I couldn't wait. I talked my sister into leaving for the race site 30 minutes before it was supposed to start. We were there in two minutes and nobody else was there; not even the race organizer. [Hey it's a fun run with no more than 40 racers and 20 walkers!] I went off for a 10 minute warm up while A. played with her 3-legged dog who was going to walk the race with her.
When I got back the crowd was assembling. Instructions were given to those who'd not run or walked the route before. I was over at the water cooler trying to dilute last night's gin and tonics.
Damn; there's the start and I was not there. So I took off starting behind ALL the runners with the determination to make this a very fast race. It was not a crowded field so passing was a breeze. I blew by everybody except the eventual winner to set a crisp pace. I pissed everybody off who knows me. They thought I was showing off, maybe. Fact is, the last race I ran I PRed after five years of trying which convinced me that 5Ks are sprints and if you don't have it at the end you don't have it all so you better start fast if you want to score.
So I was flying down the shady cool downhill first mile and anticipating my usual competitors would reel me back in. That I passed J. in the first place was worth the entire race. He ended up beating me by 90+ seconds with a bad hip but that didn't matter. He's always been the Masters champ and I actually had him within catching distance if only his hip would break.
A guy and two young 'pace setting' ladies passed me who I tried to keep up with. Nobody else could reach me and I finished 5th among the men, 8th overall. My time was a remarkable 24:44 which was a 4th best time for me at that distance (7:57 miles). Remarkable, because there was constant grade to deal with - up or down.
Susie had some pace helpers to get across the line in 28:40 which smashed her PR by almost two minutes. Yes, Susan of the 'I am so out of shape and can't even finish' category. Whine whine.
Post race for me was a lovely breakfast on the patio of the Inn next to the start line with a girl I dated 35 years ago and haven't seen since. She was joined by her very intriguing husband and daughter. My sister entertained us with stories of working from home and being on the frontier of IT research. The rest of the day involved some very tedious sunning and gabbing on the beach with all our friends from when we were kids. It was a marvelous reunion of which you should all be envious. If you ever have the opportunity to reunite with the friends and companions of your youth do not pass up the opportunity.
Happy 4th everybody.
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7 comments:
Reunions are always fun. Awesome time - congrats!
Great race, David. And hey, its a race so you gotta race, right? No sense going slow when you feel like flying.
And we always knew Susan could still run. She just likes to hide it. :)
Great race, and yes, I am completely envious of you reuniting with childhood friends. That's just ... gold.
Great race! Vacation sounds like it's going well...
WOo hooo! Great race! I love that you weren't even at the start line when the race went off! LOL.
Love to fit in a race or a run with you and Susan before you return southwards! We'll work something out (I'm racing on Friday nite...)!
Wow! That's a race well-run. Congratulations! Way to come charging from the back of the pack - that's the way to do it - run as hard as you can until you cross the finish line.
You know what they say: excellence breeds contempt. Anyone who thought you were showing off just doesn't know how awesome you are. Great race! And I need a tedious day of sunning, myself.
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