I decided to focus 2011 on December 4th White Rock. Given Euro Roll 2011, 7/2 10k was a good “B” race before marathon training starts. In past years, May ~ July were non-running months.
_training
I went with Smart Coach. The training sessions and goal looked even less realistic than full- and half-marathons. This free service predicted my past races on the nose.
The only incomplete training session was 4 mi @ 7:30. Air temperature was 102 F. My pace broke after 3.5 miles. I was still sweating 30 minutes after the run.
I had no problem with 4x800 @ 95 F.
_race
Dallas Running Club ran an efficient affordable event. Parking was no problem for 850 runners at White Rock. Number and chip pick up took about 3 minutes with only 2 volunteers.
I felt sluggish and unrecovered @ 8am in the mid 80’s. GPS was set to 6:53 pace, a seemingly unrealistic pace to hold for 30+ min. “Trust your training,” I told myself.
Race started on time. I followed 9-year-old Cameron Ross at sub 7:00 pace; I passed the gifted boy shortly before the 5k U-turn. Cameron completed 5k in 22:04.
I was 60 meters behind at midpoint—exactly where I wanted to be. I felt hot but confident and wanted to apologize to Runner’s World for doubting.
My race was still under control when Biff showed up at mile 3.5. Then everything fell apart at mile 4. My body wouldn't deliver enough power in the heat. The involuntary grunts started. I was Sharapova with shorter and less hairy legs.
Biff urged me to hold the form. I knew I looked vulnerable when Biff started to tell me how great I looked. My pace bled. Sam and Sid were oblivious to my suffering; they were interested in the colors the racers wore.
Final 400 meters. I tried to sprint. I barely managed 7:00 pace for the all-out effort.
_fake emergency
A volunteer wanted me to return the chip at finish. I worried bending over could induce back spasm. I didn’t have enough strength to balance on 1 leg to un-Velcro the ankle strap. I didn't want to go into my spine issue and just told the volunteer I needed something to lean against.
She interpreted this as "I'm about to pass out."
“Are you hot; do you need water?”
I said yes and thought it was a dumb question to a sweaty runner after 10k.
Instead of water, she brought 2 paramedics. They rubbed ice on me and everything.
Hadn't received this much attention in a while.
_aftermath
Legs weren’t sore Sunday morning. I was still disappointed at the 10k. I decided to run errands on TT bike. Front derailleur developed issue 4 miles from the Baileys. Instead of a 5-minute gift drop off, I caused Biff to spend his Sunday morning fixing my derailleur cable.
Saw chiropractor Tuesday morning and confirmed overtraining. Besides the usual spine-related issues, I experienced the typical plantar fasciitis symptoms. So much for all the cobblestone running plans for Euro Roll.
I need to re-evaluate my goals.
#’s
847 runners (5k & 10k)
chip time: 45:23
avg 7:19 pace
