Stroll for Strong Kids

I was very proud to be a part of an event put on by our Children's Hospital this morning. The Stroll for Strong Kids is in it's 13th year and this is actually the first year I could participate. Because they added a 5k.... I was all about being there. Plus I needed to run a little run test.

My goal is attention to detail, so I made sure everything was ready to go. I followed each one of my pre race instructions to a T. Coach Jesse lays out your breakfast, the timing, portions of everything that goes into your mouth (no coffee). He set specific instructions of how I should pace this run, and I made it my job to go ahead and do it. Garmin charged, back up HRM (my Garmin HR is no longer reliable) ready to go. Yes it was just a 5K but my first race as a QT2 member, and wanted to do well for myself and for my coach.

Let me preface this race with these 2 things: The corporate challenge was Thursday, that's where all the real runners had gone. And 2...... If I am ever leading a 5K, then you know the real runners stayed home. The field was small, but it was right on the U of R campus.

Gun went off, I hit the first mile in 6:45. Sorry to all of you sub 20 minute 5 K people, but I am not there yet, so in this world, 6:45 is good :-). It felt on the edge of uncomfortable and comfortable, right where I wanted to be. Mile 2 I started to feel the effects of running harder, which I haven't done in a very long time..... but I was able to hit that mile marker in 7:11, which was a bit off pace. So I picked it up and settled in to a faster pace. I looked down at my watch and the Garmin was blank.

Crap, I thought. Did this thing finally die? It couldn't have! I charged it all night! *** After I came home.... I was plugging the Garmin back in and I noticed it was not charging. I looked to the wall. The light switch has to be flipped on for the outlet to be on and for the Garmin to charge.

This right here..... that small error...... this is the kind of attention to detail that I frequently miss. That's what I am talking about.... I told myself. At this level, with your experience..... this is unacceptable. I dreaded confessing to coach the mistake.

Mile 3 felt much of the same. I was leading. Which was funny. The women behind me looked fine and fit and I cheered them on. I was smiling as the lactic acid built up in my legs. The finish line was around the track and at about 100 yards to go, a woman charged past me like she was just beginning her race. I tried to respond and was able to, but not as fast as she was.

But imagine the horror of running a 6:45 then a 7:11 and hitting the clock at 23 minutes.

Twenty THREE?

I looked three times. That would mean my last mile was well over eight. Am I adding right?

A man who was behind me commented that the course measured 3.4 on his Garmin. I wanted to ask him again but I felt like that was making excuses. I replayed the pace in my mind, it felt like the right kind of hurt, it felt like the right kind of challenge. But 23? How did I run that last mile so much slower and not realize it?

If I had paid attention to that small detail I would have known exactly where I was at exactly that moment.

Another friend of mine walked a bit with me as I cooled down. While I had not complained, I told him I had a good race......he told me that the course was long. His watch got a 3.4.

So what did that mean for my pace? I was too tired to even know. Pace felt good. Nutrition felt good. The training I have done under Coach Jesse feels right on target. We cycled through a base phase and this week brings the real work.

We spent the next three hours at the party. We strolled with hundreds of others for about 2 more miles. Luc played away in the bounce house and loved the Doctor Dunk! I will post some pictures tomorrow!

So to assess where I am..... I will see if I can figure out the true length of this course. I don't believe it was certified, but nonetheless I am not going to get hung up on those details. The details I will instead focus on are the ones of this coming week. Enter us into build phase and a few pages of instructions that I must read and digest before my next conversation with Coach Jesse.

What I have concluded thus far:

1. I am happy to be training under such a good coach and as a member of such a great team.

2. I felt good for where I am at in the season.

3. I completely trust my plan and everything that goes along with it. This S*** is for me!

4. Attention to details like the Garmin charging are imperative. Now I have a mystery mile. I would not have that mystery mile if I had just properly paid attention. I am hard on myself about that. Sure this was a small 5K but it was important for data collection.

Pictures tomorrow...... but for the rest of the afternoon one thing is for sure....... my first block as a Qt2 Member is complete. Now we move to the meat of the work, and I have a bunch of things to sit down and study.