Today I ran the first 5K of the season. It may be the only one. I don't know. I had high hopes for today. I was planning on running sub 20 minutes for the first time. My previous PR for a 5K was 22:36, but I've been training my butt of so I knew I could do better. I stayed ahead of my pace for 2.5 miles of the race. After that I was just hanging on for dear life. Coach ran with me which I really appreciated. It gave me that little bit of encouragement and put a little pride on the line. There was no way I was going to give up in front of Coach. With about 3/10 of a mile left, Coach tells me he's toast and to go on. At that point I gave it a little extra, but really didn't have much left in the tank. I was feeling beat and was wearing it on my face. I knew I was close to finishing, but looking at my watch let me know that my goal was not going to be reached. I had a cleared road in front of me. No one close enough to catch so I kept my stride as I came within feet of the finish line. To my surprise, here comes coach wizzing past me like a freaking gazelle. DAMN IT! He was sandbagging! Coach is an incredible athlete, a gifted trainer, and now I know he's intelligent racer. He played like YoYo Ma on the violin. We both finished in 20:24, but he beat me. So here's my official notice to Coach. You are a marked man. I've got a bulls eye on you that won't be washed off for a while. Can't wait to race again. Thanks again for pushing me so hard. By the way, we finished 16th and 17th overall respectively and both won our age groups so I was happy about that.
After the race, I hopped on my bike for a ride. Powerman is just under a month away and the more I think about it, the more I think it's going to suck. It's a 5 mile run, a 34 mile ride, and another 5 mile run. I can see me killing myself to put up a good time in the first 5 miler and then having nothing left for the remaining portion. I'll have to pace myself.
So back to the ride. I took off through Irondale through this little community that sits next to a train track. So you can imagine, it's not the nicest of communities. I've ridden this road numerous times, but today I noticed something different. A little homemade sign out in front of this ram shackled house read "Lawn More Repare." I nearly laughed myself off the bike. I love this about small towns. Just a little sign that states we're not all perfect, but we're trying. I think I'll give him some business.
Tonight, I'll be sipping on a few beers, grilling some burgers, and hanging with some friends. It feels like spring outside, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm not going to miss enjoying it as long as I can. Happy Day Light Savings Eve to everyone. Tomorrow is the big day. Can't wait!
2 comments:
While reading the blog the one thing I noticed the most is that you have a knack for writing...I mean you really write well! Your last blog was exceptional and now this....keep it up!
I gotta play coach here - geez Matt, you were 2 minutes faster than your previous PR - why do you focus on the fact that you missed your goal? (more of a statement than a question)
Now on to the content..or should I say "contest". Lesson #1 - never race someone elses race! The first time I asked you what our pace was, you said "40 seconds ahead" and then I caught a milisecond of your breathing and knew I had a VERY SLIM chance...I moved in front of you only because i did not want you to hear me breathe and I knew you would focus on my pace...
You are a 'powerful athlete' but Powerman Alabama is not the course nor the distance to 'power yourself through'. I QUOTE YOU "you gotta put some in the bank so that you have some left for withdrawals later"...
While this sport provides us with the opportunity to go faster, stand on the podium or beat the clock, there is also the opportunity to learn "pace", a concept that floods over into all areas of life.
This single blog written by you is yet another reminder for me to pace myself! I am foregoing tommorrows bike race and spending time with my family - thank you
You PR'd...you won your age group...and learned a lot more about racing!!!
I think you kicked butt on that 5K. And keep in mind...even though you didn't hit your sub 20min 5K leave that just 'out' there to strive to achieve. Yes sometimes we all want a time goal on a specific race, but there is always another race where you have that opportunity to try for a sub 20min 5K. Awesome work.
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