Monday, April 20, 2009

Why Not?

Have you ever been sitting at a bar late on a Friday night after 6 beers and have someone talk you into running a race the next morning? I am not a big drinker but I enjoy myself from time to time but almost never the night before a race, but who could pass up a charity race for a good cause just a short drive from where they live, even if it was only 7 hours later? Months ago I thought that having a few tune-up 5Ks in the spring would be nice because they are short and would help snap me out of the rut of a winter of base miles so I decided that I would give it a go. The weather was pretty decent for running with temps in the high 40s or low 50s, I am not sure which. It was pleasant either way. There was also a light sprinkle about 8 minutes after the start which was nice. The race was just off of highway 141 in Urbandale and it was a small race but an enthusiastic group of organizers putting it on. I ran with a buddy of mine who is a strong runner and I thought for sure based on an eyeball of the competition that he would win. The race wasn't really advertised so not many typical runners were participating so my buddy would just need to deal with one or two people possibly to come out with the win. The race started and my legs were really tight. Probably from the 200 miles I had in the saddle this week but I didn't let it bother me too much. My buddy and this other guy took off kind of fast and I settled in behind them. At the 1/2 mile point my buddy separated himself from the other runner who was slowly coming back to me and by mile 1 I had passed him as well. By the 1.5 mile point my buddy was 200 yards ahead of me and I was 400 yards ahead of the 3rd place guy. My buddy extended his lead going away and I was out of striking distance so I spent the last mile concentrating on my form and came in a comfortable second. There were not any official times that I am aware of but I had my watch running and I would guess that my buddy finished in around 19 minutes, maybe just under while I was just under 20 minutes. I was ok with that and I fully expect to drop a few more minutes off of that by race season but it felt great to get out there and be pushed by other people.

No comments: