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Race Result

Racer: Jamie Roberson
Race: Reston 5k
Date: Sunday, March 18, 2007
Location: Reston, VA
Race Type: Run - 5 km
Age Group: Female 40 - 44
Time: 0:51:28
Overall Place: 44 / 44
Age Group Place: 11 / 11
Comment: Ugh.



Race Report:



What can I say...I've been working 60-80+ hour work weeks, but still getting in most of my workouts. I'd had some problems running, but was getting past that and actually enjoying running. Most had been on a treadmill (increased to 0.5 incline to better simulate outdoor conditions), but I like the ability to control speed on a treadmill. I've also been paying more attention to nutrition and giving the Eating for Blood Type diet a shot. I'm not much of a carb freak, and it closely approximates what I'd eat if left to my own devices.

With more veg/protein, I'd been feeling pretty good, but Saturday morning I decided to sleep through my regularly scheduled swim and bike workouts, which I usually don't miss. I was lethargic, but just thought that I'd needed sleep.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling okay. Even though this is a C race for me, I still had trouble eating, so I forced down a gel (note to self: no gels or clifbloks this year - I'm too burnt out on them) and chased it with water. It was nice to see Stacy, Tiago, and Roberta at the start. Tiago and I gave Roberta a lot of grief. Though she claims to be cross-training, he and I know that she really wants to stop focusing on swimming and be a triathlete. We wished Stacy well, and were then on our way.

My first mile was 14:27, pretty good considering I wanted to maintain even splits, if not negative. But something must have happened, because my second mile was about a minute slower, and then about :21 for the third. This was odd: I ran most of the race, with only short, regularly scheduled 30-second walk breaks every five minutes. In years past, I've walked about half the race. My heart rate was strong (average 163, max observed 205(?!)), so I know that I put out a lot of effort, but I was surprised that the final result was as slow as it was, with an average of 16:43/mile.

I worked that morning after a visit to IHOP and planned to stay until 6:30. However, at about 4:30, I couldn't concentrate and cut my workday short. At dinner with my neighbor that night, I felt like a truck hit me. Monday morning, I felt like I had a flu, and ended up staying home Monday and Tuesday. I don't do that often - as an independent contractor, I don't get sick days - but I apparently needed it, sleeping 20 hours on Monday and 22 yesterday. Today, I'm back to work, but taking another training day off, since I just feel achy and run down.

Next race: the Lathom Homegrown Tri on April 1st. Hopefully I'll be ready for this fun, low-key event.