Posted by Leif Irgens on December 12, 2004 at 06:59:13:
In Reply to: Timmy remember the snake story? posted by Victor Birch on December 12, 2004 at 00:18:41:
Victor, you left out the most relevant post. Remember this?
"Well . . . I will say this: I am PLANNING (key word there - "PLANNING") on running but not racing. However, if I change my mind (which I did), you WILL be able to decipher my true intentions. If I'm wearing racing flats (which I was), you know I'm not just going out for a jog . . . we'll see . . . "
Except for the commente about running 7:38 pace for a 1:40, I did exactly what I said I would. I did a 10 mile warm-up ride on the bike. Timmy knows that's true because he drove by me on the way in to the race site. I brought both training shoes and racing flats and, since I felt good on the warm-up ride and because the weather absolutely could not have been better (I know at least Jon Adams will agree with me on that), I decided to put on the racing flats. I ran moderate pace ( around 7:03 to 7:05 - well behind Mr. Jernigan) for about 5 miles, staying aerobic and chatting with the folks around me (a first for me in a race- to actually be able to talk and run at the same time, definitley aerobic pace). I started closing on Timmy between miles 5 and 7 (after giving him fair warning at the 5-mile turnaround that I'd decided to start to chase him). I picked up a little from miles 7-10 (still very close to 7:00 min. pace) and, thanks to the marvelous weather and a very remarkably good day physically, I tempo'ed the last 5k in 20:34 (with the last mile in about 6:20 in a desperate chase to catch Ray Hickman and gain yet more Grand Prix points on Timmy). I did catch manage to catch Ray with about 200 yards to go and, of course, make a new "enemy". Ray tells me after the race: "That's not going to happen again". Hey Victor - does that statement sound vaguely familiar?
If it makes you feel any better, I payed dearly for my efforts. For the first time in my 29-year racing career, I could not pull my race number tab at the finish line and, after a kind volunteer pulled it for me, I simply fell down in the chute. That was definitely not a joke. That last mile hurt bad!! Speaking of hurting bad, I am so sore this morning that I couldn't hardly waddle to the bathroom but that trip simply wasn't something I could put off any longer - know what I mean?. My "walk" won't even vaguely resemble a normal gait for days but, in the "long run" (so to speak), yesterday's overwhelmingly good day was definitely worth the pain to come over the next 3-5 days.
"Racing is life. Anything that happens before or afterwards is just waiting" - The late Steve McQueen.
Leif