Finally, A PR

It's been more than four years since I ran a PR, so Saturday night was sweet. I was third female at the Blue Doo two mile race,  breaking a four year old PR 0f 12:19 with a 12:00.9. The thrill was dampened a little bit by consensus that the course was short - again? What gives, New Orleans Track Club? - but even extrapolating out, I would have run 12:06, still a gigantic PR.

Most notable about this PR is that this is the first time I've PR'd since my hip surgeries three years ago (interestingly, my last PR was also the 2 mile!). A big goal for me coming out of surgery was to PR again, and I am very happy to have done so! And at one of my worst distances, too, with no specific training. This bodes well for upcoming races!

The Blue Doo is a night race that starts at 5pm on Tulane's uptown campus. It's a little hard to figure out how to plan your day around it: we're in the thick of marathon training, so we had a scheduled ten-miler that morning for those of us in our group planning to run the race. I slept in, so I wasn't running until late, getting home after 10 am. I wrapped up the run with six 100m strides, for leg turnover purposes. I do these on our nice, newly paved street most of the time. I definitely felt the ten miles, and I wasn't sure how fresh my legs would feel later. It would probably have been wise to have done the miles earlier in the day. However, my total weekly mileage was pretty low going into the race - around 35 miles. I ate a slightly late lunch (soup) and hoped for the best as far as my stomach was concerned.

Conditions and lead up to the race weren't ideal, so I thought I'd probably do well, since that seems to be how my races go. I'm a little paradox of a runner. I had cramps (always!), I had ten miles on my legs, and it was a little hot - 87 at the start (side note: I wish this race started at 7, when the sun is starting to set). But I knew I'd PR. I've been running lots of miles and hitting all my workout paces, and when I compared Tuesday's Moneghetti workout to the one we did a month ago, I ran a tenth of a mile further in the same amount of time for this time-based workout. It was time for a PR!

I jogged a little over half a mile to the start, planning to pick up my bib, jog home, change shoes, and jog back as a warmup. Then I would also fit in some strides. However, when I got to the front of the pre-registered line, my bib was nowhere to be found. My name was on the list, but my actual bib was missing. I was directed to get out of line and re-register, then come back into line and wait. Finally, officials copied my info onto some other form and gave me a bib, but it took much longer than I'd planned. By the time I jogged home, switched shoes, grabbed some water, and made a bathroom stop, I was cutting it a little close. I actually barely made it, so getting near the front was a struggle (it's a narrow starting line, too, so the crowds are thick). I couldn't get up as close as I wanted, and I didn't have time to do any strides or pre-race stuff, but I was ready.

The start was really, really crowded, and right after the gun we were all jostling. Of course, I was entangled in a crowd; I could see the other girls in our group, all ahead of me, but I'd have to work to get to them. There was plenty of clipping, ribbing and bumping, but finally I was running free: and right behind my teammate Kate. Now, Kate ran for LSU, so I have no doubts about her ability, but she's also mainly a track girl (her 400m DESTROYS me). However, she's been improving wildly on the roads, too, this year. Could I beat her? I thought so, maybe. Two miles might be the far end of her skill set. She's definitely more of a sprinter. Yet there she was, ahead of me, and as we closed in on the first mile, her pace was steady and strong. I passed her right before the turnaround, and it was a mistake. She grabbed on and stayed right behind me, and she didn't budge!

Kate on my tail!

Pain face! 

Meanwhile, Paige and Morgan, our two speediest ladies, were neck-and-neck for first place. All our PowerMiler women were working together! But man. Did Kate ever give me a run for my money! She definitely kept me moving in mile two: she was glued to me, and I knew I had to try to shake her before the finish, because she has a killer sprint. Mile one had been six flat, and I was exhausted, because that's fast for me, but Kate's presence prevented a major slowdown. Her footfalls behind me (very obvious to me, because she has a long stride, so her steps don't match up with mine) were like a warning bell. I pushed hard from about 1.5 to 1.75, gaining maybe another second, and I was so glad: as we saw the finish, I did my best to sprint, but with Kate's strong finish, she finished just one second behind me! Paige had won; Morgan was second. With my third place and Kate's fourth, plus Daniella's fifth, our five women members went top five!