… Or hard training runs?
It all depends on how you look at it.
After tweaking my hamstring on the May sixth, I’ve been cautiously
picking the speeds at which I’ve been running.
I had two races on the calendar that I wanted to run, and I had already
paid the entry fees, so away I went.
First up was at Holyoke Community College. The HCC Cougar Crawl is for the college’s literacy
programs, and takes place on the college campus. For those that don’t know the campus, it’s
got a “few” hills. The course was confusing,
with a lot of twists and turns (I think some people in front of me missed a
couple and mad the course shorter). For
the amount of hills (and my heart rate) I ran a respectable 26:21 (8:29/mile).
Now as long as my leg held up, I could try and push the next
race. This was the 11th
Arterial Challenge in Humarock, MA, and benefits the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. I’ve been going to the race/walk for 9 years
now, and I’ve run for the past 7. This
is a cause that’s near and dear to me and my wife.
My goal for the BAF race was to break 8:00 per mile. It was conceivable, because this is a flat,
fast course, with one small hill at the halfway point. I ran a 7:48, and 8:00 for the first two
miles. I was on pace, but I was slowing. Then, one of the other runners told me not to
fade, and stick with her. I did, she helped
pace me to a 7:44 in mile 3, and I finished with a 24:21 (7:51). This was what I wanted, and no pain after the
race.
After the race, I walked about another quarter mile, took my
shoes off, and stepped into the Atlantic.
The earliest that I can ever remember stepping foot into the ocean!
Now it’s time to start training for the Shipyard Old Port
Half Marathon, but there’ll be several other races before that.
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