I do hope all of my fellow East coasters are safe and sound and hopefully with power! Hurricane Mathew threw a major wrench in my training plans, and my week was pretty stressful to say the least.
BUT a few good things came out of the week, even though there wasn't much running.
Heres a brief rundown of how Hurricane week went down:
Monday- scheduled rest day
Tuesday- Just as I was planning to hop on the TM to get some miles in, but then the governor created mass panic and called for an evacuation for the following day. Everyone close to the coast needed to go at least 100 miles inland. After about 2 hours of deciding what to do and where to go,My husband and I finally came up with a plan. I would leave with the kids before traffic got bad, and once he got off work he would secure the house and then leave a few hours behind me. We were headed to TN to stay with family. I quickly and sloppily packed a few bags,gathered the kids and the dog and was off.
Traffic was bad. I couldn't stop and get gas until I got about 100 miles outside of Charleston. Lines to the gas stations wrapped all the way around the stations and into the streets. It was craziness. Thank goodness I had a half tank to get me through the mayhem.
I drove over 300 miles and stopped about 1in the morning at a hotel.
My husband and oldest son left a few hours after us and they didn't even make it outside of SC before they had to stop. Traffic was that bad.
Wednesday- travel day.
I finished the drive to TN. I only got in about 2 hours of sleep. The dog kept whining and my youngest kept snoring. Finally we make it to my parents house to drop off the pup. They have a large fenced yard and other dogs so my sweet Fanci was going to stay a few days at her Pappas house. (She had a blast with her fur-cousins!)
After Lunch with my parents, My husband arrived and then we went to stay at his mothers house. I was planning a run around my mother in laws neighborhood. I could get in some 1200 repeats or even just some short sprints. BUT I was physically worn down. Doing speed work without much sleep wouldn't be beneficial. Turns out,
I didn't sleep at ALL that night because my oldest son was up all night throwing up and having GI issues. I spent the next 3 days stressing about the entire family getting a bad stomach bug. I have emetaphobia, and the struggle is REAL. I was so stressed out, I barely slept and ate the rest of the trip.
Thursday- That easy run around the country side didn't happen. I spent most the day trying to quarantine my oldest son and trying to keep things sanitized.
Friday- I FINALLY got in a 4 mile shake out run. I was running on 3 hours of sleep but it felt good to be outdoors! I even found a secret doorway:
And ran by this cute country store. It used to be a Cajun restaurant about 30 years ago. I remember coming here when I was a kid and eating fried alligator, listening to the live band and playing baseball in the baseball field across the street with a group of random kids
Friday night, my husband, kids and mother in law watched my husbands nephew play in his football game. he is a freshman and he was actually starting this game. Of course we had to cheer him on!
and wow, high school football here in this small town is a big deal. It was just like Friday Night Lights!!
they ended up losing 35-0. But it was still nice to get in the spirit of foot ball and fall weather. A cold snap was expected to roll in (lows in the 40s!-a far cry from the weather in SC!)
Since the race I was supposed to run in SC on Saturday got cancelled due to Mathew, I signed up for a 5k in TN. I loaded up my daughters and spent the night at my sisters house. Her and her husband along with my girls were going to watch me run!
Saturday- 6 miles including a 5k
After yet another a sleepless night, I woke up so not in the mood to run. I hadn't slept well, hadn't hydrated or fueled properly. I had zero confidence I would see the all illusive 19:xx. This was going to be a large race and would bring out a fast field of runners. Based off the times from last years race, I had a good shot at top 3 overall female----but given my current sleep deprived condition, I had my doubts that I would even place.
5K RECAP-An unexpected encounter:
My sister drops me off at packet pickup and I get my bib number and chip.I actually had to zip tie the chip to my shoe, something I haven't done in quite a while!!! It was an artic 51 degrees outside and windy. I was getting cold (but at least there was no humidity!!)I have to talk myself into getting in a warm up. After a couple minutes of trying to make it through the sea of a thousand people I see a familiar face, a face I haven't seen in 16 years...
My college cross country coach!!!!!!!
We instantly recognized each other and greeted each other with hugs, smiles and disbelief (I may or may not have squealed like a school girl and jumped in his arms)
What are the odds of literally running into eachother?
The funny thing is, is that he had a knee replacement and this was his first time racing since the surgery. Out of the several races to choose from that day, we both chose this one.....
He was ending his warm up,and I had to finish mine up but told him I would see him at the start.
My mood had shifted and my heart soared. My legs suddenly felt refreshed and light, I was energized and ready to run....
I get to the start line, tell coach I would come back and finish the race with him. I line up 2 rows back from the mat (I'm in the pink hat)
Gun goes off and I make my way to the front of the pack. I saw a couple speedy looking gals and knew I had to either keep them behind me or keep them in my sights if they passed me
I get passed by a guy pushing a toddler in a stroller and a female. They are talking to eachother, carrying on a conversation up the gradual incline....
a couple minutes later, another female passes me as well as a group of guys.
I make a note to keep the gals in my line of vision and my goal was to NOT let another female pass me. I wanted top 3!
The first 1.5miles of the course is a gradual incline. there are several tight turns on cobblestone pathways. the winds started to pick up and after the midway point we had a strong head wind the rest of the race.
mile 1: My legs felt light, I felt good. race excitement got the best of me and I see my fastest mile here
6:08
I have the 2nd place gal in my sights. I try to keep pace. I knew I had to get to mile 2 at around a 6:20 pace if I expected to break 20. At the 1.5 mark we make a tight turn and was able to see the runners behind me. there was a female gaining on me.My legs were feeling the inclines but I managed a
6:25 for mile 2.
I knew then that even if I bombed the last mile I would see 19:xx, I just had to keep a sub 7 and give a kick to the line. I really suck at mental math. But one thing I do know is that I can almost always muster a kick and run the last .1 in about 35-40 seconds. Knowing there was another gal behind me and not knowing if she was picking up speed kept my legs moving. thoughts of my coach kept me moving.
(that's coach in the blue singlet and knee brace)
I had to have a good race. I started a rabbit hunt. I had to focus on something other than my screaming legs. I see a pack of guys in front of me and reel them in. At the 2.7 mile mark, there is a sharp turn and a steep incline. My momentum just stopped. I suddenly felt the lack of sleep and hydration/nutrition. What kept me going was a guy in a University of Tennessee track singlet ahead of me. I had to catch him. Dear sweet mother of Jesus, the last quarter mile of the race was downhill. It was just the boost I needed both physically and mentally. I see mile 3 at
6:44. I turn the corner, I hear my daughters and sister cheering for me, I see the clock, it is 19:14. I knew I could sprint and see sub 20, it was going to happen!!! I put my head down, and SPRINT to the line- i look up i see 19:xx on the clock and throw my hands up. i cross the mat somewhere between 19:54 and 19:57. This is the ONLY proof of me at the line showing 19:xx. In the far right hand corner, if you enlarge the pic you can see the corner of the clock say 19. cant see the 5X part though.....
As soon as I cross,( I hear my oldest daughter tell me that made it in 19 something) I immediately have to bend over for a few seconds to catch my breath. When i bend back up, i remember to stop my watch. 20:05. Damn. 3.13 miles and 20:05 on my watch. i wanted the garmin proof,lol! Oh well. i knew this race was chip timed, maybe the official results would show 19:xx. but i didn't start right at the start line so if they went by gun time, i wouldn't see it.
I hug my girls and my sister and her husband validate that they saw 19:xx on the clock. I give quick hugs and then its off to find my coach and run with him to the finish.....
I find coach, and encourage him to the line- a complete role reversal from 17 and 18 years ago, when it was HIM encouraging/yelling at ME to finish strong..
We finish together and cool down for a bit.
We then proceed to catch up on everything until its time for the awards ceremony.
I placed 3rd overall female, behind the 20 something year old gals (lead gal was 17xx, 2nd gal was 19:20ish)
(Coach placed 3rd in his age group!)
However, my official race time was 20:03. Both my chip time and gun time said 20:03, but i know i didn't start at the line, ive got picture proof,lol!!!!
Oh well, even though i didn't have the official race time of 19xx, I know I did it, I know I'm capable and I'll have plenty of other races this fall/winter to prove it. (I cant wait to have a flat and fast course!)
the best part of this race was by far seeing my coach again. We exchanged contact information and will be keeping in touch from here on out. I may or may not have recruited him to be my coach from afar
: )
That night we had a football party at my husbands best friends house.
On Sunday, SC reopened the interstates and we were free to return.
My husband left ahead of me and i was planning to drive half way on Sunday and finish the drive on Monday morning. (The kids didn't have school on Monday). I went to pick up my pup and got to hang out with my niece, nephew, his girlfriend and my dad for a bit before making the drive back home. Another unexpected encounter-
my 20 year old cat, Calico Kelly! I found her as a kitten in a warehouse where i worked at back in 1996..... albeit deaf and half blind now,she's still going strong and still loves ear scratches!
I ended up driving all the way through, only stopping once to fill up and feed the kiddos. Got home at 3AM on Monday and scoped out the damage from Mathew.
Several trees were down in the neighborhood. At one point we were without power, because everything in the fridge was ruined. We had random missing pieces of siding from the back side of the house, our sunroom screens were torn blowing in the wind as well as our back window screens. We have roof damage somewhere because one of the upstairs bedrooms has water marks/stains on the ceiling. Water has leaked into the house from the top somewhere. Our gate to the fence is also wonky.We already filed the claims and will have the adjuster out this week to assess. fun times.
The good news is that nobody got hurt, we all stayed safe and although there was some damage, its nothing that cant be fixed.
My neighborhood didn't get hit as hard as the one down the street. While there is a large clean up effort across the Charleston area, its not near as bad as what it could have been.
Its been a whirlwind (ok a Hurricane) of a week. I missed a few training runs, i drove over a thousand miles, i slept an average of 2 hours a night, I dealt with a lot of stress, I ran an ill executed sub 20 5k (or a 20:03) on a challenging course, (a post baby 5k PR!) saw my college XC coach, spent time with family-
its all about making memories, right!?
And now back safe and sound and ready to get back on track, and back to the grind of HM training....
Hope all have a great week ahead!
Did you race this last weekend?
OH and just for kicks and giggles, i plugged a 20:03 time for 3.13 miles and this is what runners alley told me i would run a 5k in:
19:54!!
