I Gotta Blank Space Where Mind Should Be

In a recent article in Runner’s World, Peter Sagal from NPR’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me,” discusses how he became to be involved with a Personal Trainer and how it has impacted him.  In the article he states the following:

“We amateur athletes are peculiarly devoted to our fitness, and our obsessions can sometimes be a burden to our loved ones and a mystery to everyone else. It is a blessing to have, not all the time but for about an hour a week, someone who will say, "Yes, I understand. You devote hours and hours to competing in races you'll never win, you want to build up muscles that your office job will never require, you want to throw yourself against walls just to see how far you can bounce. I get it, and I'll help you." Click here for more

I can deeply relate to this statement.  I am not winning races and I am past my prime to ever achieve what could have been my fastest times.  But that does not stop me from training and working hard to achieve what is the best I can be now, and being the best I can be now has become hugely important to me which was made painfully clear as I prepared for the Summer Breeze race on Saturday.

On Friday, my favorite actively touring band was paying a visit to Charlotte.  And for some reason, Phish loves to tear it up when they play here. (Note: the title of this post are Phish Lyrics). I love to see this band and that usually involves a few cervesas, but now that I am working with Coach Mark Hadley we limit the number of races I am doing to maximize the training and improvement in between the races.  I had a tough decision to make: go see Phish and run the race in whatever condition I was in or stay home and be rested for the Saturday morning race that I had no chance of winning.  I chose the latter, and to thank me Phish delivered what is debatably a top 10 performance since the band returned from hiatus.

On to race day…Summer Breeze has a staggered start so that the men and women run separately.  This is pretty cool because as a male runner I get to watch the top female finishers come in prior to my race.  I watched the top 5 ladies come in and then finished my warm up with a few strides and I was ready to go.  A little late to the start line so I ended up having to work my way through the crowd to get a good spot.  I know people love this as much as I do when some dude squeezes into your personal space and then just stays there.  Well, I was there only a short time, and then we started.  Here is a video of the start.

I quickly moved up and watched Paul and the lead pack pull away.  My goal today was to come in at 18:00 but really that meant 17:59.    I wanted the first mile to be a 5:40. The first mile is up and down hills, but I was staying on pace.  I had a few guys around me and we were staying close.  There was one guy (who apparently had a lot friends because I quickly learned his name was AJ) who had a strange strategy.  Anytime someone would pull up beside him, he would kick into a higher gear for about 5 steps and slow back down.  Then repeat.  He was also constantly looking over his shoulder to ensure he was executing his strategy.  I am not sure why but this annoyed me.  He kept this up for the first .75 of mile and then I dropped him didn’t see him anymore.  And I finished the first mile in 5:40.  Just as planned. (Here is video of the first mile marker and finish)  The 2^nd mile I was targeting 5:50 because I knew there were a couple big hills.  From here on out people were a little more strung so there was a bit more of solo running.  I passed a few people on the second mile and got a shout out from Todd Capitano who was driving by (Thanks Todd).  Up a big hill and then down and then back up another big hill.  That is about all I remember of the 2^nd mile. I did turn in a 5:55 so a little off pace here. By the third mile, I had a joined a little group consisting of Caleb Boyd and Gordon Bynum.  We traded places back and forth of the last mile.  I knew if I wanted to beat these guys I was going to have to out kick them.  I wanted to try to kick early to see if I could get a large enough gap before the final stretch because my legs were fatigued and I did not think I would have much left at the finish line.  As we entered the park, we all picked up the pace.  I made a move to pass Gordon and began to close in on Caleb. As we were making the last turn, Gordon passed me back and made a move on Caleb but Caleb surged to beat Gordon.  I crossed the line in just over 18 minutes.  Officially, 18:05 (18th Overall, 2nd Age Group) (Video of the first mile and finish)

After the race, I cooled down with my favorite running partner, Ms. Lily Grace.  Then headed over to sample the free beer.  Always refreshing even if was MGD64 and only 8:45 in the morning.  My parents and family were out to watch the race and that was great.  We hung around and talked for a bit.  I received my sunglasses and large sippy cup for my age group award, and then it was time to head home.  It was already getting quite hot.

Summary: I think I still have some work to do on my race strategy.  I am at point in my running where I continue to get faster.  When I race, I am still not quite sure what I am capable of so I don’t want to go out too fast and crash and burn nor do I want to waste any valuable seconds by going to slow.  And while I did not win today, I did set a 18 second PR.  I am so close to the sub 18 that I may have to sneak another 5k in just to get one on the record books.  And even though I missed a phenomenal Phish on Friday, I have a PR in the books to show for it.  And like Peter Sagal people may not understand the obsession to a sport where you may never win, but I get it and I am proud to be a part of the peculiar bunch they call amateur athletes.

Bonus Photos: