 posted Sep-08-2007 12:49 PM
  
Just got back from the “Race for Healthier Babies”. It was a fantastically organized event and I think it was for a great cause. They had over 250 people entered in the 5k and they raised $41,000+ today. That is pretty impressive!I could tell the field was going to be stacked because they were giving out $150 to the first place finisher and someone chipped in another $50 if anyone could break the mid 15s course record. I was happy to see a lot of people that I knew also. I started out up front with the double stroller because the first ½ mile is downhill and I knew I could maintain a decent pace until the first hill. As we approached the first mile marker I was trying to keep one of my friends in sight. He is an outstanding runner and I was giving it everything I had to keep from falling too far behind him. I cleared the 1st mile in 6:02 which was actually perfect for me. That mile was mostly downhill so I knew I would be a little fast on it. The second mile was where the hills were so I needed to save energy for those. The second mile actually turned out to be ok. I dropped my pace way back from the 6:02 but I didn’t die in the hills like I usually do. I had a 6:34 second mile. I looked for my wife around the 2 mile marker but I didn’t see her at all. That worried me a lot. She is coming back after a major injury and I was worried that she had re-injured it at the start. I started to pick up the pace a bit to get back and see if she was ok. As I came up on the third mile I was almost spent. The last little hill had done me in but I had actually caught up to a group of people who had passed me on a previous hill. The first women overall was in that group. I had never finished ahead of all of the women before so I really want to give it everything I had down the stretch. I saw my friend finish as I was making the last turn into the finishing area. He had absolutely smoked it(18:36) on his 41st birthday. That is flying! I ended up passing the group that I caught and I had a pretty good finish. As I crossed the line I stopped my watch. It read 19:37. Finally I had done it this year. I had broken 20:00 with both kids. I was really hoping to break 19:00 with them but I am afraid that the stroller is just too heavy now. My kids have gained at least 15 pounds since my PR last year and now they require all kinds of toys, snacks, and blankets to be in the stroller at all times. I think the stroller is well over 100 pounds now. As I was trying to recover from the run I saw my wife coming down the home stretch. She had annihilated the course in 25:00. That is pretty impressive coming of a serious injury that sidelined her for almost 4 months. Anyway it was a fantastic race that really was well run. The winning time ended up being 15:01 for the men and 19:43 for the women. The real amazing thing was that there were 3 people under 16 minutes! The competition is going to be tough this year! See you all at the magnificent mile race next weekend. There will be some awfully fast runners there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone challenge the 4 minute mile on a road course!
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[This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Sep-08-2007).]
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