Jealous of people in bed - City Run (3-28-10)

Distance: 5 Miles
Goal Time: 37:30
Actual Time: 37:50

Do you think it'd be okay
If I kept this pace today
And you see I'm in no shape for racing
And, anyway I got a half in two weeks

The night before I worried about the cold. Most people I know complain in February about the cold, but I'm fine with winter cold. It is the cold in Spring I hate. Once winter's gone, I want it to be fully gone. Temperatures between 35 and 50 drive me insane.

Sunday was cold and windy. Wandering around, I tried to get myself motivated to run a 5 mile race in weather I didn't want to be in. The Saucony truck blaring "Hey, Jealousy" was not much help either.

As the gun went off, I immediately felt my "heavy legs." The first mile was fighting the inertia in my thighs. It seems every race that first mile has the butterflies drop from my stomach into my legs carrying lead weights. The first mile was 7:03 - way too fast.

And you know now the question it begs
From where comes always heavy legs
If I hadn't signed up for this City Run
I might not have this fun.

By mile two I had dropped into a steady pace. We turned off the road and circled the Fresh Pond path. For a bit I found a guy in a yellow shirt who I could pace off of. After the pond there was the final dash up Huron. The uphill false flat finish left me unprepared for my usual sprint finish - but I did get one person.

Everything I had left was not enough to break my goal time - missing by 20 seconds. But, as Lance argued at the Criterium International this year "if it was July and I had this form, it would be a problem." The City Run is merely a step in my path. On 4/11 at Great Bay we'll get the 4-1-1 on my path.

I can run around this lake
Let the others go and race
This race is done but something might be
Found to get a good pace