That's exactly how I have been feeling as of late. On the 23rd of March I jumped into the 3000 at the Moscow University Champs (ha speed a bit dull given that weekly long runs are now a minimum 40km and I've been doing long intervals and tempos in between) and finished a surprising 3rd. I wasn't too thrilled with the 11.16 though but I could feel my legs were a bit tired from the weeks on end of high volume. My speed was better a month or so earlier but everything now is strictly 100k training so speed wasn't as sharp.
schooling the kids in the college meet :-)
So, back to the nowhere to go topic. I am in even better shape now than I was at the end of last season and have absolutely nowhere to go to put in a solid half and or marathon pre 100k. At the very least, I had planned to find a half in April where I could shoot for smthg 1:24-25 ish while I still have some speed in my legs. Well as a result of all the bureaucratic bull that I wrote about in the previous post, I had to cancel my trip to Rezekne which really pissed me off. I had already tossed too much money into last minute finishing my visa renewal that I decided I really couldn't afford to throw more in the toilet to get my passport back with the Russian work visa before I had to go. I just need things done and processed before 100k Euros and now they are.The Kirzhach Half has now also been moved to the 20th so I have to sit that out (or sandbag but can't go all out 7 days before a 100k). I have to sit out our 2 halves in May because one is a week after and the other 2 weeks after the 100k-too damn soon to bother. I'm thinking Venstpils in June. My manager said it's a fast course. There is also a half in Minsk in June, but Belarus is one of the few places I need to get a visa for and a 1 yr multi entry one is 270$. I have heard good things about the races in Belarus though and they have lots of good stuff on their calendar. Getting to and racing in Latvia is a lot simpler though. So, where the hell do I do tune up races in April?
On a whim, I signed up for the season opener 5k in Moscow on the 7th as a "just in case shit happens with the visa renewal and I back out of Rezekne" and lo and behold it did. I signed up and some 3 days later the 5k closed after hitting the 1000 runner cap. Truth be told, I really didn't want to do this. I'm not a very good short distance runner and finishing top 3 was out of the question even top 10 would probably be tough. Well, I decided I may as well do it as a speed workout then go for my second workout in the evening because I still needed to get in 30km (tapering a little on the length on the looooooong runs).
When I woke up, I saw it had snowed AGAIN overnight and yeah it was snowing sideways and right at about freezing. Are you effing kidding me! It's just rude this time of year to see this when all we want is spring. Ugh, I really wanted to go back to bed til noon and just go and do 30-35k on the trails in the afternoon. I thought about it for a while and then decided to drag my butt over to the 5k for my first workout. Not wanting to deal with big queues, I got there to get my number and shirt at about 8:20 and it was a quick, and painless process. Next- yeaaaaaaa thank God they had a big WARM changing room aka place to be before going on a warmup to avoid freezing. They even had baggies for your clothes and shoes! Those came in handy because not knowing if there would be ice and or snow patches on the course, I arrived in my Icebugs to assess the situation and then changed into my racing flats after seeing no ice on the pavement-whew! Given the weather and legs that now have nice endurance and less speed thanks to successive 140-60km weeks I figured forget trying for under 19 and just run it by feel and whatever happens, happens. Again, a month or so ago I'd have set the bar at 18:30 +- but my legs have been a bit tired plus, my Wednesday workout was really lame and slow, a lot slower than I usually would nail this in the mid 2.50s- 12x800 but only 3.02-5 ish because I was sick to my stomach. I think I ate something on Tuesday because I had a queasy tummy all day Wednesday and into Thursday. By Friday though, I did 15x200s and felt better and even got them in the 37-8 range. Hmmmmm. Yeah, this is definitely an "I don't care/whatever" race. Julia K, and Maria M, and Tamara S were all there so I it was clearly just going to be a workout and about a snowball's chance in hell of getting top 3- not a chance as those 3 ladies don't mess around. Plus there were a few other speedy ladies around. They are all very good at the short stuff.In a 5k, my chances are slim to none against them in a 10,maybe it depends on who is having a better day. Last summer Maria M and I took turns beating each other all season, but I was toast at anything under a 10k. Tamara beat me in the 10 after I just got back from Valmiera, but I beat her before I ran Valmiera, but in the 5k or less, she's head and shoulders above me. Julia can get me at anything up to the half and there I would guess it goes to whoever is feeling good that day.
start- yes, that's Lornah!
Whatever.... Yuri Sipatov- the top official came up to me as I was heading out for my warmup and told me he'd give me elite start (umm other than Lornah Kiplagat I don't see any super elites here) to avoid getting squished in the crowd. that was nice.
Lornah!!!
He said about 10 min before the start he'd let us in from the side to avoid the mess. That was nice. So up front it was Tamara, Masha M,Julia, Tanya P and Lornah(who was doing this as an easy run), no pushing and shoving like what happened in the 10k last fall and no problems. Off we were and I settled in at 3.45/km pace and that seemed to be where my little legs felt like parking out at. I passed a girl I didn't recognize, Tanya was somewhere not too far back either. Julia was just ahead and Masha and Tamara were long gone. After about 1500m I was creeping up on Julia. I ran with her a bit and knew I had to just risk it and go. I can't kick well at the finish but I can gap people along the way. I passed her after 2k and started picking off some of the boys.
just passed Julia (in the red top/cap) not too far back
Just before 3k I saw a girl with a braid in back.....Masha? Everyone was still dressed warmly so you don't recognize people as easily. Oh dear, Masha it was. Masha has a ferocious finishing kick. Crap, last year I gapped her in the 10k trail run and she nearly got me in the final 300m in the stadium! Same in the 15k- I had over 30 seconds on her and she finished about 10-15 behind me. After 3k, I began to gap her hoping it would be enough to do the trick.
on a mission-pics by Maria Shalneva
While doing that, I ended up on Tamara's heels just before the final turnaround before the 4k. Thank you Coach who was just a bit ahead for yelling out at me just as you turned and Tamara and I were approaching -nice of you to let her know I was there so she could pick it up in the last km just enough so I couldn't get her! I doubt I could have got her because she can kick too but It was fun trying :-).
Tamara is in the scarf-just before 4k
500m to go and I was still chucking away at my 3.45 pace hoping the other speedsters I had just passed wouldn't get me in the finish. I pulled it off much to my surprise and finished 2nd just behind Tamara. Masha was 3rd and Julia 4th. Garmin had me on even 3.45 pace showing the course at an additional 50m exactly-about an extra 10 sec(total get stuck race save for a few surges to pass and gap). My finish was 18.55 -not bad for sleepytired on a day when I desperately wanted spring. Masha was 25 sec. back. She usually goes in the low mid 18s too.
almost home...
finish
The volunteers quickly rounded up the top3 and got us to the warming tent to change out and we didn't wait long for the awards. I did notice many of our veteran and masters runners who are usually at all of the races weren't around. Yeah, and I was the old lady in the top 3 on the men's and women's side. Hell, I was the only one over 30 on either side! Tamara is 22 and Masha is 23. So is Julia.
They did quite a good job of everything and I was surprised. Just after I got home, I got a text with my results and they have this nifty program now where they automatically upload your race pictures to your wall on FB. I am still getting them and it's been a couple days now! WOW! In the big races I do abroad I wait at least a WEEK for photos and hell, the 5k I did with my brother and sister in law in Chicago last fall took forever. I got a link to photos in DECEMBER after racing in OCTOBER! I was impressed by the organization and "customer service" at this race. Will the rest of the Moscow races be this well organized? Hope so!
Link to tons more pics from the race organizers-
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151602548927433.1073741831.542177432&type=3
video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=38h0bxNOhQA
So, back to the nowhere to go topic. I am in even better shape now than I was at the end of last season and have absolutely nowhere to go to put in a solid half and or marathon pre 100k. At the very least, I had planned to find a half in April where I could shoot for smthg 1:24-25 ish while I still have some speed in my legs. Well as a result of all the bureaucratic bull that I wrote about in the previous post, I had to cancel my trip to Rezekne which really pissed me off. I had already tossed too much money into last minute finishing my visa renewal that I decided I really couldn't afford to throw more in the toilet to get my passport back with the Russian work visa before I had to go. I just need things done and processed before 100k Euros and now they are.The Kirzhach Half has now also been moved to the 20th so I have to sit that out (or sandbag but can't go all out 7 days before a 100k). I have to sit out our 2 halves in May because one is a week after and the other 2 weeks after the 100k-too damn soon to bother. I'm thinking Venstpils in June. My manager said it's a fast course. There is also a half in Minsk in June, but Belarus is one of the few places I need to get a visa for and a 1 yr multi entry one is 270$. I have heard good things about the races in Belarus though and they have lots of good stuff on their calendar. Getting to and racing in Latvia is a lot simpler though. So, where the hell do I do tune up races in April?
On a whim, I signed up for the season opener 5k in Moscow on the 7th as a "just in case shit happens with the visa renewal and I back out of Rezekne" and lo and behold it did. I signed up and some 3 days later the 5k closed after hitting the 1000 runner cap. Truth be told, I really didn't want to do this. I'm not a very good short distance runner and finishing top 3 was out of the question even top 10 would probably be tough. Well, I decided I may as well do it as a speed workout then go for my second workout in the evening because I still needed to get in 30km (tapering a little on the length on the looooooong runs).
Yes, I decided to go with the blue argyle skirt today:-) Dark colors don't show the dirt from the melting snow/puddles...
When I woke up, I saw it had snowed AGAIN overnight and yeah it was snowing sideways and right at about freezing. Are you effing kidding me! It's just rude this time of year to see this when all we want is spring. Ugh, I really wanted to go back to bed til noon and just go and do 30-35k on the trails in the afternoon. I thought about it for a while and then decided to drag my butt over to the 5k for my first workout. Not wanting to deal with big queues, I got there to get my number and shirt at about 8:20 and it was a quick, and painless process. Next- yeaaaaaaa thank God they had a big WARM changing room aka place to be before going on a warmup to avoid freezing. They even had baggies for your clothes and shoes! Those came in handy because not knowing if there would be ice and or snow patches on the course, I arrived in my Icebugs to assess the situation and then changed into my racing flats after seeing no ice on the pavement-whew! Given the weather and legs that now have nice endurance and less speed thanks to successive 140-60km weeks I figured forget trying for under 19 and just run it by feel and whatever happens, happens. Again, a month or so ago I'd have set the bar at 18:30 +- but my legs have been a bit tired plus, my Wednesday workout was really lame and slow, a lot slower than I usually would nail this in the mid 2.50s- 12x800 but only 3.02-5 ish because I was sick to my stomach. I think I ate something on Tuesday because I had a queasy tummy all day Wednesday and into Thursday. By Friday though, I did 15x200s and felt better and even got them in the 37-8 range. Hmmmmm. Yeah, this is definitely an "I don't care/whatever" race. Julia K, and Maria M, and Tamara S were all there so I it was clearly just going to be a workout and about a snowball's chance in hell of getting top 3- not a chance as those 3 ladies don't mess around. Plus there were a few other speedy ladies around. They are all very good at the short stuff.In a 5k, my chances are slim to none against them in a 10,maybe it depends on who is having a better day. Last summer Maria M and I took turns beating each other all season, but I was toast at anything under a 10k. Tamara beat me in the 10 after I just got back from Valmiera, but I beat her before I ran Valmiera, but in the 5k or less, she's head and shoulders above me. Julia can get me at anything up to the half and there I would guess it goes to whoever is feeling good that day.
Whatever.... Yuri Sipatov- the top official came up to me as I was heading out for my warmup and told me he'd give me elite start (umm other than Lornah Kiplagat I don't see any super elites here) to avoid getting squished in the crowd. that was nice.
He said about 10 min before the start he'd let us in from the side to avoid the mess. That was nice. So up front it was Tamara, Masha M,Julia, Tanya P and Lornah(who was doing this as an easy run), no pushing and shoving like what happened in the 10k last fall and no problems. Off we were and I settled in at 3.45/km pace and that seemed to be where my little legs felt like parking out at. I passed a girl I didn't recognize, Tanya was somewhere not too far back either. Julia was just ahead and Masha and Tamara were long gone. After about 1500m I was creeping up on Julia. I ran with her a bit and knew I had to just risk it and go. I can't kick well at the finish but I can gap people along the way. I passed her after 2k and started picking off some of the boys.
Just before 3k I saw a girl with a braid in back.....Masha? Everyone was still dressed warmly so you don't recognize people as easily. Oh dear, Masha it was. Masha has a ferocious finishing kick. Crap, last year I gapped her in the 10k trail run and she nearly got me in the final 300m in the stadium! Same in the 15k- I had over 30 seconds on her and she finished about 10-15 behind me. After 3k, I began to gap her hoping it would be enough to do the trick.
While doing that, I ended up on Tamara's heels just before the final turnaround before the 4k. Thank you Coach who was just a bit ahead for yelling out at me just as you turned and Tamara and I were approaching -nice of you to let her know I was there so she could pick it up in the last km just enough so I couldn't get her! I doubt I could have got her because she can kick too but It was fun trying :-).
500m to go and I was still chucking away at my 3.45 pace hoping the other speedsters I had just passed wouldn't get me in the finish. I pulled it off much to my surprise and finished 2nd just behind Tamara. Masha was 3rd and Julia 4th. Garmin had me on even 3.45 pace showing the course at an additional 50m exactly-about an extra 10 sec(total get stuck race save for a few surges to pass and gap). My finish was 18.55 -not bad for sleepytired on a day when I desperately wanted spring. Masha was 25 sec. back. She usually goes in the low mid 18s too.
almost home...
The volunteers quickly rounded up the top3 and got us to the warming tent to change out and we didn't wait long for the awards. I did notice many of our veteran and masters runners who are usually at all of the races weren't around. Yeah, and I was the old lady in the top 3 on the men's and women's side. Hell, I was the only one over 30 on either side! Tamara is 22 and Masha is 23. So is Julia.
They did quite a good job of everything and I was surprised. Just after I got home, I got a text with my results and they have this nifty program now where they automatically upload your race pictures to your wall on FB. I am still getting them and it's been a couple days now! WOW! In the big races I do abroad I wait at least a WEEK for photos and hell, the 5k I did with my brother and sister in law in Chicago last fall took forever. I got a link to photos in DECEMBER after racing in OCTOBER! I was impressed by the organization and "customer service" at this race. Will the rest of the Moscow races be this well organized? Hope so!
Link to tons more pics from the race organizers-
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151602548927433.1073741831.542177432&type=3
video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=38h0bxNOhQA
No comments:
Post a Comment