We're All Human

And we all make mistakes.

I sure made a big mistake in the opening mile of the Human Race.  Big as in 14 seconds big.

I've had a string of bad races over the past six months.  My last solid race was the Victory 5k over Labor Day weekend.  All of this makes sense because I kind of stopped training intensely right around that time.  I got a new job, which was a major change, winter set in, and suddenly I'm 15 pounds away from race shape. 

So I own my 28:39 time in the Human Race.  I am okay with how slow I ran, but a little disappointed with how I got there.

My plan was to open with a 5:50 mile, and then take stock of how I was feeling.  If I felt good, I'd slowly start picking people off.  And if I didn't feel great, I knew I could cruise in at 5:45-5:50 for awhile and get in under 29:00.

Well that plan lasted about half a mile.  I saw a group of runners I usually finish just in front of, tucked in behind them, and all of a sudden I was "accidentally" racing.  It's funny, you'd think over the course of half an hour one little lapse in focus and judgment wouldn't make or break a race.  But we've probably all been there before.

Mentally, once I make that leap, I have a new, race plan.  It's like jumping from one train track to another.  And there I was 1/2 a mile into the race, going out hard to see what happens.  I hit mile one, asked the guy next to me what our split was.

"5:36," he said.

"Ooops, " I said.

And then I passed one more guy who like me, was going out too hard.  After that, I was able to hang onto a pack until about mile three.  Then I lost contact with them and for the last two miles I parked myself in the far right lane and watched the fast moving traffic pass me on the left.  All told, 25 people probably passed me after mile one.

Like I said,  oops.

If I had run smarter, would my time have been any faster?  Maybe just by a little.  But I would have been a lot happier.  I am not used to positive splitting.  While I am used to finishing in the middle of the pack, I am not used to getting there by having the pack catch me.

The physical component to my running will come around as I get back into the swing of training.  I knew that going into the race.  What surprised me was how much I need to work on the mental part.  My focus wasn't there at the start, and my ability and willingness to get back on the original plan once I got off track was also missing.  I have a lot to prepare for between now and the Brian Kraft 5k.

For more Human Race reports and news check out the Run Minnesota blog.

Enough with the Damn Polar Bears

This blog is coming out of hibernation.  I know this is the third attempt, but this time I mean it!  This time it will stick.  Don't believe me?  Well read on. I've already returned to blogging.

Like a polar bear who has been.... screw it.  You know what?  I'm sick of blogging about damn Polar Bears.  Those of you not tuned into MDRA are not aware that have been blogging a bit as of late.  I've been writing on the MDRA blog and polar bears were the only thing I was blogging about for awhile.

See for yourself, by going here.

Anyway, I'll be updating the Run Minnesota blog about three times a week, so feel free to check it out if you want  know what's going in Minnesota for the average runner.  I am co-contributor with Drew, who is presently writing about his experiences with barefoot/minimalist running.  So his posts are a lot more interesting than mine.

Anyway, as I wrote a few posts for Run Minnesota (click here for the link)  I realized how much I missed blogging and want to get my blog going again.  It's a lot of work, but I like having a blank slate to work with.

Suck it Facebook.