that's something you listen to. I also received good advice from John on approaching the race when it comes to cadence compared to our previous track workout. Of course, the point of having a coach is to listen to his advice (even if sometimes I don't do all of my homework). The times he calculated for me were a little bit conservative though, and I knew that despite a few bad workouts a few weeks in a row, they were all bad for a reason (not fitness) and I had more in me. I started out the race just as he said, getting the feel of the cadence of our last track workout and how I ran those 400m repeats. But knowing I only had 1200m more than that to run total, I pushed harder and told myself, just a few minutes more.
I did quite a bit of mental prep for this race too that morning, being a later race start. I thought about the fact that this was such a short race and how that feels more like an athletic competition than some of the other races I've done where in some ways, it can be seen as just about showing up and finishing. I thought about all the years athletic competition was something I never imagined myself being part of. I remembered all the years of track and field in school and how I was never considered to compete in anything at the track meets except shot-put - presumably because it's the one event you're practically standing in one place to do so fitness is not required. The one year I was on the C-list to run a leg of the 4x100m relay was both exciting and ego-shattering at the same time. The prospect of running 100m was exciting, but the only hope I had of competing was if all 8 runners in the A and B lists all got sick/hurt at the same time so it was a safe bet I'd spend the entire meet sitting in the bleachers. But times have changed for me. Now I compete. I legitimately have the ability to be fast and I was there at this mile race to achieve. I have indeed become an athlete. It was a nice feeling to remind myself of this.
The Ambleside Mile is a mile race with a long history but was traditionally called the "Masters Mile". Only in the last couple years has it opened up to include other age groups. It was great seeing how many families came out and how many kids were excited to run the mile. I also knew this meant there would be few people my age at this race, and in many ways, this was a refreshing change. I had a great time during my warmup crossing paths with many seasoned runners. The speed and fitness that many of these runners still have despite their years was absolutely inspiring. It was an honour to run this race with them and to recognize how few years I've had in this sport myself and how much more I can learn and achieve as I keep working at this. It's a sport I hope to be part of for many years ahead.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and every detail of the race experience was well organized and thought out by race director, Kirill. He takes great pride in making his races exceptional and I was thrilled to be able to support him by signing up. I was also pleased to see him take 5 minutes out of his morning to race his own event (he's freaky fast). Thanks for such a great race experience. I'm definitely signing up next year!
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| With race director, Kirill |
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| Clock reading the time of day, not the runners' finish times. How confusing... |
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