Fierce

I had a blast running the DSE 5 miler at Oyster Point.  It was cool to really, truly race today.  That meant that I focused on passing people--instead of just considering my pace and time.  The nice & flat course traced around the San Francisco Bay near the SF Airport.  Though it was a glaringly sunny and hot day, I warmed up well, paced myself, and pushed myself to a strong finish.  And, guess what, I was the 2nd place woman!! My race time was 39:02 (7:44 pace). I need to thank my coach, Mary,  for encouraging me to do hard workouts, dig deep, and believe that I can run fast.

As usual, I woke up early and enjoyed my coffee, peanut butter toast, and banana :P  Then I picked up Jenica, and we headed down to South San Francisco and had a fantastic warm up jog.  I felt calm and ready to rock the 5 miler.  I lined up close to the start and noticed a few speedy looking women.

I started strong (7:37 pace) but was careful to keep in control, especially due to the heat. Then I just kept working my legs and tried to catch the runners ahead of me :)  At the halfway point, I heard that I was the 4th woman, but I knew I wanted to place.....And I saw women up ahead, so I knew I had work to do! I passed one woman & then another woman---yeehaw!  My breathing got tougher, but my legs still felt strong.  At points, I had to convince myself to push, and I tried some different mantras to maintain a speedy rhythm. With less than a mile to go, I heard footsteps and was certain that one of the women was going to pass me back.  But then I saw that it was an older man, and he helped push me to the finish. Whew!  I finished with a kick but had definitely left my energy out on the course. 

This race taught me a few things. First, heck yeah, I have the fierceness for racing. Second, even if your training runs are dragging, you can have a great race. And, third, it's just plain ole FUN to get out there, try your best, and kick some tail in the process ;)