Racing Analysis

As you can probably tell, running is a little bit of an obsession for me! Six years ago, I weighed ~280 pounds and running (with diet improvements) saved my life. I weighed in this morning at a cool 191! This past week's race was significant for me and not just because I ran a personal record for a 5-Mile race of 33:56 but rather, HOW I did it. My mile 'splits' (runner jargon for intermediate times during a race) were roughly 6:36, 6:45, 6:57, 6:59, and 6:34.

The last mile is key because I ran a 6:34 mile AFTER running fast for 4 miles! It was a testament to my theory that a good portion of running in races is psychological - if you're body is trained and in good shape, then only your mind is left to make-or-break a race. The 5-Miler this weekend showed me that. At just before 4 miles, I began to talk to myself (oh well, don't judge me too harshly!) and pumping myself to start passing people in front of me - first, I saw a Clydesdale runner who I have never beaten in a race before (Clydesdales are big-guy runners - 190 pounds and up) and set my sights on him - passed him soon after the 4-mile point.

Then I began to pick the next person in front of me and the next and so on, until I had taken out about 10 runners in that last mile! When I saw my time of 6:34 for that last leg, I was ASTONISHED! Never would I have thought I could have done such a thing - but that's just the thing - 'thoughts' play a LOT in how you perform. If you THINK you cannot possibly do it then you most certainly will NOT, but if you THINK you can (and you're trained well), then surprising results will happen.

My next goal - a sub-20:00 5K.....I THINK I can do it!