RedLeg Run

Loyal Blog Fan(s),

I am back and I have been running. After the marathon, I took a little time and recovered. I was still running, but it was sporadic and uneventful. Few miles here, few more there. It was happening though. I started playing Ultimate on Fridays and that has provided some good cardio. It is a little unsettling that I can run a marathon, yet a half hour of sprinting gets me winded. I guess that's what happens when you train yourself to run long distances and a constant pace.

I do have a little story. I ran a 5K this past weekend. I had a goal and did not reach it. But that was my fault. The day before, rather than rest or go on a quick jog, I played Ultimate for longer than ideal. I had fun, but the running had a negative impact on my race times. I finished the race in 25 minutes (8:04 min/miles). The time was a PR, but still a minute slower than what I was hoping to run.

Te setup of the race was interesting. There were two start times. 9 am for the contenders and people that signed up early, and 9:10 everyone else. I was in the 9:10 heat. When the race started the 9 am group took off, but few lined up for the 9:10 start. My friends and I started to make our way to the front and ended up the first people in line. I mean the very first people. The gun went off and so did we. My friends were faster than I am and took off. I knew better than to run with them, but for the first mile I kept them in sight.

I feel it was more subconscious than anything. You see people you know, you try to keep up. Needless to say, I burnt out pretty quickly. Pretty quickly ended up being in one mile. I ran my first mile in 7:23, the second in about 8:40 and finished in 25:01 minutes.

One funny note in the story, when we were lining up for the 9:10 start a gentlemen lined up behind us. He was wearing a suit, a full suit. Dark green suit, dark red tie and dark red hat. He was wearing gray sneakers. He was middle-aged too. Anyway when I took off for the first mile, I didn't think much of him. By mid-way through mile 2, I thought a little more about him BECAUSE HE PASSED ME! I was thinking, "Oh come on!" At first I was in "oh well" mode and started to slow down a little. Then I started thinking, I can't lose to the guy in a suit. He was my rabbit. I kept him in sight, pacing about 50 yards behind him. Mile 3.1 rolled around a I started to speed up. That's right, I had a strategy...

The race was put on by the Cincinnati Reds and ended on the field. The finish line was half way around the warning track. When we entered the stadium that is when I put on the jets and used what energy I had left. I surprised myself that I still had some speed left in me and zigzagged past everyone in path. I past the man wearing a suit and crossed the finish line with seconds to spare.

Next time I will reach my 24:00 minute goal. I might even rest the day before.