I took another crack at a trials qualifier last Sunday. I ran 1:05:14 to win, but obviously missed the standard. It wasn't actually as close as it looked. Here's the thrilling recap:
It was kind of cold at the start. I decided to be extra fashionable by wearing my awesome Saucony AMPPRO half tights as well as my disgusting looking stained white compression socks. Luckily it warmed up enough before the start that I didn't need my bright green and purple armwarmers. So anyway, I'm standing there on the line, trying to figure out my primary goals here. I want to run a trials time, but this course is hard. I also want to win the race and get the cash money. I glanced up to a monitor positioned above the line. It was flashing people's names randomly (MAYBE NOT!!!) and I saw Ricky Flynn, 24, Lynchburg. This happened about 5 seconds before the gun. Immediately I was elated that a 1:04:15 guy was going to be there to race. Then my true human nature came through as I was worried I'd lose a fair amount of money when he dropped me, but I might hang on for a fast time. So we started out on pace, 4:56 through the first mile. I kind of zoned out and missed the signs for mile 2 and 3, but realized at mile 4 at 20:04 we were way off. I decided I need to sack up. I hit 5 miles in 24:56, and was nearly back on pace. In the process I built a good lead. All of the hills on the course were from mile 2-8, so I need to keep it close. I managed to dance around 5:00 pace hitting 9 in 45:00, 10 in 50:00 and 11 in 55:00. I could not put the hammer down. As I hit 12 in 60:00:00, I decided I would do everything possible to drop a 4:30 to get it. I ran 4:44 instead. A legit course, a good time, but not good enough.
Oh yeah, two days later I drove a U-Haul to Minneapolis, which is where I live now. Trish got a job at UMN as a resident genius. So I'm back to training all alone. It's kind of sad, knowing how long it takes me to make friends, and how much I improved just from being around a group. I'll see what I can find around here, and see if I can learn how to run on a treadmill.
