Moooooo. Moooooo.
Really, I couldn't think of anything more clever to type to start this RR off. First off, I want to thank Capital Road Race Management (CCRM) as they've made exactly the improvements to the race this year that it did not have last year, pulling the marathon portion out to reduce the size of the field (and not to compete with CIM, I think), and focusing on making this a quality half marathon with a 5K for those of us who either a) don't want to run a half or b) signed up for the half but still didn't realize their IT band issue was not sufficiently healed to return to a half marathon training schedule for 8 weeks (i.e., me).
Last year, they had a band at the finish but I suspect that the neighborhood either bitched up a storm, or, more likely, its just too damn noisy at the finish to listen to a Top 40 cover band play the crap that Jack FM plays for free, or, even better, that you can just play the crap Jack FM plays through the public address system off of iTunes plugged into the PA system for free and without the inane Jack FM commercials. I don't know if Jack FM is Clear Channel or not, but its all terribly evil IMHO and I'd rather have them throw a curveball and play Coltrane as that would freak everyone out in what I believe would be a really good way... play "One Down One Up" or is it "One Up One Down" - anyway, it really doesn't effing matter, just hearing the greatest tenor player of the 20th century howling away in some extended improvisational freakout would be super de dooper cool.
But I listened to Linkin Park's "Meteora" while I ran, so my musical taste is probably questionable anyway.
The other major improvement was separating the food area. Last year, the food was right at the finish chute, and I was so close to a dyin' that I walked out of the food area, and then the bastards wouldn't let me back in. This year, you just needed to have your bib #er on and the fine folks from Chipotle gave you a chicken burrito or whatever the hell it was, it wasn't bad although like Taco Bell I do not consider Chipotle even remotely Mexican food. And they also had free samples of beer, which was good. Beer is good, and a wonderful way to start off one's day. They had wristbands in the race packet that you donned to get your free sample of beer. I skipped paying $3 for 16 oz beyond the free sample (it wasn't that great).
I almost didn't do the race this morning. I made the mistake yesterday afternoon of taking a nap, and between that, and being super jacked about Iowa Jolly Stomping Penn State (8 out of the 9, baby) last night, I couldn't sleep. I finally snagged about 2 hours of sleep, and fell out of bed at 5:45 am when the watch alarm went off.
And awoke to find that my post game celebration of 3 Taco Bell Grande orwhateverthehelltheycallthem tacos at 9:30ish last night was a really stupid idea. Um, cramps, but Cramps Without Results. For about 20 minutes, I thought there was no way I'd go because I really didn't want to um, have an unfortunate non-fatal but extremely embarrassing accident on the race course, but things calmed down, I hopped in the shower, threw my stuff on, and dashed out the door at 7:00 am hoping I'd be able to find parking within spitting distance of William Land Park before the 8:00 am start. Made it with no problem, really, I was milling around all the other mill-arounders at 7:25 with the half marathon starting at 7:45.
I was still kind of half dazed from little sleep, the grumbly tummy, so I just sort of... stood there, until my friend Nicole Young - the women's overall winner of this year's (and last years) Eppies Great Race (run, bike, paddle) virtually poked me and we small talked a bit before the start. With 4,000 - or however many - half marathoners, we had to wait an extra five minutes for the slower walkers to clear the 5K part of the half marathon course, and the air horn went off, I hit the Start button on the Garmin as I crossed the timing pad and began the weave through the crowd to settle into a race pace, Linkin Park blasting in my ears.
Even though I felt draggy, I ran the first mile in 8:48 which was a big surprise. Um, I knew it was way too fast given where I am shape wise right now - my PR for a 5K is 24:57 on a flat fast out and back course and I'm nowhere in the race shape I was in 2007 - but I wasn't suffering that much so I thought I'd see how long I could go pushing a little more than I thought I should be pushing. By midpoint at 1.6 miles I realized I could finish under 30:00 - again, not great time, but I haven't run a sub 30:00 5K in two years because of injury - if I did not blow up.
And I didn't. I felt myself slowing down, but I kept watching the Garmin and knew when I hit the half-mile left banner that I would beat 30:00 (unless I were kidnapped by aliens or if my heart seized up and I fell over dead, or I got knocked out by a golf ball (there's an 18 hole public course in William Land Park and I like to torment the golfers by yelling at them "Hey, dude... we are getting more exercise than YOU!") but surprisingly there were very few golfers on the course this morning... I guess 59F is too cold for golf in California). When I got to the signs that divided the starting groups up into pace groups, I put my head down and passed about a dozen other runners into the finish chute, and waited a little to hit the stop button so I didn't mess up my finish photo (I also stopped and did the fake finish smile in front of the banner with Official Race Photographers (all very cute girls which of course makes it easier for an old fart like me who's way too sweaty to smile even though I really felt a little like grabbing the railing in the finish chute, leaning over for a bit and looking just old and tired).
This 5K course loop in William Land Park, which I've run about a half-dozen times now in different events, has always been shown as 3.15 miles on my Garmin rather than 3.11 so its a little long. Official preliminary time was 29:16, which is faster than the first 5K I ran after a 20+ year hiatus from running in 2006 (that was 29:28 and on a much tougher course with much higher humidity). According to the watch, which I probably stopped a few seconds after I actually crossed the finish timing mat, I ran 3.15 in 29:09, which with the Garmin distance translates to a 9:15 mi/pace. My goal was to run the 5K < 30:00 and I knew I'd need to average around 9:30 to make that... official preliminary race pace was 9:25. Finishes - Overall 158/273 Males 89/216 and Age Group 12/43. Actually, aside from the time, not bad... that may have been my best AG finish in a 5K except for the one 5K that I placed in a few years ago (yes, I actually finished 3rd in a very small field - the only time I've ever made podium).
Anyway, this is an extremely encouraging race result, proving that the acupuncture is helping, and training smarter is helping. Like I'm really trying to prove anything.
Oh, speaking of 3rds... Nicole finished 3rd in 30-39 women. She didn't expect to have a great 5K as she'd spent the previous day in an insane bike run bike run bike run training "loop/brick" for two hours.
Its all good. Oh, as I was walking back to my car, I had worn my Iowa throwback jersey as part of a) being a rabid Iowa football fan and b) celebrating said Jolly Stomping of Penn State last night... some other runners that had finished the half marathon and were cooling down ran past me - I think they were part of the Fleet Feet racing team - and one of them yelled "Good win last night Iowa!" I said "Hey you recognize the throwback jersey?" and he said "Yeah, Iowa City is one of my favorite places in the world!"
The Bird Cult is EVERYWHERE, man. :D
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