9:00 AM - Today I ran with the CLYDESDALES! I had always joked with Jonny about Clydesdales and how one day we'd have to run with them, but I never really thought it would come true. I got to Schenectady's Central Park, and weighed in. A hefty, hefty, hefty 220 pounds! Gag! Went for a warm up because I was cold and somewhat annoyed by all the Saratoga runners camping out around my car. Their coach just happened to park next to my car of all the free spaces. Jogged down to the soccer field, checked out a trail, turned around and came back. about 12 minutes of warm up THE RACE (9.3 MILES) MILES 1-2: Lined up with the 8:00 milers. I didn't know how hard to go out or what pace to shoot for. Last year I ran 8:00 pace for the entire race, but that was with a LOT more miles under my belt. I always like people watching at races. Some really bizarre pre race rituals. Hit the first mile in 8:00 flat. YES! Second mile is primarily down hill and we opened it up a bit. There was a cute quartet of kazoos cheering us on. Hit the 2 mile mark around 15:40 (7:40 2nd mile, a bit fast). MILES 3-4: Mile 3 had a slight hill followed by a downhill. Started to get passed by a couple, but then caught my breath, and accelerated with them. Hit the 5k right around 24:00. Mile 4 brought us down to the low point of the race through the stockade. MILES 5-6: These are the "make" or "break" miles. Mile 5 is all uphill, up State Street. A significant and humbling beast. My goal was just to not stop or walk at all during the race. I plodded on and kept my head down. A couple people passed me but I let them go. Got to the top and headed toward Vale Cemetery. Right at the 6 mile mark a guy in orange came up alongside us, running effortlessly. His gait and stride were noteworthy. It was Bill Rodgers! Nice to know that I can hold my own for 6 miles against a 60-something former elite runner. Also had Wade Stockman come up on me and pass me as we hit the 10k mark. Wade is a super runner, in his mid-70s. He was a big deal back when my parents ran. He's still slicing and dicing! MILES 7-8: Mile 7 was tough as it came back up the hill we went down in Mile 2. Plodded up and over it. Now the great two loop outer/inner to the finish line around the pond. I could see a lot of people already finishing (~55:00). Mile 8 hurt. A couple of my runners had made the trek as their mom's fiancee was running. I was struggling to hold form and I was keeping pace pretty well, though I had slowed to probably an 8:15 or 8:20 pace. About 50 people passed me during this portion of the race. MILE 9 & .3: Kept it together going around the pond. About .3 from the finish a man I know Tom Ostrander came up on me. He beat me by a couple minutes last week at the half marathon. I usually beat him into submission, but lately as I've put on weight we have evened out. He recognized me as a "Galway guy" and I said that it definitely is harder to run after putting on some lbs. We ran together to the finish, me just narrowly beating him. Total Time: 1:15:42 Total Distance: 9.3 miles Average Pace: 8:08 Finished in 493rd place of 1387 total finishers. This was a blast, and I exceeded my overall expectations. Earned 8th place in the Clydesdale division too! | 
