Achilles Hope and Possibility 4 Miler – tiny recap

(super quick recap because I am sooooooper behind, ooops)

Not a lot to tell other than I have stopped looking at the weather. I have. It doesn’t help me to know how hot or humid it will be (as I run by effort anyway) and it won’t change what I wear anyway. What could I change in my outfit really? So I went out, it felt a bit cold actually and wished I was wearing a singlet… and got to the start quickly. Legs were already feeling a bit tired.

So, you might notice I race pretty much every weekend on the summer (twice a week sometimes) so it’s impossible to “taper” for ANY race or I wouldn’t be doing any significant training… I am ok with being a bit tired (but of course then it bothers me when I NEVER PR!).

Race started at 9, a bit on the late (read: hot) side and I got moving. Mile 1 was HARD. Ooooops, I was slow. Mile 1 was 7:23. So there you have it. Half a mile in I was burning up in flames. I had no idea why I was so hot.

that was Juan cheering at Engineers Gate. Always out there ❤

Mile 2 is always fast (7:oo) and the third one is always a hot mess (7:30). I was so hot.

So happy I had Juan there. I was a bit hot and really wanted to go home.

I told myself that I could place. For some reason, I couldn’t see any (ANY) women around me and that the heat would scare people off. So I had that to keep me going. I actually felt a bit nauseous. And I was wondering how hot was it that I felt cold in the morning when I stepped outside. Isn’t it amazing how a nice day can turn into awful when you pin the number on?

Whatever, I had a mile to go and EVERYTHING IS A WORKOUT. Right?? My time might suck. I might fall apart at the end. I might end up throwing up. But, everything makes you fitter. Right? It’s all about showing up and getting it done some days. Some days, you just battle your head!

I met Juan and some friends by the finish line:

From left: Binu, Alberto, Nick, me and Carl. I am always the slowest 😉

Anyway, I checked my time and OMG. I was like 30 to 40 seconds off my usual time, which is a lot in a 4 miler… but everyone seemed to have a similar experience so that made me feel a bit better. Also, my stomach didn’t give me trouble so I was VERY happy with that. More water please.

Here’s the kick, I got first in my AG. With my slowest time in a while. Funny how that works out, right?

Stats Time:

Finish time: 28:48 Average Pace: 7:12

Previous PR: 28:00 From: April, 2013

Age Grading: 69.26%

Overall Place: 344 of 5,603

Gender Place: 26 of 2,699

Age Place: 1 of 337

That sort of turned it all around for me. The race was sold out, it’s not like it was a small race or anything… Weird right? Anyway, that made me quite happy! Onto the next one!