Last night I (along with about 1400 friends) participated in the Zoom Through the Zoo 4 Mile Race here in Memphis. This race has been on my race list for a while now, and I was excited to get to run in it this year.
Based on what I've been running, I was hoping for a time in the 43-44 minute range. I had a plan break the race up into 2-2 mile segments and go from there. Well, that plan went out the window the moment the race started. I immediately felt super tight calves in both legs and the shin splints flared up in my left leg. I decided to take the race one mile at a time.
The course starts just outside the zoo then finds its way into the zoo for a little over a mile before heading back out to Overton Park for about 2.5 miles. There were a few smaller animals out and about 2 elephants. With the heat and humidity that comes in late May in Memphis, it highlighted the "smells" of the zoo......not what you want to be smelling while running. The finish is literally at the zoo's gate.....and it wouldn't be a race in Memphis if it wasn't followed by BBQ!
I ran the first mile in about 9:30 - which is really good for me, but too fast at the same time. I was feeling major tightness in both hamstrings at that point (in addition to the calves and shin splints) and realized that my "A" goal of 43:00 probably wasn't going to happen. I felt like I was in yoga when they tell you to listen to your body and see what was talking to you. Well, the legs weren't talking, but rather screaming! I decided to take a walk break at each mile and see how I was feeling. Finally around mile 3 the hamstrings loosened up and my legs settled into it. That's fine on a long run, but for this the race was 3/4 of the way over by then.
In the end, it wasn't the race I wanted, but it was still a PR, so I'm happy about that!!
.JPG)
Time: 44:35
(that was clock time - my watch said 44:15 and 4.07 miles start line to finish line)
734/1392 Overall
358/861 Females
81/196 30-34 Age Group
~Kathryn
No comments:
Post a Comment