Winter Flight 2012

Salisbury, NC. February 4, 2012.

It had been 131 days since I last raced with a hiccup called Kiawah on day 60. 

Spending January, still on low mileage, to begin working on some turnover with 200's and 400's - I really had not done much tempo or sustained efforts up to the Winter Flight 8k this past weekend. Therefore, I hadn't the slightest idea of what would happen that morning. 

...I didn't really care either; I just wanted to RACE. 

The Winter Flight is 4.96 miles of a rolling course. Starting out the race, I felt a little bit like an awkward foal standing up and trying to run for the first time. My legs felt like they were all over the place and were not quite sure if they wanted to go fast or collapse underneath me. Taking off down the hill of the first mile, I was a little ways behind the pack but slowly and surely I reeled them in as my legs heated up. 

The race offers a 25 dollar reward to the first male and female to the mile and I will admit, I had a little fun here as there was another female, a former Olympian, in the race who is always a blast to race with. I pulled up to the front pack and looked over next to one of my training buddies; before he could greet me and alert the other woman that I was there to claim the first mile, I put my finger over my lips and said SHHH! 

I felt a little like Elmer Fudd chasing the Silly Rabbit. And I was trying to be verrrrrrrrrrry quiet, so I could have that small morsel of feeling victorious by being the first female to the first mile, because I had no clue what would happen in the subsequent miles. 

We came through the mile in 5:56 and then the rolling began. Mile 2 was 6:13, Mile 3 was 6:10, Mile 4 was 5:53 and I finished in 30:06. 

Through this race, I relived the early feelings of when one begins a distance running career...I had no clue if I would win, if I would die halfway through the race, if I would run equal splits, or hit some time under 30 minutes. Didn't care...and the surprising thing was that I realized I wasn't thinking at all! So many times during races, the amount of stress and pressure can cause the mind to spin and worry and question EVEN during the race...and I really think it can take years to nail down the method to calm the brain and shut it off so it is just the runner and the race and the course and nothing else, but hunger and determination and exhilaration. It really is hard to tame the brain beast, but mastery of the mind in distance running really does make the difference between good efforts and great efforts. 

For me, the Winter Flight was a test of fitness, but a reminder of how great it is when the mind is at peace or simply along for the ride on race day. So what I realized was that when preparing for those races where the pressure is on, when the time does need to be hit, and when the victory does need to be secured....was to not forget how great those races like Winter Flight felt but to also put as much effort into training my brain as much as my body.

The final part about beginning a new racing season is gratitude. For me, I am deeply thankful for the opportunities that I am given to race - and for the race directors/volunteers/people that cheer for all of the runners that work so hard - and that in itself gives me all the more motivation to go out and run fast!