There was another good-sized Wednesday night running group tonight. It featured about every available local runner in our circle, including Scott. What is notable about Scott is he is scheduled to see Dr. Fox next week about his knee. That didn't stop him from handing it to us.
Scott's typical MO is to lead out after the first half mile. The idea is to make a gap so he can go completely around the 27 Street route, getting the full 5-mile distance by the end of the run. True to form, Scott broke off before the alley headed to Norton Lane.
I knew what he was doing, and decided if I was going to chase, I'd better do so immediately. I broke smartly off the front of the group, but it took a long time to catch. I'd picked the very moment he'd accelerated more to go, and it made the catch all the harder.
We did the extra loop, ran back to the group, and for a while played nice. Soon Scott was busting off the front again, preparing to add a little extra to the second part of the run. I went with him, as did Miller. About half a mile later I began to feel more than hear another person behind us. It was Jake, an impressive move considering the pace. The four of us followed Scott to his turn, the U-turned to go back up to Jimmy's.
We could see Jimmy and Rand had already turned, and the distance was perhaps a 10th of a mile. "You guys go get 'em. I can't catch them tonight", said Scott. Laughable. We were doing 7:30 pace, and I'd guess Jimmy and Rand were doing 8:30-8:45 max. Not only would we catch them, but we'd do it relatively quickly.
We caught them midway between 21st and 22nd, a fair distance from the office. Would Scott play nice the rest of the way in? No way. Soon he was off again. Miller started to feel a little saucy by then, and he started to lead out. Scott urged me to catch, but I declined. Couldn't if I'd wanted to, and besides, my whole purpose of breaking off the group was to run with Scott.
So we took it in, a solid effort. I felt good the whole way, not pressing, and though the time was not impressive, it was faster than I have been averaging. That has to count for something.
Run from Parkview tomorrow at 4:45.
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