Very unfortunately, I do not have time right now to write-up a narrative for my account of the race. Normally I might do that at lunch or if I get to work early, but that may not be an option at all this week. I rarely have time to do such things at home, either. Here are the bold points, though... I ran 20:57, the exact same time as last month. The field was fairly slow across the board, and the general consensus seems to be that all runners need time to adjust from cold weather racing to warm weather. While it was not hot by any means, the body reacts differently to temps in the 60s than to temps in the 30s and 40s. My mouth was very dry by the first mile marker. When I got to the water stop, I managed to swallow a pretty good sized air bubble. That didn't help much. There were a few user errors with my Forerunner, so unfortunately I don't have exact splits. My first mile was roughly 6:15, followed by a second in about 6:40. I sucked on the third mile. I think the biggest feeling of accomplishment I got from the day was how I handled the hill leading up to the second mile. I passed a couple of guys on the hill, and ended up beating them by over a minute. I'm happy to report that I didn't fade because of the hill, but rather because I may have improved about as much as I will running 15-20 miles per week. I'll be able to improve that safely to 20-25 miles per week for the late spring 10K races, and then hopefully peak around 40-45 for the fall series.

A worthy race report is forthcoming, but I just have to break the BIG news: The League of Extraordinary Runners gave the 2008 Robbie Miles 5k the one-two punch! That's right, the first two runners across the finish line (only 17 seconds apart) of this 3.2-mile race were DR and Perry! Joe was a no-show.

It was my second win, yes, but my satisfaction was somewhat sullied this time. In fact, I only won due to the misguidance of others! But let me explain ... First of all, I had a horrendous night's sleep last night. True, I went to bed before 10 p.m., but I still probably only got about 3-4 solid hours of sleep. If I were a human cell phone, I probably would've had merely one, maybe two bars of battery charge left. THAT'S how I felt this morning. Nonetheless, the race must go on. Now, I usually judge the quality of a race setup based on the quantity and availability of bathrooms, and in that regard the Robbie Miles 5k gets a big F. The only place to park was in front of the Prince Frederick Green Turtle plaza, which was a long walk uphill from the race activity center --- at which not one single porti-pody had been placed. And the only establishment in the plaza that had open facilities was a tiny McDonald's, and all they had to offer was one of those public bathrooms where it's just one small room with one toilet sitting out in the open. I get intestines shy in a bathroom like that, because I dread that at any second someone is going to start pounding on the door. But I still made one successful pre-race deposit there. By 8:10 a.m. the temperature was pushing past 70, and the dewy humidity of morning was still clinging tenaciously to the air. Thus I was already sweating like a stuck pig in the mud by the time I got into my warm up, near the end of which I was joined by Perry. We were among the first three people to hit the chalked start line, and then EVERYONE (over 100, I'm quite sure) else marched down the hill towards us in a mighty mass. The Patuxent High School cross country team --- or at least about 10 of them --- snatched all the front line spots, and who should have been their ringleaders but Coach Walser and Son. That's right, I was standing head to shoulder (he's really tall ... and gangly) with my old arch nemesis: The Son of Walser!(must not become a Jedi)! Well, we were all mashed up together for a good long while, as the start got delayed by at least 10 minutes for reasons unknown. Valiant Victor, my other arch nemesis, was manning the clock rather than running (Perry said Vic has a marathon tomorrow!), and it was HE who gave the inevitable GO command that sent us all to our dooms. Right away the whole Patuxent team shot forward like it was a 50-yard dash, and I was wise enough not to follow their lead (not THAT time, at least ...). By the first quarter mile I was vying for the number three spot, but by the half I'd fallen into a remote fifth as four high school boys surged ahead in a fast pack. According to the Forerunner, my one-mile split was 5:59, right on my target pace. I passed the course mile marker, however, when my watch read 1.05 miles --- and 6:20-something. We were now running along a shoulderless, heavily wooded country road and therefore completely in the shade. I couldn't help but think what a pleasant experience this was --- but then remembered that thoughts like that indicate you're not pushing hard enough. Towards the midpoint of the race was the one and only water station, and the lone woman manning it was distractedly looking the other way until I was right upon her (at least I didn't get any up my nose this time). I chanced a look back over my shoulder after water stop, and that's when I was dealt quite a surprise. There was Perry, hot on my trail! Seriously, he couldn't have been any more than 50-75 yards behind me. Well, that was all the motivation I needed to pick up the pace! Over the next arduous, often uphill mile (there were no big hills, but we were still rolling up and down for most the race), I couldn't help but periodically peek back at Perry. He didn't seem to be gaining any more ground on me, but he certainly wasn't losing any. I knew that, if he caught me by the three-mile mark, I'd likely suffer Rick's Hospice fate and get out-kicked in the end. It was quite suspenseful, yes, but it was also really fun to finally have a League comrade catching up to me. Anyways, this course was sort of a loop/out-and-back combo, but one feature of the "out" segment was not a part of the "back" segment. I don't know why it's really necessary to the course, but early on in the race everyone turns right into a parking lot and goes around a big church complex before rejoining the road. On the return trip, however, the church loop is omitted --- but no one in the front fast pack realized this! Indeed, with less than a quarter mile to go in the race, the first four runners ALL took a wrong left turn to go 'round the church. I caught sight of the straggling fourth high school boy just as he disappeared 'round the bend, and although I'd seen the course map --- and although I knew in my heart that he was running in error --- I still followed! Truly it was the blinded following the blinder. I hadn't gone more than a few steps, however, when I heard the voice of reason --- which was Perry screaming "No! Straight!" from a short ways back. I stood running in place for a few moments in the confused indecision of deliberation, but then came to my senses and charged back onto the righteous path (even so, I momentarily wondered whether or not I was cutting a major course corner --- but then I looked at my watch and saw that I'd already run over three miles). You know, Perry could easily have kept quiet and let me take my foolish detour --- thereby snatching the glory for himself --- but he's just not that kind of guy, haha. As the realization slowly dawned on me that I was going to win this race by default (Perry was closer than ever, but still not quite within striking distance), I barreled up the hill towards the end, relishing the hails and heralds of all the folks gathered around the finish. They were ready to welcome me home as a hero! All of them were completely unaware that the true competitors were currently lost in the Bermuda Triangle of Prince Frederick, but I strode across the finish line like a champion anyways (I've won two races now yet neither of them had finish ribbon/tape for me to run through). And then 17 seconds later came Perry --- not too far behind at all! Oh, what was my time? Well, let me just say that my Forerunner reckoned no less than 3.23 miles! I know there's usually a margin of error, but consider this: at Hospice, which I think we can all agree was an accurate 5k, the Forerunner read 3.16 miles. Therefore today's race was at LEAST 100 meters longer than the last one. Also, give me five courtesy seconds for my moment of doubt towards the end when I almost went astray. So, with all that said, my WINNING time was 19:52 ... indicating that I may have been running at nearly the same pace I was two weeks ago (when I ran 19:35). But give it up to Perry! Despite the extra distance, he still managed to take a second off of his Hospice time, running 20:09 today. There can be no doubt that he would've broken 20:00 on a TRUE 5k course. As for the four boys who were misguided, they were royally pissed (the first three still carried the M 14-19 age group, though). And Walserson? He won the age group alright (Rick, you would have been assured a second place age group placing), but he didn't even come close to touching me. The day was mine!

I had no idea that we ran the outermost loop backwards. I could understand the poor course guidance if this were a first-time event, but this was the EIGHTH annual Robbie Miles 5k. You'd think they'd have it together by now!

Liza emailed the results out to the CBRC mailing list, so I can forward you a copy if you like. Hopefully someone will post them somewhere -- I just went through the runforhospice.org results site (which takes you to active.com's list) and it's not on there.

Capitol Classic 10K -- I was just under 44min chip time. I couldn't hold my miles to 7min, but I was fairly close -- abt. 7:05min/mi. I'm going to write up a report.

As I lined up to the starting line for my 10k debut, I realized three things... 1. I should have worn sunblock. 2. I had forgotten to consume GU for the third straight race. 3. I truly had no idea what I was in for in this race. But first, since I have been quiet for the past week, allow me to review. After the combo 400/200 workout about 10 days ago, I took a day off before completing the 10 mile run on Saturday. Fortunately, the cool weather allowed me to run this at about 10:00 - 10:30 pace at the usual HR of 155 bpm. This was one of only a handful of times that I've run ten miles in my life, and certainly the first time since high school. I felt perfectly fine until it was over... as soon as I started to walk at the end to cool down, I realized I was sore from my hips down. Unfortunately, also following the 400/200 combo, I began to feel a bit burned out. When I prepared my training schedule for April and May, I failed to consider how taking classes would add stress and limit training time. Earlier this month, I had the unfortunate task of studying for finals in the evening and working on Medicaid cost reports during the day, all while trying to complete a pseudo-peak training phase. This resulted in me slacking off in the non running areas. While I still went to yoga, I no longer had the energy (or time) for the weekly gym visit. Additionally, I was way too tired by 10pm to do my core routine three times a week. I chose a May 10K as my goal race this season back in January or February. I envisioned me stepping to the starting line in the best physical shape of my life. Instead, here's what happened... The McVet 5K/10K is an annual race in Baltimore with results that vary widely from year-to-year. That's because, in May, the dozen or so Central Maryland running clubs start popping up all of the place with races, in addition to different charity organizations offering "one year only" type events. Regardless, it is safe to say that the 10K is the main event. The 5K race started at 7:30 (!), while the 10K runners go to the line at 8:30. Val didn't make the trip with me, as I think it pains here a bit to be at a race where she can't run (understandably so). As a result, I walked alone to the starting line for the first time in memory. I took my place near the front of the middle of the pack (only 135 runners for the 10K, probably about the same field for the 5K), and took off at the sound of the air horn. (Note: I'm usually a big advocate for the use of a starter pistol... but not in the city. Never in the city.) I had read on the race website that this course is "Fast and flat," but that was just not true. While the course featured no big hills, there were definitely rolling hills at times and very long (yet gradual) inclines at other parts. We started going downhill, but I held back from going to hard. After all, my goal was only to run the entire race at a 7:34 pace, which would have me finishing at 47:00. Unfortunately, the biggest hill was inside of the first mile. It was by no means Everest steep, but it was nearly a half mile long! By the first mile, I realized that it's much easier to say "I'm going to run six miles at 7:30 pace" that to actually do it. The Forerunner sounded the mile alarm at 7:17, about 20 feet in front of the actual marker. The second mile was by far the flatest, and I began to settle into my pace. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold this pace forever, but I was going to try to at least make it to the halfway point at this pace. The Forerunner sound the alarm for the second mile at 7:20 (14:37), but I didn't pass the marker for about 5-10 seconds. Miles three, four, and five were about equal in terms of small rolling hills and inclines, but I noticed something else troubling... I was getting farther and farther from the marker when the Forerunner sounded the alarm. I know that there's a 1-2% margin of error, but this seemed significant enough the it was sliding into human error. Mile six featured the second biggest hill of the race, not quite as long as the one of the first mile. I passed the sixth mile marker while still going up the hill, but I went into final kick mode nonetheless. I passed a couple of people along the way and outran all of those trying to catch me, and crossed the finish line in 47:14, recording the benchmark by which all of my future 10Ks will be set. While I was irked by the fact that I didn't break 47:00, I was pleased when I looked down and saw my average pace for the race was 7:28. I immediately realized that that didn't make any sense, as this was six seconds faster per mile needed to run 47 flat. I checked the distance stat on my watch and saw that I had run 6.32 miles (a true 10K is apparently 6.21 miles). I heard a couple of grumblings from some others with GPS watches, and the consensus seems to be that the race was a bit long. After stewing for about two seconds, I immediately realized that there was no way to measure a course in the city to 100% accuracy, for a couple of reasons. First, it would obviously be difficult to grab a meter wheel and measure a course in city traffic during the day, and unadvisable to do so overnight. Second, for convenience sake, the start and finish line were in the same spot, as is the case with most chip time races. Being that the city is laid out on the typical grid format, it would probably take a long time to determine a good spot for a course that would lead exactly to 6.21 miles. That, along with the knowledge that a couple of hundred people just ran the same long course that I did, made me stop caring about it. This was a Charm City Run race, and they were very speedy with the times again. The first hundred finishers were posted almost immediately, and results were actually on the website by the time I got home at 10am. I saw that I finished fourth in the age group, fifth if you were to consider the overall winner. The third place finisher was at 46:00, so there was nothing more I could have done today to catch him. Therefore, I drank some water, cooled down, stretched, and rolled out. The good thing about doing the event alone is that I was able to reflect on the last several months of running. After all, I considered this race to be my last of the season. While the races lacked in quantity (only three), I think I made up for it with quality. Six months ago, I was once again plagued by injuries that kept forcing me to take more than a few straight days off. In fact, I think I ran only five miles in the first week of 2008. I think finally building my base slowly paid off huge, as I haven't had a single injury that has required me to take off more than a single workout (I don't think those even qualify as "injuries"). On top of that, I ran two 5Ks in 20:57 apiece, nearly 30 seconds faster than my fastest 2007 time. Finally, I ran today's race at a 7:28 pace, which is a better pace than most of the 5Ks I ran since returning to running in late 2006 (I ran the first 5K in around 23:00). I just got off the phone with Alden a few seconds ago, and we discussed the idea of me running pace for him at Kiwanis in a couple of weeks. Aside from that encore performance, I am officially in off-season mode. It's time to feast. Forerunner splits 1- 7:17.33 2- 7:20.35 3- 7:25.63 4- 7:37.45 5- 7:39.48 6- 7:50.39 0.32- 2:03.61 (6:22 pace) http://www.charmcityrun.com/eventResults.cfm?eventid=747

Like I revealed in my marathon account, the Forerunner's minor margin of error can start to add up after a few miles --- although it does make you wonder whether or not the human misplacement of physical mile markers is the bigger problem. By the time I got to mile 20 in that marathon, my watch was clocking a new mile no less than 200 yards before the marker, and by the end I'd allegedly run 26.4 miles rather than 26.2. But I think all that really matters is that --- regardless of what the race distance is supposed to be --- you run the same course as your opponents do. Anyways, that was a worthy 10k debut, although I thought you'd be breaking into the high 45:00s ... which I know you'll accomplish and surpass within the next year or so. And Alden's 10k performance at Kiwanis will surely benefit from your veteran side-by-side (abreast) guidance. Also, there was only one race ever in which I didn't have at least one comrade running with/behind me, and that was the 2006 Chaptico Classic 5k --- but Joe was nearby in the 10k, and Emily was watching from the sidelines, so it wasn't too lonesome. Wait, on second though, was Alden there? I'm getting races mixed up.