Dash

I skipped the splash in the Dash and Splash yesterday for reasons illustrative of the state of my schedule and my mind. First, I scheduled a haircut downtown at noon because if I hadn't been able to fit it in somewhere soon, the shaggy dog look would have just reached some unacceptably unprofessional limit. Second, jumping in the pool required more logistical planning than I had head space to figure out; a lock, swimsuit/towel drop off, or a way home- wet.

The Dash was enjoyable nonetheless. It started at 102nd and headed northward.  I initially felt some tightness in my shins and the little bit of foot flopping which has accompanied shin issues in the past. Luckily for me, the race started with long, moderate uphills, which gave my shins a break and the legs a chance to get warm. By the time we reached 102nd on the west side, my legs were okay, but I really didn't try to speed it up for another couple miles.

I've gotten better at finding someone to tuck in behind to use as my pacer. I feel like a stalker or some terribly noticeable spy, trailing at such a close distance. Since I only stopped at every other water break, I'd often lose my pacer at hydration stations and then spend a bit of time finding a new one. My hydration came from Gatorade strapped around my middle in little bottles, sipped every five minutes or so, and the water cups were used to cool off my neck.

By the time we reached the south end of the park, I felt loose and fell into a comfortable rhythm. I know this means that I should be doing real warm ups before this kind of thing, but that would mean getting up half an hour earlier and, frankly, not gonna happen. I'd rather warm up on the course and have a slower time (my time for the 10k was 1:05:47, or a 10:36 mile pace).

This is nice though, because by the time I hit last fifth of a mile, I can pick up the pace, and by the last tenth of a mile, I'm booking it. So much fun. Everyone standing at the finish line seems to enjoy strong finishers (and care very little about slow whole coursers), so the harder I push it, the more they cheer (and then the harder I push it).  Feels good to finish strong.

I picked up my apple and pretzels and decided to turn my 10k into more of an endurance run by jogging home from the middle of the park at 102nd. I'm also usually embarrassed to get in a cab, soaked from sweat and hydration station showers.

I feel good today; no pain from the run, and more rested after a weekend focused on getting rested. This week is the first Team Life Without Lupus meeting, and I feel ready to start (at least talking about) the real training. My goal up until now has been to get in better general and running shape-- good enough shape that I can easily start building up endurance, that running feels natural, and, of course, that I can do it in the morning.

Flare episode and all, phase 1 goal accomplished. Now the hard part...