I was already awake at 3:00 Sunday morning when it started pouring and blowing and I didn't know if the house was going to float away or blow away first. I went in the other room and turned on the weather channel, and saw that the intense part of this storm would be short-lived. The entire storm was moving pretty quickly, so it seemed there was a fair chance it would be gone by the 9:30 start time. I stretched out on the couch and just relaxed until about 5:30. Then I got up, had some coffee and multi-grain toast with peanut butter, showered, packed my bag, wrote a note to DW, and headed out at 6:30. It was about a 2-hour drive to North Conway, NH, and it was starting to clear until I headed up into the mountains. Then I was driving through low clouds and getting a little more rain. But it was OK - if it rained, I'd get wet. No biggie. I reviewed my race plan: quick start, settle into good pace, keep a strong arm swing, keep some bounce in my stride, and use my hips for a decent push off. In North Conway I parked, checked in at the host hotel, met a few friends and chatted about the race, and decided what to wear. It was misting and cool but not at all cold. I expected the rain to end before the race did. So I went for blue shorts, white shirt, blue cap, and my green and silver Asics Hyperspeeds. (Sure enough, we had some misting for the first 3 or so miles of the race, and the sun was shining through the clouds by the time I got to mile 8.) I did some warm-up walking and stretching, and adjusted the laces on my shoes for what seemed like a million times (it was probably 3 times). I met a fellow racewalker and we talked about who was here and how to line up. This race used to have a 1/2 hour early start for the walkers, but now walkers and runners started together. I just didn't want a faster walker to be in the front if the pack if I was responsibly positioned in mid-pack. But I took the risk and started where I should be at mid-pack. The White Mountain Miler's Half is a smaller (500 limit) race that is very well organized, and has a challenging but fair out-and-back course. The post-race feast is at a Flatbread Pizza restaurant in the host hotel, and is always wonderful. The gun went off and I stood there for a couple of seconds as those in front got going. Then we were off too. I had to do a little weaving in the first 1/4 mile, but it wasn't bad, and we all got organized quickly enough. After about 3/4 mile, I saw a woman racewalker up ahead who was clearly a serious walker - she had good form, and an aggressive stride. None-the-less, I slowly made up ground on her, and passed her about 2/3 of a mile later. I didn't exactly fly past her, so I knew it would take some work if I were to continue to separate myself from her. I was reasonably comfortable that she and I were the lead walkers, and that was confirmed by a volunteer a couple of miles down the road. I could tell by how the volunteers were cheering for me and then for another walker that I wasn't making much ground on my competitor. I stayed focused, and tried to stay relaxed but strong. My arm swing was good, and I felt good spring in my stride. I tried to hit my split button at every mile mark, but didn't want to take the time to read the numbers. I was going by feel, and it felt good, and I felt I could at least hold my pace. Then I heard familiar footsteps behind me. I had been listening to everyone coming up behind me, and I always knew (and relaxed just a smidge) when I could tell it was a runner. I didn't much care about being passed by runners. But these were walker's footsteps, and I was pretty sure I knew whose they were. I passed the 7-mile mark, and she was on my shoulder. Well, damn it, I was going to stick right with her! And for the next 3 miles, we were next to each other, stride for stride. Sometimes she'd pull a foot or two ahead and I'd catch up, and sometimes I'd surge just a bit and she'd answer right away. It was hard, hard work, but it was a blast! Two runners eased passed us and said they could FINALLY say they passed the walkers. I told them the race wasn't over yet. Mile 10 had the steepest uphill on the course. She was stronger on the uphills, and she powered to a 20 yard lead. I was amazed, and a bit demoralized by how she could just defy gravity like that! After that hill, it leveled off, and then we hit a long (close to a mile), very gradual downhill. I was a bit better on the downhills. I slowly made up the ground that I had lost, and got to within about 5 yards of her. But the downhill ended, and then it was slight uphills and rollers, and I couldn't hang on so well and she started to pull away. The only thing that made me feel good in this stretch was that those runners who were excited to have passed us faded, and we passed them again (without wisecracks...). The final insult was a short but steep uphill less than a half mile from the finish. How did my leg muscles become Jello? But, after what seemed like days, I made it up, and used what I had left to sprint to the finish. Shirley was first in 2:25:25, and I came in in 2:26:58 (11:13 pace). I was so frick-frackin exhausted at that point that I couldn't do much more that congratulate her and keep moving. I caught up with her later and found out she was visiting from Illinois (a ringer!!), and decided to enter because it looked like a fun race. Nice lady - terrific racewalker. My time was about 10 seconds over what it was in '06 when I won this race. Of course, back then, I was in a younger age group. I went and changed, caught up with my friends (one of whom got first in his age group), got some delicious pizza, went for a massage (loved that!), got a very nice award as first male walker, and headed home. Thanks for reading! Jay

Jay... First of all, your RR's are just fabulous..I mean, it was like a TV show...had me right on the edge of my seat. What a superb effort you gave and it obviously spurred you on. I remember your last race when you pretty much lapped the entire field. You also showed a lot of class by not bad-mouthing those runners who had passed you earlier. This was just another great race for you...congrats. DickyG

I love getting to hear, `there`s another one`too in occasional events. I`m sure with fine gentleman company like you, Shirley will be back next year too. does bouncing/agressive/bounce stride mean push-off, length, faster cadence, etc.? ps - any particular reason to get up at 3am and sit around for more than three hours? pps - what did dw think about spending the day with shirley, . . I mean the note you`d gone up to NH for the day?

Well done on your race. Your RR was enjoyable, thanks

Thanks, friends! Tet - I'm usually up at about 4 am anyway; waking an hour early was probably post-race winding-down from Saturday's 5K and pre-race mental gymnastics. Someone pointed out to me earlier this year that my stride was a bit flat, meaning that I wasn't getting enough lift when bringing my trail leg forward, which meant that my push-off wasn't strong enough. So getting more spring/bounce in my stride helps all those issues. When I mentioned Shirley's "aggressive" stride, I was referring to her good stride length (not too short), and good turnover rate. DW had the option of going to N. Conway with me (and hitting the outlet stores while I raced), but she decided she'd rather sleep in - being the wise woman that she is. When I told her I got beat by a woman, all she said was "Again??" (I was beat by another female racewalker in a half last February.) Maybe I just like following women around...you could do worse. Mainerunnah - "Frick-frackin" is just my way of using an expletive in polite company. About passing those runners who had passed us earlier; I thought that just passing them would send enough of a message, and there was nothing to be accomplished by rubbing it in. Karin - Someone asked me before the race if racewalkers are prone to hip injuries. I said the motion is fluid, so injuries are rare. But I sure was glad he didn't find me after the race and ask how my hips felt! Jay

Jay, you wrote a great report about a great race. Congrats on your fast pace and being first male walker. TomS

Well, damn it, I was going to stick right with her! Jay

This cracked me up! Great race report Jaywalker. I saw many racwalkers at the Detroit Marathon and it was very interesting to me to watch them. You did a great job and you will always be number one in our book!!