8km road race
May 31, 2009
Before race
I was not it prime condition for this race, but I was prepared. I warmed up with my dad, which I don’t ussually do. This is just because we’re not normally both racing. I set a goal time of around 30 minutes for the 8km. It was very achievable on the flat course. Of course other than one big hill, both ways. I went to the start line and I was ready for a good run.
Race
I started out well. I was in the front of the pack with the top 15 runners. My pace however was a bit too quick for my estimated time. I slowed down a couple kilometers into the race, just before the hill. I think the moment my foot touched the bottom of the hill i got a cramp. It was steadily, but not too harshly painful all the way up and back down the hill. Then at the turn around I could see I was far behind now and it was unlikely I would reach my time.
A couple hundred meters into the return and i saw my dad on his way to the turn around, thats when I picked it up. I would not let my dad beat me. I made it back up and down the hill, till the 6km mark. At this point I was slowing more and the pain was getting worse. The first place female caught up to me and yelled at me telling me I wasn’t working as hard as her. I laughed in my head, but listened to her and picked it up anyways. She trailed a ways behind me for another kilometer. One kilometer to go but my stomach didn’t give up. I struggled to the side of the road and was barely able to keep my shoes clean as I hunched over throwing up. The lady laughed at me and appologized, but I just got back on the road and soo passed her. I felt a little better now, and i pushed it as best as I could to the finish.
After
I finished in 32:30. My dad was only a minute behind me. I was happy I beat him, but I wasn’t pleased with my performance. My dad said he saw me throw up, so he wouldn’t bug me too much about being so close to me. I’m not sure what caused the cramp, but it was god to get a terrible race out of the way early in the season.
