Sunday, May 14, 2006

How Not to Prepare for a 10k

First, do not drive six hours in two days, to pick up your kid, or anyone else.

Second, do not help kid move out of dorm (OK, I didn't do so much of that, I admit she did most of it. Still, there was walking and carrying involved.)

Third, and perhaps most importantly? Do not have a gigantor fight with said kid two nights before the race, and then spend the day before the race being mad at each other, while standing around the Schuykill River for several hours, watching her teammates on their last race of the season.

Fourth, uncomfortable non-talking three-hour car-ride home? No. Don't do this either.

Are we all clear on these points? So much for the "Is it right, is it necessary, and is it kind?" theory. I knew I'd have plenty of opportunity to practice, and I wasn't kidding. I get a big fat F on my first attempt. But, ever the optimist! (as I know you all know I am!), I'm sure that I'll do better next time (and yes I started the fight and it is all my fault. For real.).

On to happier things! Like Mother's Day! And the Mother's Day 10k! The hilly Mother's Day 10k.

My first (and only 10k) to date was the Jingle All the Way, on Dec. 11, 2005, on the beautiful FLAT Haine's Point in D.C.:
Results:1:08:22 (11:00/mile)

Today: YMCA Mother's Day 10k (Did I mention this course was hilly?)
Results (unofficial):
1:07:15 (10:49/mile)

I will so TAKE THIS RESULT!

Number One Daughter and I reached détente last night, so she came with me this morning at the ungodly hour of 7:30. The weather was perfect; overcast, slight chill in the air, a bit of a wind. In addition to my usual pre-race jitters, this time I had the added fun of feeling guilty, plus my extremely uncoooperative brain was very very busy replaying every crappy word I'd said to NOD. Which led to some extreme gastrointestinal problems. Very. Bad. Problems.

This was a nice small community race to raise money for the Y. Very sweet. (Except for those effing hills.) The only real drama was right as we were lining up and I couldn't get the Shuffle to work. Have mercy! That would have been bad. Me and my thoughts? Alone for an hour? Arghhh. But I fiddled around and soon, I had the sounds of "I Will Survive" blasting thru my brain (right before "Cold Hard Bitch." So appropriate.). (A friend of mine made me a "run" set. Thanks S.!!)

As I hit mile 2, the finishers were coming back. Nice! I cheered them on. Getting to 3.1 wasn't too horrifying. But after the turnaround it was 30+ minutes of me talking to myself, to God, to random passers-by, to the guy pointing the way to go (he was funny. He did a cartwheel.). By now, I was running alone. This is when I really started the bargaining..."just make it up the hill, then you can walk." That went on for the last 3.1 miles, and the 27 hills that comprised the rest of the course. I am proud to say I ran every hill. I walked maybe 30 seconds three times, each time on the flat, which made no sense (if you're gonna walk, walk on a hill!) so I would then tell myself, "Self, it is flat here. No need to walk!"

I pushed myself down the last few blocks (NOD took video! I was flying to the sounds of John Lennon rockin' out with "Nobody Told Me There'd be Days Like This." Too, too true.)

The minute I saw NOD, and could think again, I apologized. For those entire 6.2 miles, that's what I was waiting to do.

I'm sure there are easier ways.

25 comments:

Noames said...

Congratulations! I ran that 10K last year, and those hills are brutal. Just think how fast you could go if you were on a flat course. When's the next race?

Noames said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Nancy Toby said...

Why do it the easy way?

A minute PR is HUGE!!! Well done!!

Tammy said...

Congrats!!! Don't feel bad.. my mother and I fight whenever we are together for more than two days. Of course, it's always HER fault. (not).

a.maria said...

heyyyy!! well done!

once again though, you bested my 10K time. dang-it! how will i ever keep up?!

ah well, means you're running faster, i guess it's a good problem for me to have!

congrats! and happy mothers day!

Anonymous said...

Great report- I love reports like that!

Anonymous said...

whoa, way to go, that ROCKS!!!

and what a good mama to apologize to her daughter (because, you know, as mother, you are *always* right - just kidding). happy mother's day!

Anne said...

Guilt = PR? I need to get into a scream match with my daughter[s] prior to my next race!

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

Love your report...congrats! :-)

Dori said...

Whoa, you bested Little Miss Runner Pants? She's like, twenty years younger than you! Good job on that hilly 10K and another PR. Fast times. And good job on apologizing to NOD. Although I think fights with college-aged children is nature's way of making sure they get their own apartment. :-)

They played "I Will Survive" at my spinning class last Thursday and as I looked around the room I realized that I was the only one old enough to remember when it was a hit in the 70s.

jeanne said...

Dori: I don't know what a. maria is talkin' about! She's training for a marathon! She can run six miles standing on her head, whereas I needed 12 weeks of training! Still, nice of her to make everyone think I'm faster!

And Anne: Yes, apparently fighting with kids=PR. Sad, but true.

Susie: GUILT!!! Make it stop!

Anonymous said...

congratulations on your PR, jeanne. perhaps you and i are living proof that painful disco music is just part of a successful race-day recipe. you were a gladiator on those hills...i am very impressed. if you look down at the ground insted of the grade in front of you, it is sometimes possible to convice self that it is flat. hehehe, it works for me maybe 10% of the time.

happy belated mother's day! it sounds like you had some tough struggles with the kid, but i hope all is better now. :)

what are you training for, next?

jtsmooth said...

Disco=heaven

Have I ever told you that I'm a reincarnated disco dancer?

As I learned from Deborah Tannen, fighting is a part of any mother-daughter relationship. Despite the tension and the silence, you were both there for one another when it counted (moving out, regatta, race). That's what's really important.

Happy Mom's Day!

Triseverance said...

Way to go on the PR, great job. Now I have Disco in my head, cursed cursed Disco, it's just so darn catchy.

21st Century Mom said...

All the best things in life come hard and apparently that includes:
1). a PR on a 10K
2). Having your loving daughter back for the summer, sharing your space.

Ahhhhhhhhh.........motherhood. The gift that keeps on giving. And yes, the tension really is how we make sure they eventually tackle the world on their own.

Congrats on the PR and congrats on apologizing and here's to a great summer of movies, pop corn and fast runs.

Anonymous said...

Big congrads!!!!
Awesome PR!
Well done :)

Black Knight said...

Congratulations a PR and a funny post! Now I know what I don't have to do before a 10k. By the way I learned what it's better not to do before a 10 ml in Scotland: not to eat a hamburger near the Murrayfield stadium!!!

m said...

Congrats on your new PR. That's awesome. We're you at the dad vail regatta? (why the heck is it called that?) We almost went up there to see it.

Barb said...

Nice job on the 10k! I'd take that result also! :-)

Rae said...

AWESOME JOB!!! You are breaking down all your old times this year, keep it up!!!

David said...

Now that's what I call running with a purpose. How many pianos can you carry on your back for 6.2 miles?

Thomas said...

Well, a new PR is a new PR, well done. Just imagine what you could have done with better preparation (Probably run 10 seconds faster).

Unknown said...

Congratulations Jeanne. Don't ya know that you're supposed to pick flat 10K's to PR on?

psbowe said...

Great job! Well done on the hills too, you rocked.

Jon (was) in Michigan said...

Congrats on the PR, Jeanne! And you know that making a PR on a hilly course is an especially hard won achievement. I would bet hitting a flat course now, you would burn out another one easily.

Way to go!