Race Day (A Quick Report) ...

This morning was our annual Huntington College Founders Day 5K race. I can call it annual since at least one of us ran the race the last three races.

For a quick recap of the previous years race, you can go back to the Feb 23rd 2008 blog. We had a big group for the race last year but this year it was only Lil Bit and I. Big E is stuck at Faulkner University with our oldest daughter trying to squeeze some extra scholarship money out of the school (I hope she sharpened her bargaining skills).

Since this wasn't my first race, I wasn't as anxious (nervous). I did follow through with a healthy dinner last night of "Ho Fun" at the local Chinese joint but this year I chased the dinner with a couple of tall cool ones (I didn't do that last year). Wheat and barley are carbohydrates, right?

Like last year, we awoke to a cold morning (28 degrees when we awoke). Thankfully the sun came out by the time the race started and we could no longer see our breath.

We've been training with the Couch Potato to 5K program and are up to week 4 now. I figured that I am a little better prepared for the race this year. As a result, I was feeling confident that I could finish it better than I did last year.

Our morning routine this time was very similar to the previous years routine and at 7:30 we departed for the race. Upon arrival, we registered, grabbed our goodies, and promptly returned to the truck to thaw out. We couldn't help but watch some of the other racers arriving and their outfits. I won't make fun of those people as they all finished before I did, so maybe it is the shoes or the tight leotard looking pants (on men no less). I don't care if it is the pants, I ain't wearing tight leotards for no one.

I loaded up (on the MP3 player) week four of the Couch Potato series figuring that I would be nearing the end of the race by the end of the podcast, and for good measure threw a few extra songs in the mix.

We started at 8:30, learning from the previous years fast start, I hung back in the pack and followed my own pace. I lost Lil Bit around the first half mile point as she was running with the pack. Once again this year, I found a couple of other runners to pace myself against and resorted to doing what I had to do to finish and not finish last. It really is sad to resort to being satisfied with next to last so early into the race.

All was going fairly well at the one mile point. I was following the program. I wasn't too out of breath, my knees where no longer hurting, and the back was happy with the stick on heating pad. At the two mile marker, someone hollered out 23:00 minutes and I realized that despite my training and progress, I was on no better a pace than last year.

At this point, I would like to pause and review last years race.

1. By the half mile point last year, I was passed by a woman pushing a stroller!! The little kid in the stroller, that could not even walk, finished the race before me. This year, that didn't happen. Oh, there was a woman pushing a stroller in the race this year, but I tripped her at the one mile marker and dared her to get up. NO, that didn't happen, she actually started the race ahead of me and I never saw her again till the end.

2. Last year, I had a short and round man to pace myself against but in the end I pulled ahead for the win. This year I had a short and round "fast walker" lady to pace myself against and in the end she strolled past me like I was standing still. Yes, that did happen. I got passed by a "fast walker" at the two and half mile point, while I was running. What the .... I was running!!!!! Maybe I shouldn't call it running anymore.

3. Last year, at the end of the race, I was thrilled to still be breathing and had to lay down for five minutes to recuperate. This year, I was mad that my time was actually worse than last year, but I could still breath and stand on my own two feet. Yes, that actually is true too. I finished with a turtle record of 37:08 BUT I COULD STILL BREATH AND STAND ON MY OWN.

After completing the race, Lil Bit informed me that I was only 1 minute behind her. Huh??? She took a little over 36 minutes to run the race. She did it in 33:40 last year. What happened? As she tells it, she managed to run the first two miles without a problem but she never took a walking break, so she ran out of stem and had to walk the entire last mile. She blew up!!! If I had known that she was blowing up, I would have stretched it out a little harder and passed her. OK, so that wouldn't have happened.

In the end, we are both happy that we got out of bed and ran the race but disappointed in our results. I am going to blame it on the shoes ... no,no,no ... the weather. It was too cold to be out there running.

Speaking of shoes, the podcast ended not long after the two mile marker. I was thankful that I loaded the extra music on the ole MP3 player. The first song that came on was "Sensible Shoes" by the David Lee Roth band. How is that for irony? Even funnier is that I finished the race listening to "Greasy Grannys Gopher Gravy" by The Government Mule. Sounds yummy, I'm hungry.

Seriously, I know I am getting older, but I didn't think it was time to officially call me old (at least not till March 28th of this year). I cant believe that I was a full minute slower this year compared to last (can you say 10 pounds?). Hopefully there will be another race coming up in April, I will be better prepared, it will be warmer AND I will be old enough to move up to the 40 - 45 year old bracket too.

Until next time, I am hungry and I must go grocery shopping. Publix better be prepared for the coupon machine.

Green Tip of the Post: Haven't had one of these in a while. Try using white vinegar instead of fabric softener. It works just as well and it doesn't leave your clothes stinky unless you use way too much.