Overcoming the suck monkey
I was shaken out of a running dream where I missed the start of the race to see that it was 3:58am: Two whole minutes before my alarm. I’ve never had a running dream before, albeit a bad one. But according to my mom, (whose birthday is tomorrow BTW) bad dreams are good omens. Today is going to be a good day. At least that’s what I told myself repeatedly.
My running posse was locked and loaded by 4:45 as we made our trek to the city in the dark for the start of the race. I’d run this race once before three years ago and I could tell by the starting line position, the course had changed.
This is a big race (20,500 runners) with potty lines to match. Again I never got to go before starting. Ugh–no fun. But this race was not about fun. It was about getting serious and seeing where I really am training-wise. Can I run this at marathon pace? Can I run even 9 minute miles? Sub-9? Can I finish strong? After squandering most of the summer in a slump, it’s high time to kick that suck monkey to the curb and rebuild some confidence.
There were no start corrals, just loosely marked areas: 1:45, 1:50, 1:55 and so on as far as the eye can see. I chose an optimistic but hopefully attainable 1:55 and waited for the start. Low-60’s and clear. Who could ask for more?
Mile 1: 9:12 Within the first 30 seconds of crossing the start line, someone caught my Fuel Belt and the Velcro opened up. Belt and bottles went crashing to the pavement. I retrieved and regrouped. You can imagine how pissed I was. But it’s gonna be a great day I keep telling myself.
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 8:34 Really? Was supposed to see my posse here but the course is different. No luck.
Mile 4: 8:28 Ok that’s outta control. I better slow to avoid a crash and burn later.
Frankly I’ve never seen a worse lineup and bottle necks than I did at this race. I was stuck behind large groups of walkers in the first 1/2 mile. Don’t get me wrong I am all for walkers. But please line up appropriately for everyone’s safety and sanity and save the shoulder-to-shoulder nonsense for another time. The bottle necks and bobbing/weaving were insane for the first 4 miles. Unbelievable.
At mile 4-1/2 we got onto Lake Shore Drive, it finally opened up. Crowd support was awesome. Yay for more cowbell!
Mile 5: 8:35 Feels effortless. Maybe I am dreaming?
Mile 6: 8:39 New shoes are feeling fiiine!
Mile 7: 8:39 Do I have sub 2 hours in me today?
Mile 8: 8:42 Up the off-ramp, across the overpass and down to the other side of LSD to bring it in. A tad slower but I felt pretty strong on the long incline too.
Mile 9: 8:49 Yeah I’m starting to tire. Suck monkey starts to mutter.
Mile 10: 9:07 Yep I’ve had enough. But apparently a girl just ahead of me has had more because she is staggering. I grabbed her and walked her to the side where a guy took over. I pressed on, starting the calculations in my head. Even if I run 10 minute miles for the final 5k I’ll be sub-2. So I can ease up…I won’t ease up.
Mile 11: 8:52 It’s getting hot now. I hear murmurs in the crowd: “sub 2, you’ve got it”. Now I’m calculating exactly how many minutes I’ll have to endure this agony. Suck monkey is screaming: Why do you do this? You never have to do this again!
Mile 12: 8:54 Another woman is down and out cold. Damn and she was almost there too.
Mile 13: 8:50 I turned the corner and saw The magnificent Republic Statue looming large. The finish is imminent, the crowds are thick and I’m gonna go sub-2.
Finish Time: 1:55
Average Pace: 8:47
Although not my best time, given my summer-long slump, I am thrilled to be running a ‘more normal’ time for me.
Notes: Start corrals and/or a wave start are sorely needed with a race this size. Expo was meh (although I LOVED the subsidized parking), race shirt and bling were great. Pizza at the finish was nice–for Thing 1 anyway–there was no way in hell my stomach was tolerating pizza at that point.
