The Streak Continues

Wheatfield 8K
The Dalles, OR

The Short Version
Overall Time: 40:10 (8:05 m/m)
Placing: ? OA, 6/? F, 3/? AG (30-39)

Splits:
1 M - 8:03
2 M - 8:22/16:25
3 M - 8:18/24:43
4 M - 8:18/33:01
Finish - 7:09/40:10

Fashion Report: Black Marathon Girl skirt, Red Lizard Tech T, Alcatraz socks, LIT visor, Mizuno Wave Inspire 4
Breakfast Report: Oatmeal w/ brown sugar, dried cherries, cinnamon and milk, coffee, water
Goals: Keep the Streak Alive C Race/Start of HIM Training Run TT to see how much fitness I've retained since the marathon
Post Race Libation: Full Sail Keelhauler & Full Sail Broken Paddle IBA

The Long Version
And the streak continues. Month 13 of my "Race A Month" found me in The Dalles for the very low key Wheatfield 8K. No chips, no official timing except for a guy with a stopwatch and pistol, race stickers, awesome community spirit, and the high school's cross-country leader board to keep track of the finishers. For $10 and the chance to run with the great running community out there, I'm sold!

We caravanned out from Portland in the morning with some fellow Lizards and got to the start with plenty of time to take care of last minute registrations, warm-ups, potty breaks, etc. Most of our group were registered for the half marathon with only a few running the 8K. I was tempted briefly but managed to keep my eyes on the big picture. At a minimum, this race would keep my streak alive but I was using it as a time trial to assess my early season fitness and figure out how much I've lost in the time since my marathon. There really was no place in that scheme to run a relatively hilly half.

A short warm-up and we were off. I started hanging on Shannon's and Doug's shoulder but quickly let them go since they are much faster than I am and I didn't want to blow up early. I settled into a comfortably hard pace aerobically and spent most of the first mile willing my legs to move. They felt really, really heavy this morning. Maybe I should have spun more and hammered less on my Friday ride. Pretty soon, the field was pretty strung out along the rolling hills of the Dalles. Pretty country out there. I got to the 8K turnaround and my legs finally loosened up. Even better news, no women passed me up to that point but I did see three already on the return leg. I kept my pace steady and just worked at turning in a solid run. As I neared the last turn, I heard female voices behind me. Oh man, I was somebody's rabbit. I willed my legs to turnover faster but I was already close to the redline. As I charged up the last roller, two younger women passed me like I was standing still. I tried to give chase but the gap kept widening so I settled back down to my previous steady pace. You win some, you lose some I guess. I turned toward the finish and kicked, finishing strong, bettering my 8K PR from 2 years ago by 4:30, and coming in the 6th female overall. Since the race used 10 year age groups, I figured I came in 4th or 5th so it was a pleasant surprise when they handed me a third place ribbon. All in all, I was very pleased with this race since it ultimately gave me a baseline level of fitness to build on this season. We cheered the first of the half marathoners in and then headed off to Hood River to have lunch at Full Sail.