I am a Champion!!

“Once you have decided that winning isn't everything, you become a winner.” -George Sheehan

Last week was my second running of the Prairie Dog Runs. This year was much different from last year. Last year I was a newbie to my running club and I did not know anyone. Now I feel like I'm really a part of this group. I have friends that I run with every week and they have really helped me to improve a lot as a runner.
Another difference between this year and last is that I was not racing this race. That is a very hard thing to do. Last year I ran here two weeks after the Austin marathon and this year I ran two weeks before my next marathon. I tried really hard to keep my heart rate below 168. This is one of my prescribed effort levels from Coach Jerry. I did fairly well because my average heart rate was 157, but my max for the run was 180. These numbers may be a little skewed because it was pretty cold and sometimes my HR monitor reads incorrectly when it's frigid. The course was also pretty hilly, so the 180 doesn't sound too outlandish. If I did hit that HR, then it would have only been for a moment.
So, to get on to how I did in the race. My finish time for the 4 mi race according to the official clock was 35 flat. My watch said 35:24.76. Mile 1 was finished in 8:43.03, 2 in 9:19.59, 3 in 8:48.75, 4 in 8:33.39.
This course is sort of an out and back. I say sort of because there is a little loop at the part where we turn around. I got to see all my running buddies and I really wanted to be up in the front pack with them. My main competitor was the first woman and 7th or 8th overall. There were two other women between us and if I was racing I definitely would have been able to catch them. That was really hard for me, especially in the second half of the race because they were slowing down. Ben says I sped up a little, but I'm not sure. I might have, but it also might have just seemed like it because I had a lot of energy left. At the end of the race I finished 34/68 overall, 4/20 women, 1/1 age group. I earned a medal! This is my favorite medal as it has a little prairie dog protruding out of it. (See the pick of last year's medal)
Ben also earned a medal with his finishing time of 37:13. One of my friends from grad school also ran with us. He beat both Ben and me, but he didn't get a medal. He's in a pretty tough age group. I felt sorry for him that he didn't get one, but I think he got over it pretty quickly. He finished in 31:21 and was 6/7 for his age group.

I'm really looking forward to my marathon that's less than a week away. This taper has been pretty tough. I feel like I'm not working at all, but I guess that's a good thing. I also have given myself a diagnosis of Plantar Fasciitis. It doesn't hurt while I'm running, and I've fashioned a plantar fascia stretching devise to sleep in; so hopefully that will help it heal quickly. I am hoping to run a 3:40 marathon, but I will be content with just a sub 4. I don't know what I'll do if I don't run that. I might have to find an out of state marathon to run in the summer to earn my sub 4 status if I don't do it this time around. Wish me luck!