Tuesday, March 06, 2007

1) I ran the Rodeo Run 10k. I sucked.

Last year I led my corporate team to a win. This year? We came in a disappointing 3rd, though I did get second in a much harder 25-29 corporate age group. I ran over a minute slower than last year so nope, didn't break 50. It was hot and quite frankly, a race report would be more of a potty story than a true race report if you get my drift. Very crappy. Highlights include:
-- semi-accidentally cutting in line for the porta potties (believe me, it was better for everyone)
-- finishing with my arms raised in triumph!! like the guy on our corporate team shirt
-- promptly puking my guts out right after crossing the second mat at the finish (awesome dude!).
-- hefty finishers booty (Kroger's as a sponsor = lotsa good edible stuff!)

Lowlights include:
-- living in the bathroom all day Saturday. Sure, it's a funny story to tell, but not to live through. Thanks a lot Chipotle Friday dinner! You were officially out of my system by noon Saturday. Crazy and gross!
-- finishing with my arms raised in triumph!! while everyone around me thought I was seriously triumphant about running a 10k.
-- puking my guts out after the second mat instead of the first so it wasn't caught on video. Bummer!
-- My feet hurting worse than ever and after a mere 6 miles. Sure, my form truly is attrocious based on my finishers shot (but don't even think about judging, dear reader), but still... what the heck am I wasting my time in PT for if there's no improvement after a month?

Interesting paradigm shift: A coworker of mine started running in 2005 when she trained for this very race, a 10k. She was annoying and melodramatic about it, as many are when beginning a new sport. Folks supported her, watched her race, helped her train-- because that's what you do with newbies. Now she's a marathoner. You'd think someone like this would be warm and nostalgic about this race, but no way. If she'd said "It's a f**king 10k" one more time I'd have smothered her with a well-timed fart. Who was she of all people to belittle those around us just because of the distance of the race? Do I go around saying "It's only a marathon. You should try biking 6-8 hours beforehand." No matter how far or fast you can go, a race is a race. It's an important milestone for some and a piddly training run for another. I don't approach any race with "just", at least when referring to the rest of the field. Maybe I'm sensitive because I'm not very fast, but maintaining the respect and dignity of those around you should be a priority and, quite frankly, not very hard. Considering she's no faster than I am I'd expect the same from her. Then again I'd expect the same from fast triathletes too, and you don't always get that. Apparently my expectations of others are too high.

Post race I did some mystery shopping, single side lifting, and took Greyhound up on his pool party offer. I got in a nice 3000 in a measured pool-- oh, how great are the luxuries in my life!

For some reason on Saturday my legs felt like doody, worse than they ever have before. I felt so icky that I almost didn't ride on Sunday, but it appears that some time in the saddle was all I needed to flush that crap down the toilet. Strange.

2 comments:

Lance Notstrong said...

I don't understand why people get that way after they do a longer distance either.....it's stupid. I ran a marathon in December and I still think a 5K can be tough if you run it all out.

George Schweitzer said...

good rocky arm thrust on the finish line!