I don’t know why, but it never fails to amaze me when hard work pays off. And that's how I'll summarize the Broad Street Run: all my hard work paid off. I hit my goal of coming in under 2 hours and in that, took 8 minutes off my best 10 mile time and a full 15 minutes off my worst. Granted, I still think of myself as slow, but I'll work on speed in my next phase of training.
I really didn't feel the benefits of my training until about 3 weeks before the race. That's when I started to feel strong and like my endurance ratcheted up. It was almost overnight and makes me wonder what I would have felt like if I hadn't skipped as many workouts. Would I have felt the changes 2 weeks earlier?
I was also happy that I had trained in as many different conditions as I had: Cold, rain, snow, wind, heat, you name it. And what did I get on race day? Humidity, rain, and a little cold, just for good measure. But to me, it was no biggie and I had a party waiting for me at the finish line. All through my difficult miles, I thought about my 4 brothers, who had run ahead of me, and my mom and sister, who were cheering on the side. So yeah, there was definitely pain, especially after mile 8, but I pushed through (another benefit of my training). And when I was almost spend, a quarter of a mile from the finish line, who should appear but N, my original training partner. With her encouragement, I found just a little more in me and made it across the line by the skin of my teeth.
So what's next? Triathlon! I'm registered, I have a bike, I've got a mentor. I just have to stick to the Active training plan and get used to a new pool, and I think I'll be on my way. Broad Street was definitely a boost to my athletic confidence. Now, when I go out, I feel like an athlete, who both trains and succeeds. And that's how I'm approaching my training from now on...
