Monday, February 6, 2012

Geoduck Gallop

Yesterday I paid a visit to my Alma mater to run a sprint race, I'm talking of course about the half marathon. The race is called the Geoduck Gallop, which if that sounds silly to you you have obviously never seen a geoduck run a half marathon. Not many have as they do them underground usually.
When you run as much as I do you get to know the places you live better than most other people. Like it only took me about a month to run over the entire town of Bellingham and then I was already pointing out shortcuts to my roommate- a Western grad. I encircle probably every single road within a five mile radius of my parent's house everyday, at least the ones I'm not in Seattle at my sister's house. I wonder how long before I can start giving her directions places a couple miles away? And that is still true of Olympia even though I haven't run one step there since last year's Geoduck Gallop. I would know my way around better than many lifelong residents. Really I only get lost in all places I travel by car.
This was my third year doing the Geoduck gallop and my first time winning, or winning any half marathon!
I'd done a few workouts before the race but not too many, mostly just a long run everyday. But I did a few mile repeat days with goal times of 6:55 which I hit but not happily. I feel like with all the miles I've been doing 7:20 pace has become easy but 6:55 pace has become the opposite. It used to feel easier than this. Now it is like death.
I went to the race with an open mind though because you can never tell how you will feel in a race based on how you feel in a workout. I always get scared the first mile I will go too slow and be doomed to go slow the entire race so I ran a 6:40, then a 7:00 and more 7s and even 7:20 when it went up the 17th Street hill which I knew all too well was coming, twice now that they redid the course. I thought 7:10 felt a little faster than it should but when I got to 10 miles in 71:20 I realized I was fine and could probably run a marathon if I had to. So I picked it up and tried to pass as many men as I could the last 5k and finished in 1:32:22.
   I've been wondering for awhile when I will ever break 1:30 and I guess I will have to wait some more but at least I won my first half and I went over to collect my prize. WHICH WAS A FREE PAIR OF SHOES!!


I don't want to wear them though because then I would ruin them and they are my prize.
Now I feel like I am ready for the 50k with this and my 30 mile time trial last month, but just to make sure here is one more week of 140 miles.Yay.

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