It was a good day...

Today is a day that I have been avoiding since I came back to running as an old fart. I was to run a 5K. It was scary, because this is a race I could excel at when I was a yoot. I was a fastie, not one of you marathoners. So when I run 26.2, 13.1 and even 10K I could always say, "well that's not really my race."

About that long stuff, I did pretty well with it, in all but one race I was an AG placer and I qualified to Boston with a nice piece of change in the bank, but that was still extra credit, because I am a middle distance runner, not a distance runner.

This summer was tough on my training. I gave up a 100 mile lead on the pace bunny at RunningAhead to get stuck 200 miles behind him in about 2 months. About mid-October I decided to get back on the running thing and made a very absurd re-entry into training my last 8 weeks had total mileage of 0, 5, 0, 31, 57, 62, 71 and 68. I say go big or go home ;)

Well Thursday I decide to commit to the race and sign up. I had a great work-out on Tuesday. It was a solo fartlek at lunch with 10 2-min surges at 5:24-5:45 pace and Wednesdays recovery run was not bad. On Thursday nights I try to run with the club, and I wanted to push this as my last tune up for the race. I ran a pre-3 to warm up and build base for the R2R2R during Thanksgiving. The guys all get there and we start out rather easy 7:55 I think. Then it starts to pick up. Scheer-madness just floats off the front and nobody covers him, then within a 1/2 mile Tim, Jared and Dave start to pick up. I decide I'll sit behind this group, because my legs are not really "feeling" it. We get down to 7:15 and it's not easy, but it should be. I was expecting to be going 6:30 and better tonight. Well it's not gonna happen so I sit up and decide to just run long at 7:15-7:30. I take Friday off and try to get to bed early, but slept light. I was up at 3:30a and never really went to sleep.

At 5:30 the alarm goes off so I get some oatmeal in me and take a shower. Then I head over to the race. It's at a little grade school and I went in to relieve myself. To my surprise I see an old teammate. Recently, I have found a lot of college teammates, but this was a high school teammate. Go Lincoln-Way, home of the Knights. Joanne helped with this race the first year and ran last year and was gonna run today. By the way Joanna humbly reminded me she did not organize; she just helped. But last year she was first femal and this year she was third female. Show me your humility now Joanna ;) We chat a bit, but I had an objective and left to find the small room with all the porcelain. During this conversation she says, "you know you're gonna win this right?" My response was, "I doubt that, I'm old"

OK, it's time to warm-up. I decide to run the whole course slowly to warm-up. It was nice and easy and I felt springy. Then I started to the start line and did a few blow-out strides. I am on my toes and feel fast. This is the best I have felt at a start line all year. Today may be good.  Well the gun goes off and my adrenaline kicks in. I led to the first corner (75 yards). This race had a cyclist guiding the runners. While I knew races did this, I have never been in a position to see it. I was in first place, well I am running smooth and it feels fast but easy. As we go through the first mile I look down and see 5:24. "What the Jehu" I am not that fast and I panic so I decide to take the foot off the accelerator. I planned (A-goal) on running 5:50-5:40 5:30. It's just me and some guy on a bike strangely looking back at me a lot. "Do I have snot on my face or something?" We go through the second mile at 6:00. Oops too much let off. I have never run a race with so little competition so I was trying to adjust on my own, and not doing well. OK, I can't allow this progression, so I hit the accelerator again. I know the finish has an uphill finish and it's not gonna be easy, and I have not looked back so I have no idea if some kid has been watching me ready to pounce or not. So I keep driving forward.

Well I get to the finish line and I broke the tape. That has never happened to me in a road race. I have never been the fastest of my friends let alone a whole field. I am used to being top 5/10 but I just won my first road race at 44 years of age and then I heard the time 17:35. Last week I thought 18:30 would be OK, but 17:35. I like that time. Better yet the award is a bobble head runner; how cool is that.

I run through the chute and hear, OMG that's a course record.

I spend the next 30 minutes catching up with Joanne. I am proud of her, she's a teacher with a great spirit and is really hitting her stride in life.

Since I have that big ditch run soon, I'm not done for the day so I hit the Prairie Path and put another 14 miles in.  It was a good day.