Monday, November 17, 2008

Hawk Hustle Race Report - Lessons Learned

As devoted fans of Coffee Betsy know, I am feeling a bit hutt-like after a poor week of running last week. By competing in the Hawk Hustle, a 4-mile cross country run, I planned to kick-start my running, get my mojo back, and resume the training that I know I am capable of.

The trouble is, a week of sloth does not make for a good race experience. I felt sluggish and tired the entire time. I never had a moment where I felt good and strong like I usually do on a run. I even took a few walk breaks - up hills, but still unacceptable to me for a run of such a short distance.

As I shuffled along, I resolved to never let myself get to this state again. True that by going out on a cold Saturday in the first place, I am doing better than the many people who were still sleeping or eating doughnuts, but I was not at the level that I know I am capable of. I can do better - and moving forward, I will.

So, imagine my surprise when I crossed the finish line at 37:10; not as fast as last year's 36:57, surely, but not too far off. My astonishment continued when I picked up my trophy for coming in second in my age group. My first lesson expanded into a second lesson.

That is that I am stronger than I thought. Even running poorly, I can finish in a time that at least is not embarrassing - and can be rewarded with some hardware. To extrapolate, if I can do this well with an effort that isn't up to par, imagine what I can do when I am at my full strength.

5 comments:

Nat said...

It's odd how you can have a totally crappy run, then look back and realize that maybe your expectations were too high.

Glad it went well... I had to walk up my big hills on Saturday as well.

newsjunkie said...

You rock!

Joe said...

2nd place! Soooooo, next year we can expect first right?

Joe
www.fitnessgeekga.wordpress.com

joyRuN said...

Congrats on the unexpected bling!

Steve Wasser said...

While I've expressed this in person, I want The Internet to know that I remain incredibly impressed by you.

It's fantastic to have another trophy in the house.

Please don't throw it at me.