Friday, October 24, 2008

UPDATE: I picked the run

I can only say this to those who commented last night and were like "go for the beer!":

AND YOU CALL YOURSELVES TRIATHLETES?!?

Sheeeeeeesh. I thought you people were HARD CORE. This is the off season: in other words, time to get ahead while everybody else is slacking and drinking beer, right?????

Um, yeah.

Anyway, I liked the beer idea myself but I had to go to the club meeting AND I didn't think it was very smart to go drink beer and then get in my car and have to drive 60 miles north. Especially because I get sleepy driving in the dark.

And Rachel, if I knew I'd be bumping into Andy P. at the pool...well then, I just very well MAY have gone swimming (oh what the heck, I'm not biased...if I had the slightest inkling I'd bump into ANY studly pro triathlete/pro cyclist/pro HOTTIE at the pool...well let's just say there'd be no contest as to where I'd have gone).

BUT in the end, I picked the trail run. It was such a nice warm evening and I knew I'd be running back to the parking lot at sunset. It promised to be a great workout.

And even though I didn't get my butt kicked in the pool, I certainly got it kicked on the trail! PHEEEEWWWW!!! Those Empire Runners are FAST! And maybe if I keep running with them, I'll get fast(er), too!

The plan was to run out on the trail 3.5 miles 'moderate' and then run back hard. Given that as I tried to keep up with everybody on the way out my HR was at like, 170, I decided to dial it back a little so I could go hard on the way back. When we regrouped at the turnaround, I was saying (in between breaths) "wow, if that's your 'easy' pace...I (gasp) hate (gasp) to see what your (gasp) FAST pace is (gasp)!"

So off we went. I ended up running back by myself since all the other rabbits in the group were tearing it up. I made a slight wrong turn which added a tiny bit of distance but since I still made it back in less time than on the way out, I was satisfied that I'd gone back faster. After Tuesday's track workout which nearly killed me, my legs were SCREAMING.

I thought of Devon and all her miles she runs and her fantastic marathon race report from last week. I thought of JP and Beth in their marathon training. I thought of JT and his ultra training and the peace he finds in his runs. I wondered how these people lay down such fast times and never seem to complain the way I do.

And I thought about how inspiring ALL of you runner people are. And as I did that...the pain began to dull. I dug a little deeper. I went a little harder.

It wasn't so bad. My heartrate was skyrocketing. I only had like 5 minutes to go. I found two guys on the trail up ahead to catch and pass. I passed them and thought they were long gone, then I could hear a set of footsteps getting louder. I looked only to the side to gaze out at Lake Ralphine to my right, the red sky above it, illuminating the calm and glassy water through the trees, and I was able to see that one of the guys was trying to catch me.

Oh, NO you don't!

I picked it up. It HURT. I didn't care, this was about finishing strong, nevermind the pain.

I pushed a little harder and before I knew it, I hit the main path and was seconds from the parking lot. There was the group, waiting, a few people gave me some "well done!" encouragement. And I beat that guy. :)

I went home, showered and rode my bike over to the club meeting (felt good to spin out my legs a bit) and got there just in time to order some pizza and beer.

It was a nice evening!

8 comments:

Rainmaker said...

Wait? So you're telling me the point of all this swim/bike/run stuff wasn't to be able to eat/drink whatever we want? Well crap...that's a problem. (as I finish a cinnimon bun).

Good to see ya picked the run. Runners are cooler than swimmers anyway. Well...except in the summer, when the outdoor pool has all the hot chicks. Then running in the heat is kinda lame by comparison.

Anonymous said...

ok soo we need to go fun riding and trail running as soon as I get back from FL.

Kelly said...

remember taking it easy is about TAKING IT EASY!!

Anonymous said...

ya, what Kelly said!

Tho way to kick butt on the trail :-)

beth said...

ha! did you know that i've decided running is boring. but i'll do it until the marathon. its just so hard!
but the way you think about me and running is the way i think about you and the bike...going out for centurys "just for fun" and all amanazes. me..

btw- wasn't it dark to ride after the meeting? how far away was it?

rocketpants said...

See...you still got your beer too ;-)

I am sure that soon enough it will be a little darker and a little cooler where making the choice to run will be overshadowed by those minor things and you will be swimming. Sounds like a great night.

triguyjt said...

hey---to mention me and "fast times" in the same sentence is...I think against the laws of physics or something...haha....

glad you picked the run...
I wish I ran as much as I eat...if you get my drift....
have a good weekend...

Eileen Swanson said...

Where are you? Are you comin tomorrow?