This morning Norm and I ran the Superb Owl Shuffle. Our awesome friends Johnny and Tricia, the RD’s for The Night Run, put on this great race. The whole family got up early to head down to the race. Enzo was volunteering and Ava and Sinjin were suppose to race. When we got to the race, Sinjin saw the owls from Liberty Wildlife and decided he would spend the morning there and not race. Ava wasn’t feeling good and decided to sit out the race. There went my excuses to run slow.
I was a little nervous about racing. My whole left leg was not feeling great, but I think it may have been due to the super damp weather. The fog was so thick you could barely see a few feet in front of you. I had also done a long run the day before with 10 miles of hills followed by 5 miles at 6:35 to 6:25 pace and then easy miles. My total mileage for the day was 21 miles. A 5K is not my favorite race, especially on tired legs with an achy left leg.
I was a little nervous about racing. My whole left leg was not feeling great, but I think it may have been due to the super damp weather. The fog was so thick you could barely see a few feet in front of you. I had also done a long run the day before with 10 miles of hills followed by 5 miles at 6:35 to 6:25 pace and then easy miles. My total mileage for the day was 21 miles. A 5K is not my favorite race, especially on tired legs with an achy left leg.
I was happy with miles 1 and 2, but mile 3 was kind of a disaster. I thought I was closer to the finish than I was. The fog meant I couldn’t see it at all! When I realized I was not close to finish I knew I had made a mistake in picking up my pace so soon. After that I never got the speed I wanted going into the finish. I knew I was never really trying my hardest. Moving to ultra running I now find it hard to push myself to the hurt zone. My PR is 18:42 and I knew I wasn’t going to come close to that, but I wasn’t too bummed with 20:01. I was really trying to get in under 20, but it didn’t happen. For being sidelined from running for so long and then trying to focus on building miles and not speed – I feel happy with the results. And being 2nd female isn’t too shabby. The gift card I won to Sole Sports was a bonus because I have been running my road miles in my old pearl Izumi trail shoes until I could afford new shoes.
My husband had a great day too! He took 3rd in his age group. He also has been sidelined with injuries and a little laziness. Not his fastest day either, but I think he was happy with the results. (He must have an amazing coach.)
Congratulations to Tere Zacher on the win. She's another awesome member of the Sonoran Distance Project. She is also coming back from injury and was also happy to be back to racing again.
All in all, it was a super fun morning. We got to see lots of friends and get a measure of where we are on our speed.
Huge thanks to Tricia and Johnny for another great race! If you missed this one, not to worry you still have your chance. The Night Run will be held on Saturday, May 9th in downtown Scottsdale.
All in all, it was a super fun morning. We got to see lots of friends and get a measure of where we are on our speed.
Huge thanks to Tricia and Johnny for another great race! If you missed this one, not to worry you still have your chance. The Night Run will be held on Saturday, May 9th in downtown Scottsdale.