Say Goodbye, Mr. Monkey

I finally knocked the monkey off my back by completing the Caesar Rodney half marathon this morning – my first race finish of any kind since July 2007. It was a good day, indeed.

I was afraid it wasn’t going to work out. Saturday morning I took my time waking up before an easy three mile run. I ate a small breakfast and downed a nice big mug-and-a-half of what was intended to be decaffeinated coffee. I headed out on my run feeling a little edgy. Though jogging easily I was battling heart palpitations. When home I went straight to the pantry and pulled the coffee off the shelf. It read, “Starbucks Cafee Verona Bold.” DOH!!! I thought that stuff was gone! I felt like I was on speed! It’s funny now, but I spent the day trying to flush my system of the toxin.

So I showed up this morning with three goals, depending on how things played out:
• Primary goal: Finish the darn race! Don’t take finishing for granted.
• Goal #2: If the first goal is in the bag, dial in a PR. For me a PR would constitute a pace of less than 7:30 per mile.
• Goal #3: If I’m having a spectacular day, dial in a sub 1:35:00. A stretch goal, for sure, but my speed work indicated it was within the realm of possibility.

I didn’t wear a heart rate strap this morning because I just didn’t want to fixate on my heart. My sense of pacing is good and I was more comfortable just hitting the “lap” button at each mile split.

As in two years ago I wanted to establish a relatively comfortable pace and treat the race as a 10 mile run followed by a hard 5k. It went exactly as I had hoped. Mile 1 @ 7:30, miles 2 thru 5 at 7:34, mile 6 @ 7:18, etc. I was comfortable and my heart rate was in perfect equilibrium. I reached the 10 mile marker, with most of the major climbing behind me, at 1:15:29 (7:33/mile pace) and knew my PR was within reach if I could kick it in. I did – running the final 5k at a 6:57/mile pace. Final time = 1:37:04, or a 7:25/mile pace. Goal #2 achieved!

Nobody will ever mistake me for Alberto Salazar but, nevertheless, I’m a happy man today. I PR’d at age 41… on a hilly course… in March… while managing a heart arrhythmia. Maybe that caffeine jolt did me some good! Thanks to the Hempfield Tri Club folks (14 of us!) who were evidently very happy for me today. Also thanks to my friends at Endurance Nation - for a great “out season” plan and providing the camaraderie necessary to push hard through the winter months.