The Secret to a Champion and a random and painful 5k

I think I am finally coming down with something. It is February after all and that is when I usually get sick. I can feel it in my throat, and I don't think it's from the 5k I ran this morning, even though that might have helped speed up the process. I am going to do everything I can to stop it in its tracks, because I hate being sick and it's happening at a rather inconvenient time. I have my first race as an official pro in 2 weeks and I would like to be as ready as I can be!

Thursday night B and I went to the Boulder Book Store to see what Mark Allen's new book is all about. Well, actually more to see Mark Allen. He is pretty much the only "legend" that hasn't crossed paths with us in Boulder yet. The crowd was big and the talk was interesting... "Fit Soul, Fit Body" is the title of the book, and although a good amount of time was spent on talking about that, what I remember most is the nutrition education Mark gave. According to him, back in the day (80s and 90s), supposedly, an arch rival of his (who was winning Kona at the time) whose name rhymes with Rave Plott used to measure out and drain/rinse his cottage cheese to make it as healthy and pure as possible to eat. Ew!!! Cottage cheese and I will never get along, the texture, the taste, the name... but I digress, to each his own.

Mark on the other hand had handfuls of cookies from Mrs. Fields after long rides. Ata boy! I like him! Until he said that he realized that he wasn't fueling his body properly (point taken) and that cookies, despite being calories, were empty calories for the most part (yes true) and were doing nothing to repair and refuel his body after a hard workout. So he -gasp- cut all sweets out of his diet! While I agree that alot of sugar and sweets as an only fuel after a workout are wrong, I can't believe he would torture himself and not touch sweets anymore for good! I know I can't go a day without chocolate, I have tried! I get VERY moody and I can tell my brain is imbalanced. Anyways, he goes on to tell that after he started eating "right", he started winning Kona. Hm. Is that what it takes to be a champion? Do I really need to cut all treats out of my diet? Don't I work out so I can eat sweets? I am not sure if I could pull this off, but perhaps that is what it takes to be great. I am hoping there is another way, and I am hoping to prove it :-)

Someone is quite excited for their first race

Today was a special day as B is now the proud finisher of his first 5k road race! His goal going into it was to maybe break 20 minutes. Mind you he started running on and off about 4 months ago, after getting inspired to do triathlons in Kona. After about a week he was already keeping up with me on hour-long runs. We both realized that he could probably go faster in the race but wanted to be safe, and not set too lofty a goal. On top of it he had some kind of food poisoning two nights ago where he yacked up his dinner for half the night. On a whim I signed up for the race as well, if only to pace Brandon, since my legs were not 100% recovered from AZ yet. Not sure what to expect of the course, we warmed up on it as it was being mile-marked in the morning. Lotsa turns and slight ups is what we noticed. (The 5k to benefit the CU triathlon teams looped in and around the CU campus with tons of sharp turns and lots of hard sidewalk running) As we were readying to start, I gave B one last tip "Just have fun" (how cliche, I know) and off we were.

Looking cool in my Tifosi shades pre-race

I immediately got tangled up in a group of overzealous guys, most of whom dropped around the 1/4mi marker. And then I couldn't believe my eyes! B was running right in front of me! And he was moving and not letting up! I had several thought going through my head at this point: "Wow, I am really sucking today, I am getting paced by B instead of the other way around", "Man, all that cycling really pays off for him, he is like the lil engine that could", and "I think I might want to drop out, I am getting beat by a first-timer". I quickly switched to positive thoughts and had a proud moment, while nearly dying to get to the first mile marker. I kid you not, I believe we were doing 5:30-5:45 pace and I could feel it. I had penny taste. The first mile marker took forever and I didn't even look at my watch. It was slow. I ran the rest of the race, staring at B's butt and running next to an annoying "I don't wanna get chicked" character, who would not let me pass him. Grrr. I settled in behind him after realizing that if I passed him. I'd probably be pulling him home. And knowing from riding my bike that leading a draft wastes more energy than drafting, I let him have his 4 second lead. I was hanging by a thread and feeling miserable. It also didn't help that my legs magically got sore overnight last night after taking most of the day off from exercise! (I mentioned this before, but the notion of tapering and I don't match)

Around the last corner I got really close to B, who could hear me breathe down his neck. He opened up a tiny gap and we came across the line about a millisecond apart. How is that for getting your ass whipped by a novice?! ;-) Just kidding. I managed a first place overall, despite being almost a minute off my CO PR from just 4 months ago, but I won't argue. Most people I have talked to said the course was a wee bit long. I know one thing. Three weeks ago I split a faster 5k coming through in my marathon. So I know I am not THAT out of shape. I'm excited to see what B can do in his next 5k. My bet is that he will come awfully close to breaking 18 mins, and then world, watch out! Pair that with his evil bike speed and some more swim improvement, and a speed demon will emerge on the race courses this summer!Happy face post-race

Those who train together, finish races together.(for now)