What a difference a year makes. 364 days ago, I ran this race in 11 degree weather. Today it was 55. After a wild birthday yesterday, and three overnight interruptions from Jack, I awoke feeling anything but refreshed. Entertaining thoughts of bagging this "fun" run, I solemnly prepared my oatmeal. After finishing, my running ancestors whispered, "Eat more food" so I had a chaser of Cocoa Puffs. The start is 1.5 miles from my house, so I set out 20 minutes early to get in a bit of a warmup, and have time to visit the bathroom. Nothing felt right in the warmup; I stopped and walked thrice. I found my mom and sister at the start. We visited while the bureaucrats sorted out the same day registrants. 15 minutes late, the race began. 2 miles down, followed by 2 miles of rollers, then 2 miles up with a nice little downhill finish, complete with twists and turns. I felt good for the first 2 miles. A highlight: while drafting on a guy with headphones, he turned and blew a snot rocket on me. Miles 3-4 include 6-8 turns through neighborhoods. I must have run some fantastic tangents, as I measured the course at 6.15. (6.17 last year) Just like last year, I was feeling like taking a break around mile 5. Somehow, I soldiered on. I ran from semaphore to semaphore, convincing myself not to walk. I didn't have a mantra, but Radiohead's "15 Step" came at a good time...the cadence is perfect. I'd run myself into no-man's land around mile 3, and I didn't want to see any of those runners again, especially snot rocket-man. In the last mile, the course rejoins the 12-15 minute pace 5k racers. I spent a mile dodging and weaving around these determined competitors. I rolled across the line in 41 minutes flat, surprised at a 45 sec. improvement on last year's time. It must have been the warmer day and the lucky baby blue crocs. splits: 6:27 (6:29), 6:30 (6:45), 6:44 (6:51), 6:45 (6:42), 6:52 (6:59), 6:51 (6:53), 0:52 (1:04) --the kick was better because there was no ice to navigate HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! The results are just posted...Age group win, 8th overall. There were some timing screwups, cuz I don't think three guys ran sub-30 minute 10ks.
| 