Notes
8:58 AM: It was around 57F in central Mass this morning. I was about to toe the starting line to defend my title. Then the rain started....and not the good kind either....that piercing cold "needles in your skin" rain. No biggie though, the same thing happened last year...so, I'm a hardened veteran in these circumstances.
Mile 1: After winning my home town race over the last two years it was pretty clear from the start that I had a big target on my back. I played it cool over the first mile as the various contenders positioned themselves behind me. It's the same every year. There is always a few of the local high school track stars who try to win thing in the first half mile only to be quickly humbled by the older, wiser runners.
Mile 2: The lead pack came down to just two people, as it always does. This time my lone contender was one of the local track kids. I hadn't seen him earlier, which means he took it out conservatively unlike his foolish peers. He surged ahead of me, then I covered. We battled. Rounding the corner, I put on my own surge, but he covers me. And so, we danced...
Mile 3: After changing leads for the umpteenth time, I start to get nervous. Could this little punk really disrupt my streak? Could he really overtake me? NO...this is MY race damnit...I own this course!
Ok kid, this is it, you may be faster than me but you sure as hell don't have the guts to push this sucker to the limit. With barely less then a mile to go....on the final turn...I drop the hammer. The acceleration was so quick that I wish I could have turned around to see the look on his face. Poor kid, he might as well have been standing still.
Finish: I emerge from the tiny barren side street into the center of town. I'm going all out now, not risking anything. Around the track and down the straight away. I swear, that last 200m was probably my fastest ever. I hurl myself across the line, grab my popsicle stick and fall to the grass.....the rain still pelting away at my brain....ich...
5:36 PM, Epilogue: Back in the city, laying in bed, reading and typing in the 2k club. Exhausted, time for a nap. Need my strength to celebrate later.