Although next Saturday would have been a better race in Meyersdale (Maple Festival 5-miler), I decided to run the Pennsylvania Highlands Sprint to Success 5k today as my final tune-up race before Boston. Despite running a 21:28 (unofficial), a time that most of my friends and loved ones say is very good, I find myself disappointed and struggling to understand why I am not as fast as I was just a year ago.
My weight has been fairly consistent and the only explanation I can come up with is that I spent more than my fair amount of time on the treadmill this past winter. I became much less of a die-hard going outside when the weather turned bad and the weather was bad more often than it wasn't this past winter.
After struggling with quadriceps tendinitis last fall and not racing as much I guess that not actually racing is a secondary reason why my speed isn't there. With just over three weeks remaining before my bid day there isn't much I can do about it at this point. I must focus my energies on Boston and running my best possible time there. However, I think that it is important for me to make sure that I enjoy the moment there and take it all in. Even if that means I have to stop on occasion to enjoy the revelry of the race and not worry so much about time. That will be fairly difficult for me to do but perhaps my lack of speed right now will have me balanced enough to realize that speed is not of the essence. At least not right now.
Above is my race shirt and 2nd place medal in the 40-49 age group (my friend Paul Straka took first. Despite my snails pace, I still managed to finish 5th overall. Perhaps that is why people think I'm crazy for being disappointed.
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