Allenton 5K- August 18, 2012
So
here I go again. Looking for an event close to home that I can get my
kids involved with. I found this 5K race not too far and kids run free.
Only $15 entry fee to participate and it goes to benefit a fire
department. So after riding the bike for an entire weekend earlier in
the month I had been taking it easy as far as workouts. Just when I am
ready to get back into the groove, my wife ends up in the hospital for a
couple of days. There was nothing major found but lots of tests to be
done. So to say the least I spend the first half of the week tending to
the kids and house. The second half of the week was spent catching up
on sleep. And absolutely none of the week eating properly or training.
So the plan is for us to go up and participate for fun. The kids want
to run and I tell them that I will be “racing” this event. Their nerves
are funny reminders of my first event ever. Mine was a 5K trail run
when I lived in Southern California. They are worried about getting
lost, or not being able to keep up etc. I explain the route will be
marked and some people will be walking this event. We arrive at the
park with 20 minutes to start time. I get registered and take my number
back to the truck. I get my number pinned to my Team Fire Fighter
tri-top and slip it on.
This
is an inaugural event for the department so things are behind schedule.
The organizers are almost as nervous as my kids. So participants get
directions and we head to the grassy knoll starting area. I give the
last instructions to kids to try their hardest and wish them luck. The
pretty Allenton Fire Department Queen starts the race and away we go.
Like any event I have ever been at it is a mob of people at the start.
I worked my way through the crowds and suddenly found myself chasing
only four or five people. I find my groove and go with the flow. The
only problem was the flow seemed to be slower than my pace. I did the
typical back and forth with a couple of people. At about a mile there
was a nice young man that had been in front of me the entire time who
suddenly stopped at the side of the road. I looked back a couple of
times to make sure he was still upright and carried on. At about mile
two I started to huff and puff a little. I equated this to the lack of
training over the last two weeks and pushed on. With my heart rate in
the 180’s I continued on at this pace. I again blew this off to the
poor diet last week, besides if I go down my Road ID will tell them who
to call. The last third of the course we get to run hills. Not big
ones but just enough that the muscles were engaging a little different.
At this point I realize that there were only a few people ahead of me.
Just as that thought passes through so does a fellow runner. So I do
what any competitor does and keep pacing him while thinking to myself
“save just enough for a quick sprint”. With a half mile to go he bogs
down and I am now pushing for the finish. There will be no need to
sprint only keep the pace. I have absolutely no idea what my finish
time was, and am convinced that this route was short.
After
I finish my race I turn to await my three oldest kids finishing their
first run. My daughter shows first with a time of 32:20. What a great
time for a 12 year old girl and her first event. The boys were too busy
doing sprint intervals to set any records. But they did have fun. As
we started replenishing fluids we waited for the rest of the field to
finish and results to come in. I knew I did well but believed there
were two other males and one female in front of me. They call all of
the kids up to collect their participation ribbons and the kids are
pumped. Then they move to the age groupers. Starting with teenagers
male and female and moving to twenty something’s. The top male overall
and in the 20’s age group was about 6’3” (outstriding my 5’6” self)
finished with a time of 17 minutes and change. Now I am convinced it
was a short route. So on to my age group the thirty something’s. As I
sit and ponder to myself how much I was behind the top male in my age,
the announcer says “Andy Wilson with a time of blah, blah, blah”. No
really this has to be what he said because I am still looking for the
other Andy Wilson. No podium but a great medal for this inaugural
event. So I go change to my post race garb, kilt and TeamFF tech shirt.
We sit at the park and the kids play on the merry go round and swings.
Later that evening, with my mind still in disbelief of the results, I
decide to use mapmyride.com and verify the distance. Unbelievably this
route turns out to be a true 5K race. This explains why my legs are
fried today! Once I get the official time I am pretty sure this will be
a PR.
No comments:
Post a Comment