OK, so just where have I been? Well, because of the big event I'll get to in a minute, I didn't plan on doing too much training this past week. Then came Monday's weigh in which you'll note I did NOT post on time. And then when I got out and actually did a run on Monday, it was so freakin' gawdawful (2.96m/568C/42min) that I felt like I'd fallen back to where I was at the beginning of last year before I ever started any of this running. And in many ways all of that was the high point of last week. Yeah, that's right.
That night I was thinking about all of it and the fact that my little first-of-the-year running program was supposed to culminate with a race on Saturday. I had been running with (well, really just at the same time and place as) the half marathon group, but had been thinking about just running the 10K or even just the 5K and trying to post a respectable time. But as I thought about it some more, I said "Eff it" and went in the next day and signed up for the Unser Half Marathon.
Night before the race it rained. And rained. And rained. Now normally here in NM it never rains for more than 5-10 minutes at a time, and more recently it hadn't really rained since about '05, so this storm was something else. The next morning I got up and could feel the near freezing air coming in through the slightly open bathroom window. I'm not going. I get dressed and pull my stuff together. I'm not going. I head out the door and feel the first real bite of the air. I'm not going. I stop and take care of some important business on the way to the race, drive to the gathering spot and realize that I left my race bib at home. I'm not going. I race home, find the bib and race back to the starting line, the mud caking on my shoes as I speed-walk over to get my timing chip. I'm not going. I get my chip and then have to stand in a ridiculous line for the Port-o-Let that still has me standing there when the official start time comes. I'm not going. Take care of business and walk up the dirt road to the start line, getting more and more mud on the soles of my shoes; maybe I can twist my knee running on this shite and not have to run. I'm not going. They blow the horn and everyone takes off; I quickly fall back to the back of the pack. I guess I'm going.
The storm had in fact made a mucky mess of the beginning of the race, but we soon hit the pavement and then I go to enjoy the freshly cleaned and mostly empty streets and the mountains were positively gorgeous.
The first mile, frankly, was a bear. The second was a little better, and by the third I'd settled into kind of a groove. I've also got to admit that the fact that the course was a completely new place for me to run helped, as it gave me plenty to look at and distract myself a little. My only gripe was that part of the course was not really well marked and for about a mile I thought I may have made a wrong turn. Not fun. And really, look at this map and you can see how convoluted some of it was:
Anyway, I got through it, and got through it about 20 minutes faster than the first (and only other) time I ran a half last spring. But damn if it's still not soooo verrry sloooooow. Something to work on during the marathon prep, I guess.
Which, by the way, starts Saturday. [Gulp]
The Digerati: 13.1m/LOOONG TIME/1864C/AvgHR 60% (Can you tell I got a little tired? Or do I need to work harder? Honestly, it's both.)
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