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I've run the 10k every year since 2009, and I'm certain that from 2009 to 2011 the course was consistent --- always measuring as 6.22 miles or 6.23 miles as far as my Forerunner is concerned. Until yesterday, when the measurement went up notably (Joe had 6.24 miles yesterday, but keep in mind that his reading at Chaptico or Crofton is usually more like 6.19 miles). Also, between those two maps I posted, note where the mile 6 marks fall. Last year it was on Hurry Rd, with the final left turn onto Zach Fowler just up ahead. Then yesterday I beeped for mile 6 when I was still on Maddox Rd, still approaching that sharp right turn onto Hurry.

You could of course argue endlessly about which version of the course was "long" or "short", but the simple fact is that it was longer than what the standard has been for at least several years. I would not have broken 37:00 last year if it had measured 6.27 miles then (I would've been closer to 37:10, and Joe probably over 37:45).

Yes, I imagine you hated to see her finish ahead of you --- but loved to watch her do it (as the old saying goes). And if we were to not dwell on the difference between your 2011 and 2012 Chaptico Classic 10k times, I'd say you ran a more tactical and fiercely competitive race this year. You were most successful when dealing with Bs, as you ...

BURNED Burke!

BEAT Bennett!

BROKE Braam!

Upon crushing Crofton, I had the impression that I’d just run the race of my life. I’d vanquished a few fierce foes and scored a massive PR all at once. It wasn’t until the day of the 2012 Chaptico Classic drew near, however, that it fully dawned on me that, despite my summer of superb training intensity, there was no guarantee that I’d be able to perform as well on the morning of August 25^th in Chaptico as I did on the morning of June 9^th in Crofton. To be certain, I did just about everything humanly possible to improve over the summer (while of course training smart enough/using restraint when needed to avoid injury or burnout). I racked up personally unprecedented mileage volume and consistency, eliminated breaks/intermissions from my VO2 Max interval sets, and saw my steady states/progressive tempos soar to new heights.

By all accounts, I should’ve been swifter come Chaptico than I was in Crofton, indeed --- except all along I’d remained begrudgingly aware of three key factors that might coalesce to make me slower rather than faster this time around:  a tougher course (the Crofton 10k course is not a breeze by any means, but it doesn’t present anything nearly so challenging as the 5^th mile of the Chaptico course); weather less likely to be favorable (we were blessed with low 70s and low humidity in Crofton, but historically things are bound to be murky for the Chaptico “Hurricane Season” Classic); and a potential void of compelling competition (I’d waged war with Nikolas Korbelak and Rohan Meredith over the opening half of the Crofton Kiwanis 10k before leaving them behind, but with Edi “Turbo” Turco --- Chaptico Classic 10k champion both in 2010 and 2011 --- having moved back to Italy, I suspected that I might not have anyone in this race to push me for long). And speaking of competitive incentive, it was just mere minutes before the start of this race that I learned that they were going back to separate starts for the Chaptico Classic 5k and 10k, with the 10k going first (since 2009, the first year I did the 10k rather than the 5k, the 5k and 10k starts had been combined … and congested) and the 5k starting about 3 minutes later. I’d been counting on using all the high school cross country speedsters in the 5k as pacers to help me out to a quick start up until the 5k course U-turn on Rt. 234 (the 10k course U-turn being a ways further down the road). Now I’d need to depend on whatever rabbits might be in the 10k field --- if there would be any at all.

The abrupt boom of the starting cannon made me jump, but in a way conducive to a quick blast off. My thumb went reflexively to the start button of my Forerunner and I shot forward. I darted daringly down the hill, indeed, and within seconds it seemed that the only thing trailing me was my own wind. A quick look back as I hung a right onto Hurry Rd toward the Chaptico traffic circle confirmed this. I almost overtook the lead motorcycle cop before he could get going, and then as I rounded the circle and cut across to take up Rt. 234 south, I had to reflect on the surreal contrast between my present experience and every Chaptico Classic I’ve known before. Every year since my Chaptico debut in 2004 (5k from 2004 to 2008, 10k from 2009 onward), the opening half-mile of the race has always been a chaotic stampede. That is, me trying my best to keep up with a bunch of young guys tuning up for cross country season. This time it was, for the first time, just me.

No one was ready to concede defeat to me less than a mile into the race, however. In fact, an incredibly organized chase pack of 3-5 runners had formed less than 10 seconds back from me as I ascended the Rt. 234 hill running parallel (and in reverse direction) to the opening downhill of Zach Fowler Rd (I flinched when I heard the cannon boom again to commence the 5k). There was Danny Bennett and, most troubling to me, an unknown guy wearing a bright orange jersey who’d positioned himself aggressively at the start line (I probably assumed that Joe was tucked in among them, but brief peripheral glances could only reveal so much). They were all still running far too close behind for my peace of mind. Anyway, the biggest drawback to being bereft of those 5k pacers was that I noticed that opening mile hill more than ever before. In times past I’ve been so caught up in the group charge that I’ve barely registered the ascent, but this time it was all I noticed. It made my instantaneous pacing go straight from the sub-5:00/mi fury of the start to 6:00/mi plus. And, as looking back down from the top revealed, I wasn’t gaining any ground on my pursuers.

I was eager to drop my pace back down as soon as the elevation leveled out, but the improvement that came with flatter pavement was only so-so. Narrowly sub-6:00/mi was all my legs seemed up for. It was becoming disturbingly apparent that my brittle Breezily Brisk from two mornings prior, in which I struggled with a pace that was supposed to be, well, breezily, was not just a case of a bad morning but an indicator of how speedy I would be in the race. Thus that 5:40 opening mile came as the rudest of all awakenings. That was 13 seconds slower than my opening mile of the Crofton Kiwanis 10k but, even worse, that 5:40 put me just 4 seconds ahead of my opening mile split from Chaptico last year, when I finished in 36:50. I was supposed to be setting a new PR here --- not struggling to beat my time from a year prior! The sticky, sluggishness-inducing humidity in the air was certainly not helping my cause. Ah, and now it was raining, too (I believe that rain slows us down on an almost subconscious level, as instincts implore us to step more carefully over wet pavement). That sorry start was particularly devastating to my race strategy, as everything hinged on me making to the base of the big hill after mile 4 as ahead of pace as possible (I wanted to open under 5:30, make it to mile 2 narrowly sub-11:00, and then mile 3 under 16:40 so that with the aid of the long downhill I could make it to mile 4 just over 22:00 --- and therefore, even if my 5^th mile split was close to 6:00, I could still achieve mile 5 right around 28:00-flat and thereby have a shot of making it to mile 6 by 33:40 and putting myself in range to finish sub-35:00 … but obviously it only took me a single mile to foil that whole grand scheme).

The 10k course U-turn (did I subtly suspect that it was a few meters further down the road than usual?) presented me with the opportunity to improve my competitive position. Get around it promptly and then surge so that the chase pack would be further behind me after they made the U-turn than they were before I made the U-turn. As always, I was here able to get a good gander on just what the heck was developing on the other side of the road. Basically it was the same sight as last year, with my hunters trailing by a fair amount but not yet out of the game --- just with the 2011 chase pack of Joe, Peter Off., and Shane being replaced by the 2012 trio (quartet? Quintet?) of orange jersey, Bennett, and a couple others maybe (Joe was chasing the chasers). And there was no Edi Turco pulling ahead of me this time. Now, if I’d started as frankly fast as intended, I probably would’ve come back by the 5k course U-turn (heading north on Rt. 234 back toward Chaptico) before the first 5k runners could reach it on their way out. But instead I reached that point just as Jay Hall was making his U-turn (I could see Jereamy Hall, my bitter rival from the track 5000m race, already a ways up ahead). Thus he was the first person I really ran with in the race, even though I promptly passed him despite his brief resistance. Thankfully I then found a decent pacer via a kid wearing Maryland flag patterned shorts. I’m not sure that he realized I was the 10k leader and not a 5k rival, however, and thus he was probably perplexed when I made no attempt to match his finishing kick and rather wished him well.

I don’t think it was raining anymore. Though my lack of speed (each mile had been progressively slower:  5:40, 5:48, and 5:51) was making me question the effectiveness of my summer intervals and tempos, I did have the sense that all that mileage was not in vain. For though sub-5:40 splits had eluded me, I was not at all succumbing to despairing fatigue at the point where the 10k course bypasses the 5k finish (that had been a dismal spot for me last year, as Turco was by then infinitely far ahead whilst Joe and Peter were bearing down on me hard right as the great hill loomed … I’d been tempted to rip off my bib number, cast myself on the ground, and cry “I yield! I yield!” ). The mileage at least seemed to be preserving me from suffering any terrible fatigue. So, making that left turn onto Hurry Rd allowed me a solid look back, and the view there was nothing like it had been the previous two years. Joe had not stealthily closed the gap on me this time, nor had anyone else. But I could still see that orange jersey back there. Meanwhile the 5k pacers and the long downhill had done me well, as I finally achieved a sub-5:40 split upon completing mile 4 --- and with that came a new, more positive perspective on the race.

At mile 3 I’d still believed the awful notion that I was only marginally outdoing my 2011 Chaptico performance. Yet upon reaching mile 4 in 22:55, I became pleasantly aware that I was just 10 seconds behind where I’d been at that corresponding point of the 2012 Crofton Kiwanis 10k. Now, on a fast, flat course that might’ve sparked the incentive to really go for it and try to break my 35:30 PR. Alas I knew what was poised to confront me:  a massive double hill followed by a twisty, muddy gravel road. That alone would make <35:30 nigh impossible --- but, if I could just hold close to 6:00/mi pace for the next mile and reach mile 5 by 29:00, I could remain just within range of breaking 36:00. I longed for sub-35:00, yes, but I’m not so arrogant yet as to be displeased by anything under 36:00. Even 35:59 sounded incredibly desirable considering my slow start to the race. Ah, but Memorial Hill was as agonizing as ever. I of course wanted to clear the top before my pursuers could even reach the bottom but lo! I still had a few steps to climb when I looked back down and beheld the flash of an orange jersey starting up the hill after me. Thus, after attaining the level ground at the top, I desperately tried to hasten my recovery so that I’d be far ahead by the time orange attained the summit and began his recovery. Except it took me all the way to the right turn onto the farm-crossing dirt road to get my pace back under 6:00/mi, so winded was I (I’d taken the hill fairly restrained, but still). At the turn I of course looked back to spy upon the progress of the orange jersey’s post-hill recovery, and saw that he was still coming. Yet local playwright R. da Silva, who happened to be standing among the volunteers gathered by the turn, reprimanded me for this, saying, “Don’t look back. This is your day.”

The fun walkers were marching along the dirt road in droves, and I would say that a mere minority of them were inclined to make way for me. In fact, many of them seemed surprised and perplexed that anyone was running to begin with. Eventually, after enough darting and weaving around them, I got fed up and resorted to yelling at them --- the traditional “on your left” (which seemed to baffle some of them further). All obstacles to my momentum aside, however, I still managed to clear mile 5 just under 29:00, despite slipping just over 6:00. And a downhill, a thinning out walker crowd, and then a final stretch on flat pavement were all on the way. Sub-36:00 was still a go! Meanwhile it’d been getting harder and harder to track that orange jersey (who turned out to be a very friendly and chatty guy named Bradley), but there was certainly no indication that he or any other runner was closing on me. Then, following the right turn onto Maddox Rd, I was back to pounding pavement; I’d soon passed the foremost of the fun walkers; and as the road curved slightly with the steeple of the old brick church looming ahead, I took my final look back --- and saw nothing behind me but an empty road.

Ever since mile 4 I’d been constantly reminding myself that I needed to achieve mile 6 by 34:40 to put myself in range of finishing sub-36:00. And what should the elapsed time have been at mile 5.5 but just over 31:40. A heroic final drive would hardly even be necessary, it now seemed. Yes, I was getting a bit gleeful. The yearning to become a champion of Chaptico --- a title I’d been denied thanks to Turco alone last summer --- had been my driving force all summer. And to think that, when it came down to it, no one was even going to challenge me for it. Plus my guaranteed sub-36:00 finish time would greatly enhance and legitimize the experience. Huzzah! I all but matched my opening mile of the race and reached mile 6 in 34:39 (thus exceptionally even 3-mile halves of 17:20 and 17:19). So I wouldn’t best my 35:30 PR from Crofton, but at least I could match the 35:55 that runner-up Rohan ran in that same race.

Except something was terribly wrong. From 2009 to 2011, I’ve always registered 6 miles on that 10k course when on Hurry Rd with the final left turn onto Zach Fowler just up ahead. Yet this time I was still on Maddox and yet to make that hairpin turn onto Hurry when I beeped for 6. The appropriate response would’ve been for me to start kicking like my life depended on it (running that final 0.27-mile bit at the pace of a 1:13 400 would’ve been my only chance for 35:59), but I think I was too tired and caught up in the imminent victory to yet register that something was truly awry with the course measurement (and how was it possible that there were still a bunch of 10k runners coming down the finishing uphill, all yet to reach mile 4?). It wasn’t until I saw the time tick over 35:55 --- when the finish chute still seemed so very distant and high up --- that I finally saw the situation for what it was. Thus the glory of that longed for moment of Chaptico chomping victory was largely overshadowed by a dismaying confusion over how something so certain as sub-36:00 had slipped away from me at the utter end. Well, whoever placed the 10k course U-turn cone this year is mostly to blame, but then again my very weak finishing kick (5:38/mi for the concluding bit) cannot be excused.

As time passes, I think that my 36:10 10k result will seem more and more like an arbitrary number --- relative to what my current fitness was and racing conditions were in Chaptico on August 25^th, 2012 --- while my finishing spot, 1, will endure as a definitive mark of my success in this race.

Joe, DR needs to teach you and I how to train better.  Over the long haul, DR has been the most consistent trainer.  He is also the only one of us who has largely managed to avoid pleateaus in the past 3 years.   In return we could teach him how to race (albeit, you are quite a bit better at me than executing race plans), I can usually come with a solid realistic race plan (that accounts for things like weather, course topography, and competition), but its 50/50 if I'll follow it or go out way too hard.

Ah, but my opening mile at Crofton was 5:27, which is why 5:40 seemed so alarmingly slow for my first mile at Chaptico. Yet I can almost guarantee that my Chaptico opener would've been notably fast if I'd had the 5k runners with me.

It was just a couple months ago that Joe and Phil had their moment of fame, being emblazoned upon the front page of the community section of The Enterprise. Well today it was my turn! Alas I --- similarly to Phil being portrayed as someone who just started running in 2009 --- was a bit misrepresented in the article. I informed the reporter that I have indeed been participating in the Chaptico Classic every year since 2004, but I suppose I failed to specify that I didn't switch to the 10k until 2009. The article, rather, contends that I've run the 10k every year since 2004, and that this race victory was thus the successful culmination of a quest that began eight years ago. To be honest, I'm not sure that I could've even run a complete 10k, let alone vie to win one, back in 2004. At that time a 5k felt like a huge distance for me.

MTA:  what a jip. This is all they posted online.

In contrast, I generally consider placement of little meaning or import compared to time.