Race Report: Pat's Run 2012

Note: Pat's Run is a 4.2 mile race that takes place each April in Tempe, AZ in remembrance of Pat Tillman, who played football for Arizona State University, and the Arizona Cardinals in the pros. He quit the NFL after 9/11, signed up for the Army, and was later killed by friendly fire. He was a renaissance man - a true intellectual - and I love that it's THE race of the year here. The majority of the 30,000 people who participate are not your typical athletes, and participate with their families.

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I had planned to run Pat's Run this year with Autam, as her hubs is out on military orders, and mine runs at the speed of light. Seriously, it is absolutely no fun to watch your partner disappear off in the distance. Then our crossfit box asked for 100% participation, so I signed J and I up as members of their team. Autam waited a bit to sign up, and the race sold out this year (for the first time ever). J wound up giving up his bib, so that Autam could run with me *Aww, tear, melting hearts, best. hubs. ever!*

As part of my plan to not suck at crossfit, I've been going to Infernal Monday - Saturday each week (thank God they are closed on Sundays) and consequently I have not run at all in 5 weeks. This was planned, and it's been good to challenge myself in other areas, but I was a bit worried about the impact on my running fitness. So, I had a plan (shocking no one).

Goal 1: Have a good time, remember Pat Tillman, enjoy watching and encourage all the *new* athletes try their best. I knew I could ACE this goal, and be happy overall.

Goal 2: Suffer the heat (oh yeah, did I mention it was 100+ degrees on Saturday), suffer being out of running shape, suffer weaving through the huge crowds of people, and finish in 60 minutes or less. This would still be a PR, but it would definitely indicate a rough day.

Goal 3: (Secret goal) Run hard, push myself to run without a walk break (which I've never done for four miles), beat the heat, hope my fitness has not disappeared, and race at the same really hard pace as the Sedona 5K in February - Finish in 50 minutes.

Goal 4: (SUPER SECRET - wouldn't even admit to it, if anyone asked) Be better than the Sedona 5K speed, run 11:30 miles - Finish in 48 minutes.

This was after, but still the light rail station...

We took the light rail in with some buds from Infernal, and as we were riding the train, Autam mentioned that her knees were giving her a bit of a hard time. That meant that we were instantly on Goal #1 for the day - no need to suffer if there was possibility for an injury. We got into Corral #17, and the race began. We then sat for 35 minutes before it was our time to get to the starting line. We could see people finishing as we were approaching the starting line - and it wasn't just the gazelles finishing. Normal people were done with the race before we even started. I was annoyed for about 0.2 seconds before I realized that it was super cool that the entire course was full of red shirts and people challenging themselves to honor Pat.

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We started our race nice and easy, without really making a decision on when we would walk, but just knowing that we would say something if we wanted to. We wove through the crowds of walkers, strollers, the Cardinals mascot and team (seriously, it had to be 30000 degrees in that furry suit). We saw military and police teams running with full gear on. We saw people running in shirts and honoring their own loved ones. Did I mention that the race course was FULL?

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We just kept trotting along, checking in with each other, and enjoying the race. As we passed the second mile, I looked at my watch and saw that we at 22 minutes and change. My heart stopped. I mentioned to Autam that we were DEFINITELY PR'ing today, even if we walked the rest of the way. She told me later that my statement basically told her that we WERE running the rest of the way, and she sighed and settled in. That's actually not what I meant, but I'm glad her knees were up for the challenge.

We did stop briefly at the water stops, because they were complete chaos, but otherwise ran the whole thing. It was an easy, comfortable run. The 5K point was 34:51 - a new PR at 5K! As we entered the stadium and ran to the finish, we grabbed hands and ran through the finish line together.You know, with everyone else.

Finish Time: 47:06*
*Yes, that beat my super secret goal! It's a 13 minute PR. WOO!!!

We felt like rock stars for the rest of the day, and it was a time I felt like I could actually admit to people and feel like they didn't think I was slower than a turtle. It also meant this:

Source

Updated Fitness Goals:

• Complete a full marathon - PF Chang's Rock n' Roll
• Beat the box monster at 20" -  he's currently winning, but I.am.relentless.
• Rx a workout - a named hero WOD with weights, no less! Thank you Randy!
• Switch to guy push ups - almost....
• Do an unassisted pull up - if this one happens in 2012, it will be a miracle.
• Complete a sub 29:24 5K - current PR 34:51 from Pat's Run split

Plan for that sub 29:24 5K
- Keep doing crossfit in the late afternoon through the brutal summer. This will keep me acclimated to horrendous heat
- Run the Summer Series doggedly - keep pushing through each race, regardless of finish times. Know that a PR is probably not going to happen when it's 118 degrees out. Try for 2600 pts overall.
- Run with the girls at GOTR in the fall - use their enthusiasm for speed work training.
- Starting with Grasshopper Bridge 5K in late September, PUSH for the PR. Race at least once a month for the rest of the year in an attempt to get it.

Oh, for those of you wondering - I did check, and Adrienne Pollard didn't do Pat's Run. I'm still marking her for Summer Series!