Runners Gone Wild!!

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, the maid screamed! A shot rang out!!!!

ok, knock it off.

But it _was_ a pretty dismal week. I hadn't gone for a run since memorial day weekend, and I hadn't gone for a ride since the Auburn Debacle. Clearly, the most entertaining aspect of the week was plagiarizing Charles Schultzes' "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night".

Anyways, the weather of saturday was fucking fabulous, so I decided to go run a cheesy little 5k race in Byfield for their 'Byfield Days' celebration. Still no results on cool running.

It was a ten mile ride, with a slight headwind the whole way. The weeks inactivity weighed heavily on my quads, disconcertingly so. I got there in plenty of time to pre-ride the course. No surprises, I'm familiar with the area. Pretty flat, one small hill just before the two mile mark, rough roads.

I registered for the race, and the first thing I noticed was the release form. It was a 3x6 sheet of paper, no standard indemnity release, and four age groups. Under 15, 15 to 18, 18 to 25, and over 25.

Yes, over 25. Looking at the field, all of 50 people,the last age range encompassed 40 of us.
One couple had ridden down from salisbury on their their touring bikes. These bikes looked like they had been across the country a dozen times. Old beat to shit cannnondales, panniers, farings, mirrors, etc. The guy from the couple looked at my Merlin and said"hmmm, merlin, never heard of it". Oh well, they were a nice couple.

I _was_ impressed by the few hot fit women, way more than the sample size would have suggested. Two young fit college female athletes, and two milf-ish looking women.

Anyways, the race started and several people took off like rabbits. Normally, you get a few that bolt away, but there were about ten guys in front of me, running _very_ fast. As we rounded the corner in the first 1/4 mile, the lead runners had already put a good 15-20 seconds on me.

We passed the mile mark, and the lead runner was long gone. I clocked 5:55. This section of the course had a good few hundred yards, and I could see the second place runner way in the distance, I checked him at a sign post, he had 40 seconds on me. Damn, these guys were fast! I slowed my pace, I didn't go there to set a PR, and wasn't at a fitness level to support that pace for two more miles.

I had caught up to one of the college chicks. She was the lead woman, and went out very fast. She was built very much like a short distance runner, and wasn't pacing her self very well. Now, she wasn't as hot as Allison Stokke, but she was built like Allison Stokke, and one could easily imagine her hanging out with Allison Stokke, she was that cute. I didn't mind her wanting to be in front of me.

I passed her just before the mile mark, and she overtook me again on the only hill on the course. We passed the two mile mark in 12:20. Since at that point, there were only a few of us within sight of each other, she was using me to pace. As I would catch her, she would accelerate and put 20 feet or so on me. This happened a few times. We ended up catching three more people before in the last mile. Coming into the finish, I made move to coming around the young hottie, but once again, she kicked out a sprint and finished ahead of me.

I finished 11th, 19:36, about a 6:19 pace. That was actually a pretty good time for me considering I hadn't run in two weeks. The winning time was around 17:30, and I heard the winner say he ran the first mile in 5:08. Everyone in the first 8 places ran a sub 6 pace. Remember, there were only 50 or so entrants

Fast. Very Fast.

The ride home was quick and much more relaxed. Tailwind this time. I got home, and felt like soaking in the sun. I pretty much hung out by my pool and drank beer. I'm glad I did, saturday was the only nice day out of the past week.

Party On.