This morning dawned clear and bright, there was just the right twinkle in the sunrise, and since the planets aligned properly I was feeling pretty peppy. Combine that with the major guilt trip I was feeling over not running for my team at today's 5k, and well... I decided to give it a go. After all, Terre Haute was no longer a factor. The race was only 3 miles. On top of it all, the kids had shown a great deal of disappointment I wouldn't be running.
We did all the pre-race setup, and I took a short jog to warm up. I would put it right at a mile or so, around 10 minutes, and everything checked out. I'd tried to get Ritter to warm up with me, but by then he saw me as the enemy. He didn't want anything to do with me at that point. This I found hilarious. No way I was a threat to him today.
At the start the crowd took off hard, as usual. I'd warned the kids on the front line to be careful, keep the hands up at first, watch your step, etc. I'd even mentioned to the adults up there to be careful because falls are common with downhill starts and kids. Sure enough someone took a header within 50 yards. Bad spot too, because he had to have been run over from behind.
Ritter went hard down the hill to open a gap. The lead boys also darted, as was expected. I casually reeled it all in, and by 3/4 mile we were all together. Mile one passed right at 6:10, slower than I thought, but completely comfortably.
Down by the church Ritter started putting in a move. He broke ahead of the kids, something we'd both said we wouldn't do. We really wanted a kid to win. We could make it close, but we weren't going to win.
Someone forgot to remind Ritter.
By 27th he was opening a gap, I was in 2nd, and two boys were falling off behind us both. I hit the brakes, looked back, and began to motion them in. As they came up, I instructed, "You can outkick him if you just hang onto him now. Get up there!" They made a move to go. I kept my distance, allowing only so much closure. After a bit they seemed to recover, and moved on.
I had settled in at this point to something like a 6:15 pace, way better than I could have hoped to have done a week ago. I focused on keeping my foot plant where I wanted it and watched the race unfold.
Ritter never let up. One boy almost caught him, the other died again. Near the end I felt the presence of another kid who'd been shadowing me. I began motioning again, and he passed me. I cruised in 5th, just behind the 3rd and 4th kids and about 30 seconds off Ritter. That's about where we should have been, so our teams weren't hurt that way.
Good thing I ran - if I'd stayed with the original plan I would have won. My proxy time was faster than the winning time today. That wouldn't have been right, and we'd have had to adjust it somehow. I feel pretty good about the way things went, got some confidence back, and helped my team and school.
Crane... the ride is tomorrow. Looking forward to a relaxing tour with my buds. Haven't done one in years... I wonder if Seymour still does theirs? This may be the year to pick up a few.
Anyway, Bedford McDonald's at 7:30!
We did all the pre-race setup, and I took a short jog to warm up. I would put it right at a mile or so, around 10 minutes, and everything checked out. I'd tried to get Ritter to warm up with me, but by then he saw me as the enemy. He didn't want anything to do with me at that point. This I found hilarious. No way I was a threat to him today.
At the start the crowd took off hard, as usual. I'd warned the kids on the front line to be careful, keep the hands up at first, watch your step, etc. I'd even mentioned to the adults up there to be careful because falls are common with downhill starts and kids. Sure enough someone took a header within 50 yards. Bad spot too, because he had to have been run over from behind.
Ritter went hard down the hill to open a gap. The lead boys also darted, as was expected. I casually reeled it all in, and by 3/4 mile we were all together. Mile one passed right at 6:10, slower than I thought, but completely comfortably.
Down by the church Ritter started putting in a move. He broke ahead of the kids, something we'd both said we wouldn't do. We really wanted a kid to win. We could make it close, but we weren't going to win.
Someone forgot to remind Ritter.
By 27th he was opening a gap, I was in 2nd, and two boys were falling off behind us both. I hit the brakes, looked back, and began to motion them in. As they came up, I instructed, "You can outkick him if you just hang onto him now. Get up there!" They made a move to go. I kept my distance, allowing only so much closure. After a bit they seemed to recover, and moved on.
I had settled in at this point to something like a 6:15 pace, way better than I could have hoped to have done a week ago. I focused on keeping my foot plant where I wanted it and watched the race unfold.
Ritter never let up. One boy almost caught him, the other died again. Near the end I felt the presence of another kid who'd been shadowing me. I began motioning again, and he passed me. I cruised in 5th, just behind the 3rd and 4th kids and about 30 seconds off Ritter. That's about where we should have been, so our teams weren't hurt that way.
Good thing I ran - if I'd stayed with the original plan I would have won. My proxy time was faster than the winning time today. That wouldn't have been right, and we'd have had to adjust it somehow. I feel pretty good about the way things went, got some confidence back, and helped my team and school.
Crane... the ride is tomorrow. Looking forward to a relaxing tour with my buds. Haven't done one in years... I wonder if Seymour still does theirs? This may be the year to pick up a few.
Anyway, Bedford McDonald's at 7:30!
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