"We got the dream team
We're feelin' wide awake
We got the dream team
We're goin' all the way"
~ 'Dreamteam', Galantis
Sunday morning I rolled out of bed around 5:30 to meet up with Clover for a coffee. That's right, my dog. When the coffee machine turns on, she knows breakfast is coming shortly afterwards so her company is pretty much a sure thing. We had a nice bonding session as we waited for the day to lighten up a bit before heading out for our walk. Yes, I do have another dog. He prefers to sleep late on the weekends.
It was a lovely morning with temps in the low 40s; 41 to be exact. This was a gift given that it is February in New England. Clover sniffed and ate sticks. I enjoyed my second cup and made a playlist for the race. Time well spent for both of us. We got back around 7:00 and I had to turn it around pretty quickly because the trip to Bedford is about an hour and the race start was at 9:30.
It was an easy trip up which is always nice. I parked in what felt like two towns over and then ran down to find my teammates. My girl, Amy C., had already gotten my bib so pre-race was low stress situation for a change. We all put our gear in Lauren's car and headed out for our warmup. Some of us needed to make a pit stop at the bathrooms so Lauren, Morgan and I did about 10 out and backs on the main road as we waited for our crew to deal and join back up with us. We hadn't seen each other in so long so the fact that we were basically running in place did not bother me as I was just enjoying catching up with them and being in their company.
I promised Dave, our team manager, that I would try and get a lot of photos for our new Instagram account which you can find here. Shameless plug. Sorry not sorry. Seriously, though, I was having a blast jumping around to find all the different groups of people from our team. I might have also been in denial that I did, in fact, have to race. Oh, riiiiight. The race. Okay, so yes, I've been training for Boston. But I've had a lot going on in my life since January. More than usual. Some of it very stressful. And as a result, my training has been average, at best. Let's just say I've had more bad days than good. Particularly this past week leading up to this specific race. It was legit hot garbage. I get nervous all the time before races. It's healthy and I think it ultimately makes me run better. But for this one, the fear had seeped in much deeper than usual. I just did not feel ready for this type of effort. Like, at all. I'd decided, with my coach, that I'd start off in control at about 70% effort for the first couple miles and then try to progress down the rest of the race. But, in the truth, I didn't even know what "in control" was going to feel like and this was daunting.
THE RACE
After about 10 warmup strides, because desperate times and all, I made my way over to the start. We were packed in tight like sardines and it was ridiculously uncomfortable. Granted, it's usually like this in a start corral, but still. For some reason, I couldn't deal with it and was having to take some deep breaths as I waited to go. My teammate, Morgan, can attest that things were significantly more chaotic than usual. One woman next to us was facing the wrong direction and screaming loudly for her friend for what seemed like a very long time. It was odd. Finally, at 9:30, they blew the horn. I eased in and tried to stay calm as the rest of the crowd took off around me. Literally, flying by. I checked my watch and it said 6:10. Nope, I thought to myself. I'm not doing this. I had no business starting at this pace given my fitness and state of mind these past couple weeks so I backed off and repositioned myself. I crossed the first mile in 6:20 which felt manageable. Okay, I said, this is okay. I think I can do this. I had borrowed my daughter's shirt to wear under my singlet and it was a wee bit small so my watch was now sitting snuggly under the very tight left sleeve and there was no way to see it without making a legitimate effort to move the shirt back so I let it be. The rest of the race would be run by feel and I was good with that. For mile 2, I focused on my breathing, staying calm and trying to hold onto my pace. No big moves. For 3 and 4, I worked to pick it up a bit. I wanted to see if I could find another gear. Nothing major. Just a little more. I focused on passing people who had started out too fast. And we both know there are always plenty of those, myself included more times than not. But not for this one. Rather than think about how hard I was working and how much it hurt, which it did, I just focused on everyone in front of me and trying to gain a better position for the finish so I could score for my team.
I was tucked in behind a bunch of people so there are no finish line pics of me. The above is the best I've got. But it's all I needed. I can see that I was locked in, my form was good and I had my game face on. I'd raced smart and I knew it. It was a good feeling. As I said, I'd been a little scared to line up. This effort reminded me that there is always more in the proverbial well than you think. And that if you make a plan and trust it, things will likely work out the way you hope. I tell my Lex athletes this all the time. It's good to remind myself every once in a while, too.
As we always do, my teammates and I gathered together post-race for our cool down. And this is what I love about running with this crew. You can have an absolutely shit race or the best of your life. Doesn't matter. We show up for each other. We pick each other up when we're down, we carry each other when we're off and we cheer for each other when we're on, plus everything in between. It's truly like a second family. I love running and racing. But this is what motivates me to keep showing up at this point in my life. And I am so grateful to have it. Plus, most of them drink coffee so it's a guaranteed coffee date post-race which you know I love. Next up, New Bedford Half Marathon. Maybe I'll be a little more ready. Maybe not. But, there's a really good coffee shop in New Bedford, so I'm good either way.
Listen to this:
Dreamteam by Galantis feat. Neon Trees
