Races Like a Girl

In early January I had what I described as a “magical” run — a mid-length run that felt effortless, yet featured faster and faster running. I had another one today, just over three months later. I went out with the intention of doing a progression run, and to try to average 8:00 over the whole run by starting off at 20% slower than Mpace (8:20ish) and finishing up at 10% slower (7:40ish).

I was mostly going by heart rate today. I figured I’d keep it around 73% in the beginning and then max out at 84% at the end. As it turns out, I did end up running quite a bit faster than 7:40 for the final miles. This would explain the average pace of 7:47 — that was a surprise when I got home and looked at the splits.

I am pleased.

I spent the first few miles thinking through a work problem. Once I came up with enough ideas to mollify my various bosses, I let my mind drift. What did I think about? I thought about Colleen De Reuck and Elva Dryer. While I know the women’s race in Boston this year was ridiculously slow, verging on offensively slow, I still felt such a thrill seeing those two (De Reuck at 45 and Dryer at a “no spring chicken either” 37) leading the pack for about two thirds of the race.

We all need heroes to inspire us, and De Reuck especially, one year my senior, yet running at a level that I can only dream of,* was very much in my thoughts this morning.

^{*De Reuck came in 8th overall, Dryer 12th.}

Filed under: elites, inspiration, racing |