Old Man Mile (6-22-08)

My goal for this race was to finish under 6:00, but realistically I thought I had a chance at 5:45. This race was put together by my friend and former co-worker, and it was VERY informal. There were about 25 runners who showed up on the track in the northern part of the city.  The race is called the Old Man Mile because it was intended to give former high school and college runners another chance at glory.

My girlfriend and I showed up at about 7:15 for the 7:45 race. I said "hi" to a bunch of friends who I hadn't seen in a while, did some brief warm-ups, and tried to mentally prepare for the race. I had never done anything like this before. The shortest race I had done was a 5k- so I had no idea what to expect. My plan was to run the first 2 laps at 1:25-1:30, and see what I could do in the last 2 laps. 

After a bit of joking around and goofing off, everyone toed the line and prepared for the start. The horn sounded and we were off!! Within the first few seconds I settled into 4th place. I was really running hard in the first lap, but it was still so early that I felt relatively ok.

I  held on to 4th place for the entire first lap. When I hit my watch after the first lap, the split came out at 1:18!!  Shit! I went out waaaaay too fast, and I started feeling fatigued at the beginning of the second lap. All I could think was, "You're fucked! You're gonna crash! You idiot!!"  I tried to ease off the pace without completely slowing down.  As I eased off in the second lap, two people passed me- a topless guy and a black girl (you can see them in the pictures). I know both of them well, and they are outstanding runners. 

I let them both go, and I just tried to hang on without slowing down too drastically. In the second lap I just tried to stay focused and keep my composure despite the mistake in the first lap. At the start of the third lap, I regained some confidence. I realized that I wasn't gonna die, and I could probably hold out for 2 more laps. I didn't pick up the pace yet, I was still just trying to hang. Topless guy was way ahead, but I held the girl in my sights. (In the pictures you can see how much distance those 2 had on me).

At the start of the last lap I was ready to throw down. I started running faster, and was breathing very hard, but felt surprisingly strong. With 300 meters to go I reeled the girl into striking distance. I couldn't believe I closed the gap between us! It was a blistering pace at this point. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but I just told myself not to lose her. I made my move with 150 meters left. I blasted through the final turn and overtook her just as we began the last straightaway. At this point I knew I had it, now I was going after topless guy. He had about 10-15 meters on me. My steps were soooo fast and I felt like I was really flying. I was gaining on him so quickly, but I just didn't have enough time before the finish line to catch him. Oh well, it was still a great finish, and you can see in the pictures how much ground I made up on him. I crossed the line, looked at my watch, and couldn't believe the time.  I finished in 5th place. I gave my girl a HUGE hug, and was panting very hard for a good 30 seconds. I gave fives all around to the people who finished ahead of me, and the next few to cross the line.  It was a great race. 

Lap 1- 1:18
Lap 2- 1:24
Lap 3- 1:23
Lap 4- 1:14
FINISH- 5:21

This was a wonderful race, and I couldn't be any happier with the outcome. I really surprised myself. These successful races are fuel for me. I reflect on them during training runs and they help me stay focused. They serve as a continuing reminder for why I'm doing this.