Agonotheta

Post-Race Fatigue

May 19, 2004

This was written soon after my race, however, I didn't feel like posting. Until now.

I ran the 10k in about 51:35. It was about one minute 35 seconds over my goal time, but I'm ok with that. It was a tough race, though. By the end, I was struggling, in fact. The reason, though, is that I was unfamiliar with the course and confused the meaning of distance markers. I thought I saw a last-half-mile indicator, so I kicked in my final push to cut a minute or two off of my time and come in sprinting. Apparently, it was not a last-half-mile indicator and after doing my best to keep up a sprint for almost a full mile after I had just ran five miles, I just couldn't do it.

My last half-mile then, turned out to be quite slow. Probably even five or six minutes, which is only a couple of minutes under what is supposed to be my last mile pace.

Other than that, the race went great. I had a great time, the scenery was beautiful, there was some pretty ladies just ahead of me who ran almost my exact pace the entire time, I met several very nice people along the way, and I was close enough to my goal time to keep me happy.

The Day After

I am pretty sore today. My knees were killing me last night. I had to go to a wedding reception whose host and hostess desperately underestimated the amount of guests that would be in attendance, and had about half as many chairs as needed. Thus, being the gentleman I am, I stood all night.

Whenever anybody tells you running downhill is easier, tell them to shut the hell up, from me. The race may seem easier, but is not. Most of the time, you have to hold yourself back from running too fast. After the race, your quads and knees are killing you. I have never felt this much pain after a run. Son of a bitch.