So it was a 6-mile race today, and I went into it with two goals: 1. Maintain an 11-minute pace, and 2. Finish before the first 11-miler (the longer distance available at this race). I am happy to say I met both of those goals, and am now looking forward to next Saturday's 5K.
Chad is still trying to take care of an injured leg, so he ran slower than me. At one point he had caught up to me and asked me to slow down. What I thought was, "Are you kidding? This is a RACE!" But I didn't have that kind of breath. So I told him to stop trying to catch me and just go at his own pace, which worked out well for both of us.
And again, I loaded up the iPod with songs that I knew would inspire me to run fast, and it worked so very well. I included in the mix two songs from Les Miserables, so in addition to conquering the hill, I also felt I could conquer France. I'll be running without the iPod next weekend, so we'll see how well I can keep the music running through my head.
There was a woman ahead of me who I was keeping pace with for most of the race, but I caught up to her with less than a mile to go. Then I started debating with myself, "Should I go ahead and pass her? Should I wait?" I finally went for it, knowing that she would kick it up a notch and pass me, but that her speeding up would push me to do it, too. Which is exactly what happened; she finished one second ahead of me. It worked out perfectly. (Plus, she got to cross the finish line ahead of someone who is 20 years younger than she is.)
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