anakiwa
06-17-2007, 05:00 PM
On the way to the Mt Washington Road Race yesterday, the subject came up- Is racing fun? We all think of it as fun- but when we're actually doing it- are we miserable? Is it the activities afterwards, the social time, and any of a number of other aspects that makes racing seem fun?
The race:
'Only one hill' For anyone not familiar with New England, Mt. Washington is the tallest mountain around. The race follows the autoroad. The overall elevation gain is 4650 feet, over 7.6 miles, average grade 11.5%.
My report:
Mile 1- Felt okay. I live in Vermont and run up hills frequently, I'd been told the grade would be steep, but it felt very do-able, still felt uncertain about wheter I could maintain things though. I was surprised that by the first mile marker, some people had already started to walk.
Mile 3- Still felt okay. Almost everyone around me was walking at this point. They seemed to run for brief periods, then walk (a few people even sprinted for <30 second intervals, only to walk quite a bit in between). At this point I'd settled into a slow but steady jog (walking at water stations only) and felt comfortable (and was also enjoying slowly gaining on all the run/walkers).
Mile 5- Started to get tired and thirsty (there was no water stop between mile 4 and 6). Some of the steadier run/walkers were starting to gain on me. I was definitely slowing down a little.
Last mile- I'd made it that far. It flattens out between the 7 mile mark and the headwall (the last short but steep 22% grade to the very top) and I was starting to feel more comfortable that I'd make it. I even managed summon enough energy to run up the headwall.
Total time: 1:46:16 (Pace 13:59/mile)
And something we can all shoot for:
Age of oldest finisher: 87
Age of oldest female finisher: 78
So back to the original question: Did I have fun???
I'm not sure. The day was fun. The feeling of satisfaction I had when it was all over was fun. The race was hard- I was wishing I'd trained more (and taken off a few of the extra pounds I've been carrying around for the last few months). There were moments when it was fun, but particularly around mile 5, they were few and far between. Of course now as I sit here writing, it seems totally FUN.
So does everyone else have fun when she races?
The race:
'Only one hill' For anyone not familiar with New England, Mt. Washington is the tallest mountain around. The race follows the autoroad. The overall elevation gain is 4650 feet, over 7.6 miles, average grade 11.5%.
My report:
Mile 1- Felt okay. I live in Vermont and run up hills frequently, I'd been told the grade would be steep, but it felt very do-able, still felt uncertain about wheter I could maintain things though. I was surprised that by the first mile marker, some people had already started to walk.
Mile 3- Still felt okay. Almost everyone around me was walking at this point. They seemed to run for brief periods, then walk (a few people even sprinted for <30 second intervals, only to walk quite a bit in between). At this point I'd settled into a slow but steady jog (walking at water stations only) and felt comfortable (and was also enjoying slowly gaining on all the run/walkers).
Mile 5- Started to get tired and thirsty (there was no water stop between mile 4 and 6). Some of the steadier run/walkers were starting to gain on me. I was definitely slowing down a little.
Last mile- I'd made it that far. It flattens out between the 7 mile mark and the headwall (the last short but steep 22% grade to the very top) and I was starting to feel more comfortable that I'd make it. I even managed summon enough energy to run up the headwall.
Total time: 1:46:16 (Pace 13:59/mile)
And something we can all shoot for:
Age of oldest finisher: 87
Age of oldest female finisher: 78
So back to the original question: Did I have fun???
I'm not sure. The day was fun. The feeling of satisfaction I had when it was all over was fun. The race was hard- I was wishing I'd trained more (and taken off a few of the extra pounds I've been carrying around for the last few months). There were moments when it was fun, but particularly around mile 5, they were few and far between. Of course now as I sit here writing, it seems totally FUN.
So does everyone else have fun when she races?