Race Report: The Bunny Boogie

I've done eight or so races now (2 tris and 6 road races) so I consider myself a novice, rather than an absolute beginner. But oddly enough, I seem to get more nervous before a race these days, rather than less. I was calmest before my first tri (which wasn't my first race). That calmness paid off, as I was able to swim several minutes faster than I planned, and get to the bikes ahead of many in my rack. These days though, when the gun goes off, my heart starts to race and that just seems to kill my race plan. When you feel awful in the first 10 minutes, its tough to recover.

Yesterday morning at the Bunny Boogie (Pear Tree Point, Darien, CT), that's exactly what happened. The women start 2:30 ahead of the men, so I lined up at the back of the small pack and waited. I was nicely warmed up on a cool foggy April morning and ready to run. The horn sounded and off we went. I knew I'd be at the back immediately. It was a small group of mostly local runners, and on a holiday weekend, you knew it would be hard core. I heard the horn for the men at 2:35 or so, and within another couple of minutes the leaders passed me. For the rest of the first half of the first lap, the pack pulled ahead of me and there were only a few runners left in sight. I managed a steady pace for the first 15 minutes, but I could feel my heart thumping along at at about 15 minutes in (just about finished the first of 2 1.5 mile laps), I started to feel nauseated, and my legs felt like I was running in sand. I thought water might help, but for such a short race, I wasn't carrying any. Time to stop and walk a bit.

Just after I slowed down, the ladies winner flew by, well ahead of anyone. A few beats later, the two lead men headed for the finish schute, with lady #2 on their heels. There you have it, lapped by the winners, before I'd even finished my first lap. As I passed the finish, I thought how easy it would be to just stop and head for my car, without even finishing. But slow as I may be, I'm not a quitter, and I need to work on my mental toughness anyway.

I dropped my long sleeved top on a fence post just past the finish and headed up the one long hill on the course. As I reached the top of the hill, the ladies #2 finisher raced past me, taking another loop. She yelled encouragement to me, and I yelled back "Didn't you just finish?" She acknowledged that she had, then told me to keep on running, and no matter how slow I felt, at least I was out on the course trying. How we got through all this talk as she passed me, I don't know. She must have slowed down to talk to me.

Soon after, the last handful of male runners behind me passed by, and I was alone on the course.

Despite my slowness, I've yet to be the last runner on the course, and I knew it had to happen some time. I didn't think it would be today, I had plans to run hard and really feel the hurt at this race, but I just couldn't push harder than I did. As I made the last major turn and headed towards the last half mile and the finish, I started to feel sorry for myself. Damn legs, damn feet, damn extra pounds. I slowed to a walk again, when I heard some feet behind me. I looked around, and there was one last man behind me, doing a walk/run combo. We chatted for a few strides and then he stepped on his accelerator and passed me. At that instant, I realized that *thinking* I was last was much tougher than actually being last. I started to run again and made it to the finish with enough left for a little kick.

43:45 for a 14+ pace. Sheesh.

Despite the less than stellar race, it was a lovely course and I'd definitely go back and run those loops again. The other runners were terrific too. Lots of folks (including the official timers) waited around for me to finish, and cheered me as I came in. One of the runners (who turns out to be a triathlete) even went out and ran in with me for the last few hundred yards, encouraging me at every step.

So, I have my slow race of the season. Now its time to start knocking off some time, and work towards my PR race.