Siagon Cinnamon, Say Gone Rolls

“I want to live with a Cinnamon Girl, I can be happy the rest of my life with a Cinnamon Girl…bah nnaah nah nah nah.  A dreamer of………”

Record screech and pause.  Rewind.  “Dreamer.”  Ah, there is the rub.

Maggie, Tamara and I head down to Carlsbad for the 5K.

Fastness Osmosis

We chatter over girlie road trip things and of course Kara Goucher.  I tucked her into my bag just incase the mere image of her should rub off quickness upon me like some racing rosetta stone.  Did you know she has an Alter G treadmill?  Did you know that those even exist?

We drive the course.  Flat like a Ruffle.  Say what?  You know, flat like broccoli.  Excuse me?  Yes, naturally, or unnaturally flat like Pamela.  What are you talking about?  I am talking about the course is not flat.  It is not crazy either though.  Latter reference may have been a stretch, hee hee hee.  Stretch!  We check into our hotel.  Fluffy pillows await and we sprawl out anticipating the event.  Maggie recounts past experience on this course, “Open your legs!” tee hee hee.  On the downhill of course!  I mentioned this was a girl trip right?

We meet Kim and her man Rick for dinner.  Four ladies and a dude at dinner and he orders the sausage.  Hee hee hee.  Maggie sinks into a cold.  Tamara, Kim, and I watch her descend.  “Oh No!”  By the end of dinner she looks much worse.   We are off to the drugstore to throw lozenges on the fire.  Tamara buys a round of FRS.  I stare at a row of Gelatinous Pickled Fish.  Really?  A whole row?

Back at the hotel we set our jersey’s out like cookies for Santa and bless them like panties before a third date.  Sugar and spice, cinnamon would be nice!  Visions of 5K fairies dance in our heads….or maybe just my head.  Maggie’s is conjested and Tamara’s is tucked under a lavender eye pillow.

Good Morning Carlsbad!  Coffee.  Gotta pee.  Gotta pee.  Can you just wait, 5 secs, gotta pee.  Oh look a potty, I’ll be right back.  Anyone have to pee?  Nerves of jello.  “Do your legs feel like elephants sitting on them?”  Um.  No?

Hello Carlsbad, how ya doin?

Friday I ran an easy peasy three miles and strided out on the bluffs.  Six strides and on the last one I passed out.  Oops.  Saturday I ran an easy 5 miles and strided out with Michelle.  I felt dizzy again.  I knew what was in the tank.  I always do.

Tamara and I watch Maggie line up in her master’s heat.  She was unsure of competing with her chest cold onset.  We encouraged her to just have fun.  The plus 40 year old women line up.  I hear a man mutter, “This is why my son can’t come to these events!”  In other words, hold the phone!  You are over 40?  Says you!

Masters Ladies

Go Maggie, GO!

 

 ”Who do you think is going to take it,” Tamara asks.  ”9010,” I answer. “What time do you think,” Ricky who has now joined up with us asks. “16:48.” The woman just reaked speed.  Sure enough she pumped it in way ahead of the pack hitting a 16:55 finish.  Nothing says master’s like Master.  Second lit in at 17:15 and the trail trickled in from there.   Maggie cornered her last turn effortless and really drove it home despite her congestion.  She crossed the line in 21:43 which was good for 65th place out of over a 1,000 women!

Tamara, Maggie, & Drea

 

 

 

Next it was Ricky’s turn.  I made sure to get a good luck Ricky hug before he headed off to his heat.  Speaking of…it is getting hot!  Hot!  Wazup?  Marine layer?  No? No? Not so much?

Ricky & Drea

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ricky blasted off the start taking the first turn with the lead 10 men.  His first mile screamed by in a 5:10 and he held strong hitting a 17:11 finish.  Nicely done! This course definitely has even variation to eat you up and pulling that time in shows his strength! Excellent! 

Looks Like It Hurts Doesn't It? Oh yeah, it does!

 Tamara’s and my turn.  We wish each other good luck and I leave her to warm up.  I know what I got.  I am a pretty honest athlete and I see how it is going to go.  Does not look good.  My legs are heavy again.  I do not feel tired, but there is some underlying soreness and I feel dizzy.  I do everything right.  I run around solo and psych myself up.  I stride out focused.  I line up at the last minute.  I pick my competitors, but I don’t make any conversation.  I stand calm.  I think about what I want to do and how I am going to make that happen.  I run the course in my mind.

Gun goes off.  My instinct is to jump, but I hold back.  Five or six girls leap infront of me.  I let them go.  They slow.  I gain.  I feel smooth, but heavy.  Mile 1 5:25.  Perfect.  I dig in.

Wazup Girlfriends?

No, I said, I dig in.  No, no, I said, dig.  It is up hill and I feel myself slowing.  The space between those infront of me stays the same and I do not fret.  Push.  Push.  Mile 2 11:30.  Argh!  I hear Rusty screaming “GO!” from my left.  This is incredibly energizing.  I maintain a positive attitude on the race because I knew ahead of time mile 2 would be hard.  I keep pushing and I gain ground away from the girl next to me.  “Go with her Susie!” Someone yells to Suzy.  That motivates me.  I can turn this around.  Focus.

I enter mile 3 and at no time do I forget I have only one mile.  Push.  Push.  I follow the course downhill and hug the turn around.  I am immediately faced with the inevitable uphill.  Slam.  I feel the seconds bleed away.  Pre-race we had sighted land marks to get us through and I am looking…..for…the….mellon farming Blue House.  Final turn, final push, vision blurring, Shelby on my left, racing to the line, shoulder to shoulder, charge, charge, my toe first.  18:36 good for 10th over all.

I had to sit down or fall down.  I have not done that since I do not know when and it was my slowest 5k in a long long time!  I have run a faster 5K at the end of a triathlon.  However, it does not matter.

I am not upset about this race at all.  Quite the opposite.  Even though the time is completely unimpressive, I ran a good race.  I ran my absolute hardest, I never mentally gave in, and I raced to the line giving it everything I had today.  Often I leave a race or a workout and I think, “Hmmm, I could have gone faster.”  Not today.  I could not have gone one step faster.  18:36 was all I had and the mind never cracked even when I knew I was sucking.

I am proud of this race because it is easy to muster up strength and drive when you know it is going your way, but it is really hard to grind yourself to the ground when you know it is not.  I think Lance says “pain is temporary, quiting is forever.”  I did not quit.  I gave it one hundred percent.  I could not have done anything differently today.

You know, I do not really need any cinnamon rolls anyway.  Ha ha!  Can I have some sympathy cinnamon?  Waa-haa!

Tamara, the big winner of the day! Yeah baby!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I collected myself and turned back to cheer Tamara in.  She really wanted to breakd 24 minutes.  Charging the line she blazed in at 23:54! In my opinion, this was a really challenging course and Tamara totally rocked it! Well done!  Kim also put in an amazing race. She posted 20:40! Shawna was in the pack and looked about as happy as I was.  Hey, I feel that sistah! Micah showed up.  Micah, Micah, Micah! He blazed off the front, ran, I swear without sweating, and at one point had to gesture to the photographer on a motor bike to move it along else he was going to run into him.  He hit the final turn and stream lined it into the finish in a beautiful 14:43.  HELLO!

Speaking of impressive, John Brennan took the line at 22:30 placing third in his age group. Now for the elites.  Three slight, whisper of a thing-s, zip by warming up in track suites.  ”Here comes the big boys!” Rusty says excitedly. Hmmm, they look rather small. I mean, I am two of one of them.  Now watch them run. Beautiful.  And the women!  The top three leaders blasted the last corner and ran it neck and neck to the line: 15:30. Goosebumps!

Santa Barbara Represents: Tamara, Maggie, Kim, Drea, Ricky

Later at home and after dinner, my husband ran my son around the back yard.  “Run!” my husband encouraged my son.

“Like Mommy?” my son asks, “Fast like Mommy.  I am Mommy!”

Bless you my sweet little child.

~ by Drea on April 6, 2009.