Location: Greenville, SC
Date: Febrauary 20, 2010
Placing: 4th Overall
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

It's not much of a redemption, but I'll take it. I say it's a bit of a redemption because last weekend, me and 6,000 of my closest friends got 'snowed out' at the Myrtle Beach Half and Full Marathons. I was hoping to take a Master's victory at the highly visible event but wasn't 100% sure of my fitness. I'm a little more sure of it now but who's to say if the chips would have fallen into place at Myrtle Beach? Different day; different race. There are only 3 constants at any race: a start line, a finish line, and the chance to prove to yourself that you can do it - whatever 'it' is. Whether it be finishing first or just plain finishing, the only person you should be trying to impress is yourself. I've been doing this for so long that I'm no longer out to impress myself but I'm still looking to impress just one person - my wife. I learned right away when I met Janis that she was not easy to impress, and that's one of the things I love about her. She keeps me down to earth when I need it. She doesn't say "nice try" when she knows it wasn't...rather, she says "you didn't even look like you were trying to catch him". Was she impressed with my race today? I don't know. She made sure to tell me that 3 guys 'kicked my ass' ;-)

This was the 3rd time in 4 years that I've run the Green Valley 10-miler. It's one of my favorite local events because it's small, the course is challenging and it it doesn't start before the roosters get up. It's also a good gauge right before Spring hits as to my fitness level. Although I preach a lot about trying new events and adding variety to your schedule, you've also got to keep some mainstays that allow you to be comfortable with the venue and the organization. Plus, doing the same event lets you compare yourself against, well, your younger self. My younger self would be very surprised to find out that 3 years later, I would be even faster at age 45 than at age 42. I have to say that I REALLY revel in this fact because last year, before I learned that I had developed allergy-induced asthma, I had quit counting the number of people who's first reaction to my sudden drop in speed was..."well, you ARE getting older...". I was surprised that this comment came from both couch potatoes AND athletes. To the couch potatoes I say "No wonder you have no motivation, you just assume that one day your body will fall apart regardless". To the athletes I say "go check the 50+ and 60+ results from the last big race and then come and talk to me". Yeah, I get a little bent out of shape when someone insinuates that age is a deterrent.

I love these race start photos; it's like you can almost hear the gun firing as everyone leaps off the line. I'm the one on the front row who looks like they will be too hot...but won't.

Well that's enough with the philosophical stuff - let's talk race. I firmly believe the promotors of this race have some sort of mystical deal with Mother Nature. I missed the race in 2008, but the photos from 2007, 2009 and 2010 reveal the exact same weather day. A little too eerie if you ask me, but I'm not prepared to argue with sunny skies and warmer temps. It is a bit funny however that everyone looks at a day when the temps start to break and they only focus on the high for the day. "It's going to be 60 tomorrow" - as if we are going to wake up and go to bed and the thermometer will not move a tick from 60. At 8:45, it still wasn't quite 40 - although to see some people dressed you'd have thought it was 80. I warmed up in full Winter apparel and on the start line, I opted for shorts, a long-sleeved shirt under my Fleet Feet team singlet, gloves and a headband...and for the first time in a while, my dark lenses on my Rudy Project sunglasses as the sun was shining bright!. In looking back at the start photo, I was the only one in the first couple of rows wearing this much. I thought to myself that I might take off the headband if I got warm, but during the race I was so comfortable that the thought never occured to me. I'll definitely be using that low body temperature to my advantage when the South Carolina Summer sets in.

I started training with Team Kattouf just over 3 months ago and so far I have done 3 races this season. 3 races that have been run so very differently than the 300 before them. 3 races that have opened my eyes to a different way to race; a way that I hope will see me through some successful events this year. I've always been 'fast' - and left to my own conventions - I would most likely still be 'fast'. But now I'm becoming 'smart fast' and I like it a lot better (it certainly hurts in a more comfortable way, if that's possible). Today, I stuck to the new plan yet again and in my opinion, annihilated my old 10-mile time.

Several of the usual suspects were in attendence but part of my new 'smart fast' is to not care who is there. Because if I take note of who is present, I will be inclined to try and stay with the really fast guys; run THEIR race. I didn't go into the race with a hard and fast dictation of heartrates and mile splits so I just made some rules in my head that follow the methodology I'm learning. Under 145 HR for the first 2 miles, under 150 to mile 7 and after that, all bets are off. The gun sounded and I 'strolled' off the line. About a minute in, my HR started to catch up and I slowed down a bit and settled into a rhythm. A half-mile in and I counted the runners in front of me. Eight. I stuck to my guns the first couple of miles and I watched the runners ahead of me spread out more and more. There seemed to be a very even seperation between 4th and 9th places - each of us about 30-40 yards behind the other. I was comfortable and continued to resist my age-old urge to 'be at the front'.

Halfway into mile 3, I began allowing myself to go above 145 HR. It was as if I had been carrying a brick and jettisoned it. At 3.5 miles, I caught the runner in 8th. We stayed together until just past mile 4 at the top of a climb. We reached the top and he appeared to have to catch his breath. Since I was keeping the HR under 150, I didn't need to catch mine. And then there were 7. I repeated nearly the exact same thing for the next 2 runners. I would catch them ever so slowly and in an instant when recovery would typically be necessary, I just kept right on going. I pulled up next to the 5th place runner just past mile 6 and we ran side by side for a bit. Unfortunately, he had no idea that at mile 7 I would be jettisoning my last brick, and changing gears one last time.

Some great showings today from the Fleet Feet team (l to r) Jon Stoehr, Brandon Southern, Steven Pearce, Matt Pryor, G-Man (missing: Jeff Gibbs, Kelly Boone)

At this point in the race, the 3 leaders - including my FLeet Feet team captian, Jon Stoehr - were long gone. Somewhere invisibly up the road. Me? I had slowly and methodically caught and passed 4 runners and there was just one more left in my sights. I took full advantage of a long downhill and unlimited heartrate to close on him. When you race by heartrate, you begin to realize how much speed you are leaving on the table for downhills. I was nearly sprinting to keep the heart at 150 beats. If I am making this sound dramatic, well that's because it is. And do you know why? Anybody who has read my running race reports for the past several years might be able to guess the identity of the runner I am now chasing. He is as close to an 'arch-rival' as a person can have. 23-year-old Stephen Sykes, aka 'my shadow'. Last year, Stephen beat me at this race by 9 seconds. Two weeks ago, I beat Stephen at the Downtown 5k by 13 seconds. That's not even close to wierd - check out the results of the last 4 years of the Sunrise run, or any other run that we have done together regardless of length. It will scare you (it kinda scares me).

The 'Finish Line Face'

Since I was looking only at my distance and heartrate on my Garmin, I had no idea that unlike last year when I was hanging on for dear life the last 3 miles...this year my miles were actually getting faster. I caught and passed Stephen just as the course topped out on a long climb; mile 8.5. I was able to keep the pressure on and maintain my gap all the way to the finish with what I would find out later was a 5:36 last mile split (my fastest of the day). I thought for sure there was a mistake as the finish clock came into focus and it had yet to cross 58:00. After a quick glance over the shoulder, I coasted in. My watch read 58:10. Official race time: 58:13. I took 8 seconds out of Stephen; giving us a cumulative time seperation of just 1 second in two years of this race. The funny part is that he beat his 2009 time by 40 seconds...I beat mine by 57. MOST importantly, another PR (personal record) falls. My previous 10-mile PR was 58:47...3 years ago at this very event.

I obviously feel great about my first 4 events of the year but I don't want to get too excited; I've got a long way to go to impress Janis.

Takin' home 'the socks' for Fleet Feet, Team Kattouf and Rudy Project...

Race Notes:
* Okay, maybe ONE guy 'kicked my ass', Janis, but I'd have to argue the other two...
* My slowest mile was a 6:05...mile 2.
* I had several Fleet Feet teammates in the mix including our team captain Jon Stoehr who took 3rd overall, Kelly Boone - 3nd in her age group, Brandon Southern - 1st in his age group.
* Fleet Feet was also well-represented in the 8k event: Jeff Gibbs - 2nd overall, Matt Pryor - 4th overall, Mark Wilson - 2nd in his age group.
* This year's awards were a pair of black socks...the perfect thing for an old guy like me. Now I have something to wear while cutting the lawn in my loafers and Bermuda shorts ;-)
* Team Kattouf teammate Ashley Long completed her first marathon in Jacksonville this weekend in 3:33!
* Friend and sometime training partner, Kristi Arledge won the women's race.
* With the beautiful weather, I opted to do a 40-mile bike ride after the race and ended up meeting a new friend, Chris Adams. We had a great ride and I predict much success for Chris in the future.

Next Up: The Reedy River 10k (State Championships)...