Run The Rails 10k
Buford, GA
80ºF 70% humidity
Hot sun
Driving up to this race I missed my exit on the interstate and had to drive an extra 10 minutes to get back to it. This proved to be an omen for the start of the race.
I was running my warm-up and heard that the race was starting in 10 minutes, so I decided to go near the starting line. I looked down to check my laces and saw what looked like dirt on my right ankle--but it wasn't dirt. I checked the bottom of my left shoe and it wasn't pretty. It was one of Snoopy's smelly surprises embedded in the soul of my shoe like a thickening brownie mix on a waffle iron. I had to clean up quickly, there was less than ten minutes to the start of the race. The porto-potty line was too long, so I ran the 3/8's of a mile down the road to my car, which was parked on the first part of the race course. I cleaned myself and my shoe quickly, then started running back to the start at a brisk pace. The race director boomed that the race was starting in 1 minute. Cheers filled the air. I started sprinting. It was like one of those running nightmares I have had in which I can't get to the starting line on time. Some race volunteers told me to get out of the road and get to the left. I got up on the sidewalk. The race was starting in twenty seconds. I got to the starting line out of breath and slipped into an available space near the sidewalk, hoping I didn't smell like one of Snoopy's fresh ones. The race started five seconds later!
I wanted to beat the average pace I ran two weeks ago in a10k (49:21---7:57). My plan was to start out at 8:00 pace and then get my pace down to 7:50 and hold that feel. That didn't happen. I completely forgot there was a 5k race that started at the same time. I paced myself off the group and ended up with a quicker start of 7:34 in the first mile (my average pace in a 5k three weeks ago). I dialed back a bit. The next mile was mostly uphill and challenging; I ran 8:22. The sun was beating down, and it felt hot. The whole Dog Poo-Poo Enduced Sprint to the starting line and the fast first mile was in my head. I was thinking way too much. I decided to focus on the sounds of nature, breathing deeply from my lower belly, and racing the people around me. I relaxed.
Mile three had some downhill in it and--to my surprise--I ran a 7:10. I felt good, so I just kept the pace going. Mile 4 was the beginning of the second loop, which was near identical to the first 3 miles. Another zippy split--7:20.
I was running in my usual no man's land between clumps of runners. No one had passed me for awhile, and no one my age. I didn't see any 50 year olds close behind either. Whatever my place was in my age-group, I knew it was solid. I started to close in on the clump in front on the long hill at the end of the 5th mile, which was the same as mile 2. I saw one runner with some gray hair and tried to catch him. I pulled even with him and looked to be in the 60+ age-group. Solid runner. I finished the 5th mile in 8:26, just a tad slower than mile 2. I picked it up a bit. The last half mile is right along the railroad tracks. I heard a train coming just as I was beginning to really pour it on. It passed on my right about forty feet away. Loudly. I made a metaphor of it and pretended it was infusing me with the power of a locomotive. I could hear someone was trying to pass me from behind, and sprinted as hard as I could not to let that happen (ended up being a young woman). I could see the clock for the first time and realized I was going to break 49:00. I finished in 48:42. I was completely surprised. I truly thought I wasn't going to break 50:00. At the finish, Miss Buford, the town's reigning beauty queen, was collecting the timing chips. Tiara and all.
Come to find out, I won first place in my 50-54 age group! I beat 4 other guys including everyone in the 45-49 age group, and would have placed 4th in the 40-44 AG (click for .pdf of age group results)....16th of 120 runners overall. It was either the power of the locomotive, or the power of the poo-poo.
On the drive home, I listened to Bob Dylan's "Love And Theft" album. One of his best. I was stopped by police at an intersection so that a long line of motorcycle people could drive through. I wondered what that was all about. I also saw a sign for hair transplants for $2.00 a graft. I wondered if there was ever a corrupt politician who used his graft money to pay for some grafts.
I enjoyed my morning, in spite of the unfortunate gishing.
time: 48:42 *new Georgia personal best
7:50 ave pace
16th of 120 runners
1st of 5 in my age group
Buford, GA
80ºF 70% humidity
Hot sun
Driving up to this race I missed my exit on the interstate and had to drive an extra 10 minutes to get back to it. This proved to be an omen for the start of the race.
I was running my warm-up and heard that the race was starting in 10 minutes, so I decided to go near the starting line. I looked down to check my laces and saw what looked like dirt on my right ankle--but it wasn't dirt. I checked the bottom of my left shoe and it wasn't pretty. It was one of Snoopy's smelly surprises embedded in the soul of my shoe like a thickening brownie mix on a waffle iron. I had to clean up quickly, there was less than ten minutes to the start of the race. The porto-potty line was too long, so I ran the 3/8's of a mile down the road to my car, which was parked on the first part of the race course. I cleaned myself and my shoe quickly, then started running back to the start at a brisk pace. The race director boomed that the race was starting in 1 minute. Cheers filled the air. I started sprinting. It was like one of those running nightmares I have had in which I can't get to the starting line on time. Some race volunteers told me to get out of the road and get to the left. I got up on the sidewalk. The race was starting in twenty seconds. I got to the starting line out of breath and slipped into an available space near the sidewalk, hoping I didn't smell like one of Snoopy's fresh ones. The race started five seconds later!
I wanted to beat the average pace I ran two weeks ago in a10k (49:21---7:57). My plan was to start out at 8:00 pace and then get my pace down to 7:50 and hold that feel. That didn't happen. I completely forgot there was a 5k race that started at the same time. I paced myself off the group and ended up with a quicker start of 7:34 in the first mile (my average pace in a 5k three weeks ago). I dialed back a bit. The next mile was mostly uphill and challenging; I ran 8:22. The sun was beating down, and it felt hot. The whole Dog Poo-Poo Enduced Sprint to the starting line and the fast first mile was in my head. I was thinking way too much. I decided to focus on the sounds of nature, breathing deeply from my lower belly, and racing the people around me. I relaxed.
Mile three had some downhill in it and--to my surprise--I ran a 7:10. I felt good, so I just kept the pace going. Mile 4 was the beginning of the second loop, which was near identical to the first 3 miles. Another zippy split--7:20.
I was running in my usual no man's land between clumps of runners. No one had passed me for awhile, and no one my age. I didn't see any 50 year olds close behind either. Whatever my place was in my age-group, I knew it was solid. I started to close in on the clump in front on the long hill at the end of the 5th mile, which was the same as mile 2. I saw one runner with some gray hair and tried to catch him. I pulled even with him and looked to be in the 60+ age-group. Solid runner. I finished the 5th mile in 8:26, just a tad slower than mile 2. I picked it up a bit. The last half mile is right along the railroad tracks. I heard a train coming just as I was beginning to really pour it on. It passed on my right about forty feet away. Loudly. I made a metaphor of it and pretended it was infusing me with the power of a locomotive. I could hear someone was trying to pass me from behind, and sprinted as hard as I could not to let that happen (ended up being a young woman). I could see the clock for the first time and realized I was going to break 49:00. I finished in 48:42. I was completely surprised. I truly thought I wasn't going to break 50:00. At the finish, Miss Buford, the town's reigning beauty queen, was collecting the timing chips. Tiara and all.
Come to find out, I won first place in my 50-54 age group! I beat 4 other guys including everyone in the 45-49 age group, and would have placed 4th in the 40-44 AG (click for .pdf of age group results)....16th of 120 runners overall. It was either the power of the locomotive, or the power of the poo-poo.
On the drive home, I listened to Bob Dylan's "Love And Theft" album. One of his best. I was stopped by police at an intersection so that a long line of motorcycle people could drive through. I wondered what that was all about. I also saw a sign for hair transplants for $2.00 a graft. I wondered if there was ever a corrupt politician who used his graft money to pay for some grafts.
I enjoyed my morning, in spite of the unfortunate gishing.
time: 48:42 *new Georgia personal best
7:50 ave pace
16th of 120 runners
1st of 5 in my age group
-Jimmy
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