Recently I've been turned onto the blog Mile Posts by Dorothy Beal , which is kind of funny, because she is yet another of these small, wiry, near super women who single-handedly raise three children, blog daily, and run crazily well.
Three traits which I most definitely do not possess.
However, her recent posting Speed is a State of Mind, particularly the quote, "Remember we are all fast - it's a state of mind, not a speed," really stuck with me. While this little nugget rings eerily close to the catchphrase "Normal is just a setting on a dryer" and almost smacks of saccharine goodness, all things running are a state of mind.
And speed is one of my mental demons.
Reading that quote before going into today's Run the River 8K was strangely inspiring; strange, because this is a race with a cash price and historically attracts insanely fast runners (men's course record is 24 minutes flat; women's is just a hair over 26 minutes). I told myself going into this race that I wanted to cross in 45 minutes, averaging a 9 minute pace throughout.
After a chilly, windy wait, 132 runners lined up - myself, James, friends Glenna and David, and Glenna's friend M'lou included. We all chatted nervously - James was his usual bundle of nerves and Glenna was running her first 5 mile distance ever. After the fairly unceremonious start, I was surprised at how smoothly things went.
I ran my 100th mile at a 8:13 pace.
My 2 mile split was 17:26
My 3 mile split was 26:34
My four mile split was 35:08
And I finished the race in 43:54
Fast or not - I took that time and smiled all the way to the celebratory post-race IHOP brunch.
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