Well, I recommended the HMF Glastonbury River Run 5K in my last post and told you all the reasons that I like that race, but I have one more to add to that list: It was my comeback race.
Now that I raced there, I am willing to admit that I wasn't sure it was possible. Yes, I knew I could make up for the time/miles lost to my broken shoulder recovery. Yes, I knew I could "run through the (residual) pain." Yes, I knew I could probably still do well in my new age group, but would this break in training be the start of my slow slide into non-racing? That I didn't know.
I'm here to say it wasn't. I knew the course like the back of my hand and I ran it slowly as a warm up just to refresh my memory. I knew I couldn't pound down that first steep down hill because the pavement was pocked and bumpy and I'm even more afraid of falling than previously. I'm a lousy downhill runner, but I knew that the moment we hit the right hand turn and the flats, I could start pushing, and I did. I was 1st woman overall at that turn and feeling pretty good. The first F to catch me went by around 1200M in. She was young and very strong and I knew that the best I could do was 2nd. I was not reeling her back in. The next two F's went by just before the one mile mark. They went by much more slowly and didn't seem as strong. I was really disappointed to now be in 4th and out of the overall standings.
I love that out and back. I watched the 3 women as they went by after the turn around. The first woman (33 years old) still looked unstoppable, but I started wondering about the other two (16 and 24). I hit the turn and watched for who might be catching me from behind. There were some women close so I notched it up just slightly higher. At the 2 mile, I realized I was gaining on the two girls ahead. I knew they were really young and decided that when my GPS said 2.6 I would go for it. I figured I could suffer for an 800M and with that final uphill right at the finish if I was lucky it would be a question of who could suffer more. I already knew the answer to that question. I took off as planned with 800M to go.
As I went by each of them, I tried to make it decisive. I listened for them to follow, but didn't hear them. That didn't mean anything. Most runners are not doing that asthmatic cough that I do when I race. It's such a kindness to my competition to constantly let them know where I am. As I turned left and started up the hill, I could hear Ned. He had ridden his bike down from Bolton to see the race and was cheering for me. He said, "Keep it up. You can do it!" That's Kennedy-speak for, "She's right there! Don't slow down!" I pushed all the way and took 2nd place.
My time was 20 seconds off my PR for the course (from 2010), but it was my first 5k this year where the pace was under 7 minutes, so I'm happy to be moving in the right direction. It was my first race this year where I felt like I was actually racing and not just enduring, and it was the first race this year where I felt confident again.
Do I have bad races coming up? Of course. Do I feel like the broken shoulder is still a factor? Yes. Am I coming back? No. I'm already here.
