Since having my daughter this past April, I have talked a lot about how much stronger I have felt. Well, by stronger, I meant endurance strength. My speed has been a whole different story. Avoiding races any shorter than the half marathon was soon going to become a problem as the spring (and the start of track season) rapidly approaches us. Workouts that included 200’s scared the crap out of me, but workouts that had 2 mile repeats put my mind at ease. If someone told me that I would choose 2 mile intervals over 200 meter intervals five years ago, I would have called them crazy!
Due to a family thanksgiving conflict (my family decided to celebrate the holiday early this year), I had to change my plans from running the Big Sur Half to the Silicon Valley 5k Turkey Trot. This was no ordinary Turkey Trot however. This four, lap course through the fast streets of San Jose tends to draw athletes from all over due to the fast times it produces and the prize purse. A few weeks out I expressed to my coach (Magda) how scared I was. If this was local turkey trot that I could jog through the finish line in 18:30 for the five 5k to win my family a turkey, that would be one thing, but the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot is like a race on the track, something that I hadn’t done for close to 2 years!
Magda quickly put my mind at ease. She said I would surprise myself and that marathon training has not only been making me stronger by the day, but faster too. She reminded me of her wonderful performance in the 5k she had recently done in New York against a loaded field. She was able to run incredibly fast and was one of the first to cross the line off little to no speed training at all, just her strength from marathon training. Still though, just the feeling of a race this short had become foreign to me, so I had no clue what I was in for.
On race morning I left at the crack of dawn. (Leaving my very, supportive husband behind to watch our two little ones). On the drive down I couldn’t believe how nervous I was! I felt like a freshman in High-School all over again! As I have gotten older, my nerves have really settled on race day. I think there is a connection to my confidence and fitness to the race at hand. On this morning however, my confidence wasn’t up to par and my fear brought back those early years of running.
By the time the gun went off however, everything felt at ease. The race went very smoothly as I ended up fourth in a pretty decent field with a 16:24. Granted that I know I can and will run much faster eventually, I was very pleased with my performance and even better, very fired up about doing more 5k’s. While this race was just a “dust buster” for the shorter stuff for me, it served a very important purpose. It reminded me who I am as a runner, and that runner isn’t just a half marathoner (and soon to be full marathoner) but a 5k girl too.
While my focus is on the Olympic trials coming up this January, I have to say that after doing that Turkey Trot, I can’t wait to finally start racing on the track again this spring!!!!!
