Doin' an Irish Jig

Spring is here (almost)! We are less than 12 hours away from the vernal equinox, and I couldn’t be happier to see the snow melt, the temperatures rise, and a green landscape emerge from the grays of Michigan winter (although, like Scott, I would be happy if the red wing blackbirds would not migrate back north this year). I am also looking forward to racing more in the coming months.
Speaking of racing, today I competed in the Spectrum Health Irish Jig. It felt really good to get out there and race today. The race didn’t really go as well as I had hoped, as I ran a 15:35 (was hoping to break 15 minutes, or at least average under 5 min/mile) and placed 12th. But it was a PR for me, so I can’t be too disappointed. I felt a tad bit flat during the race, but this was not a surprise considering 1) the training cycle that I just did and 2) not having raced since January. The race will hopefully serve as a good “rust buster,” and be a springboard for the rest of my races this spring. Another benefit from this race: I may have finally figured out how to control my stomach during longer races. I’ve always had gastric issues in races over the mile, often feeling bloated while running, and later in the race my stomach would become upset and I would develop heartburn issues. Today, I experimented with not taking food the morning of, instead just drinking some Gu Electrolyte Brew 3 hours before the start of the race. Overall, this was a great success, but I will have to repeat this several times before I believe that this is the answer to my gastric issues. I also worry that in longer races this amount of fuel will not be enough to sustain my prolonged efforts.
In other news, I’m feeling quite a bit better after backing off the mileage and intensity this last week. This next week will see a return to my mileage before I back off again for the Martian Meteor 10k. After that, it will be mostly maintenance until I get ready to peak at the end of May and early June.
This week did see the return of the ECBoE, and my will-power has felt his pull. M&Ms and chocolate covered almonds have never been so enticing. I’ve had to move past the table at the end of the hall very quickly several times to resist them. But my sugar fast still stands! Today was almost harder, as they had free cake after the race, along with a bag full of sugary junk food (which Scott and Jerome accepted quite happily).
Sruthán ar!