I took two weeks to work into a routine again and then we got right into it. Running fast, anaerobic and high cadence workouts that pushed my limit and threshold further than ever before. 1 mile repeats, 800's on the track and 3:00 repeats at 12 MPH. These were the staple workouts in my program for 4 weeks in preparation for the Hot Chocolate 15k.
My friend and I left Iowa City late Thursday night and got into Union station around 11:30 PM. The 4 hour bus ride flew by with a little help from Sherlock Holmes and having two seats all to myself. Also I had one of my best friends from school in town with me for the race which added some extra excitement.
I slept in to about 9:00 am Friday morning to catch up on some lost sleep from the night before. That morning I was out of bed and straight into the running shoes for a shake up 5 miler with some sprints to open up the legs. A nice stretch and a foam roll, then it was back downtown to pick up the race packets.
After sitting through what felt like 10 hours of traffic, we were back home enjoying some down time before a delicious pre race meal prepared by my mom. (you really do not realize how much you miss your own bed and your own food when you live 220 miles away) 10:00 pm hit and we were off to bed before the 5:30 am wake up call.
The alarm rang and I got in some breakfast right away with some oatmeal and peanut butter (always a favorite of mine) We got into the car and headed downtown for the third day in a row. I have to add that this trip has required an unfavorable amount of driving especially for my friend who came with me due to his motion sickness. Funny enough, the friend that came with me his name is also Justin which causes some funny confusion amongst the people back home.
Getting back to the race, we got to the gear check and I saw my friend and sister off to their 5k race. Both of whom crushed it by the way. But from this point on, I was totally focused on my race and what I had to do for myself.
10:00 warm up and a bit of stretching, flats go on and a caffeinated gel. Walk over to corral A and wait for a few minutes trying to keep my nerves in check. The gun finally went off at 8:30 am.
My plan was to not worry about anybody but myself and focus on the strategy that I had played out in my head before the race. I wanted to run even splits and feel strong the entire way through. And this is exactly what I did. Even splits the entire way through and I felt amazing. My legs were fast and my cadence was high. I kept a solid form and worked on clicking off the miles. No true packs formed so I was on my own but I did not mind one bit, I was in my zone. My original goal was somewhere between 1:00-1:02 and to be top 5 in my division. You can say that I was happy with the result.
5k in 19:11
10k in 38:59
15k finish time in 58:11
3rd out of 60 in my division
60th out of 13500 overall
A solid performance on a great day. 6:15 min/miles for 9.3 miles. A good day in the office to say the least.... it is nice to see the training paying off.
Stay tuned for some updates coming soon. Sorry for the lack of posts as of late but school has been getting tough and I am buckling down on my school work before semesters end (while also training full time).
A 2012 race schedule is about to be released and I am in the process of working on some sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming season. (it gets a bit pricy traveling around the nation racing as a jobless, student elite triathlete) If you or anyone you know may be interested in teaming up for the 2012 season, contact me!
Other than that, wish me luck in the upcoming training and school work.
I will leave you with this.... get excited for the 2012 season, I am not going to disappoint.
