Forums >Look What I Can Do!>missed it by a second
ultramarathon/triathlete
I was in a V-Day 5k race this past weekend.
Last year I got second overall. This year I got fatter overall, so I'm slower, overall.
Sure, there was a strong headwind, but mostly it's the extra 5 lbs... I ran almost a full minute slower (19min flat, ug). I was 10th overall.
The field was also deeper (300+ this year, last year, maybe 100?) and some really fast guys (low 16mins) came out, damn them.
But the real excuse is the ice cream and couch time.
I missed 3rd place AG by 1 SECOND.
In the final quarter mile, having caught the guy in front of me just yards from the chute, I decided not to surge past him, not to be a dick. So I held back and finished on his heels.
I should have been a dick. I had no clue there was an AG trophy on the line. Bummer.
Time to lose some weight I guess! And I won't be a gentleman next time!
HTFU? Why not!
USATF Coach
Empire Tri Club CoachGatorade Endurance Team
I would have surged past him without the slightest concern.
Besides, it's Valentines Day. What better day to break someone's heart?
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
not bad for mile 25
Pull up beside him, ask how old he is, and let that be your guide on whether to surge.
Bummer to miss it by a second!
MTA: Or yell, "Race you to the finish!"
Why is it sideways?
If I were him, I'd be totally pissed that you think that you could have beaten me but you didn't.
We have races exactly to avoid fucked up reasoning like that.
MTA: Obviously, I have no problems being a dick.
How far is the chute from the finish line? If it's something like 10 yards... then yeah, I could see that being tricky.
Where's Riggs' finish face picture when you really need it?!
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
10th overall isn't a bad finish especially at a race with low 16's in the results...
I'd say don't worry about "being a dick" and surging at the end...after all it is a race and most of us are just racing against ourselves trying to finish a little faster than last time. If he wants to finish ahead of you then he can surge at the end too and then win or lose you just helped motivate someone else to run faster
Good luck cutting a few seconds and getting that AG award next time!
I was in a V-Day 5k race this past weekend. Last year I got second overall. This year I got fatter overall, so I'm slower, overall. Sure, there was a strong headwind, but mostly it's the extra 5 lbs... I ran almost a full minute slower (19min flat, ug). I was 10th overall. The field was also deeper (300+ this year, last year, maybe 100?) and some really fast guys (low 16mins) came out, damn them. But the real excuse is the ice cream and couch time. I missed 3rd place AG by 1 SECOND. In the final quarter mile, having caught the guy in front of me just yards from the chute, I decided not to surge past him, not to be a dick. So I held back and finished on his heels.
Well, sometimes ice cream and couch is worth a 4th place.
Still a good run, carrying all that "stored energy."
GOod report.
--Jimmy
I am one of those a-holes that would surge past the winning woman just before she broke the tape.
I give nothing and will kick you in the balls if you try and give me something.
The only thing I have been guilty of a few times is in the last mile or 1/2 mile looking ahead 25-50 yards knowing (Or at least thinking) I could take someone with an all out pain ridden effort and deciding I am too mentally weak to bear that level of pain and settle. But usually if I can see them I see them as a target to attack.
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
I think a better reason to surge at the end is that you know you only have x meters to go, so there's no point in holding back - you know you can make it. That would typically be a bit longer distance than a final kick crossing the finish. That brief final kick would make practically no difference in your overall time. Still, it's also nice to know that your placing will be one higher for every person you pass.
It's a race, not a lovefest, GDDMNT.
Mr. PH once hurdled me practically in the finish chute. Pathetic.
(and no, I won't let it go.)
Prince of Fatness
It's a race, not a lovefest, GDDMNT. Mr. PH once hurdled me practically in the finish chute. Pathetic. (and no, I won't let it go.)
+1 on it not being a love fest.
And as I recall I almost hurdled my face into the pavement.
Not at it at all.
one second for third place in a 5k...I'd take the icecream.
If I made contact I'd have apologized, but I'd have been coming through with every piece of energy I had. Save the caring and sharing for your wife
Feeling the growl again
I would (and have) muscled past some of my best friends in races.
I may buy you a beer afterwards, but on the course I give no quarter nor expect any. That's why it's called a race.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills