Thursday, September 30, 2004
l33t
Today, in my Run/Jog leisure skills class, our instructor informed us that the class was too diverse in skill to keep us all running at the same level. She divided us into two groups, one of about 10 or 12 and one of 6... the l33ts. I got stuck in the better runner group, and while the larger group will be stepping their runs down to 1 or 2 miles, we'll be stepping up to 5 miles every class.
It's just strange to look back and realize how far I've come. It was January 2002 when Kimmie and Meredith convinced me to take a run with them along campus, and I complained and wheezed the entire way. Now I (try to) run 3x a week, averaging about 3-4 miles a run. I've participated in a race and didn't do bad, and my heart rate has fallen through the floor. I'm an athlete now! Holy crap! My geekness suffers!
It's just strange to look back and realize how far I've come. It was January 2002 when Kimmie and Meredith convinced me to take a run with them along campus, and I complained and wheezed the entire way. Now I (try to) run 3x a week, averaging about 3-4 miles a run. I've participated in a race and didn't do bad, and my heart rate has fallen through the floor. I'm an athlete now! Holy crap! My geekness suffers!
Monday, September 27, 2004
Just breathe...
Breathe. Come on breathe.
I thought it had started out pretty well, although I felt a little out of place one person back from the starting line. A voice on the loudspeaker lifted over the voices of the crowd:
“One minute left!”
I tensed. I knew I'd better move like I had a purpose, as I had roughly 660 people behind me who were about to make that mad first dash. I knew the race was supposed to start with a gunshot, and being the jumpy guy that I am, tensed up as the final countdown began.
“On your mark, get set... go!”
The first three thoughts that went through my mind as I hurtled The first thought that was going through my mind as I hurtled forward was moderate surprise: “They never fired a gun... I was expected a gun...”
The second thought was fright. The man running in front of me stopped on a dime, forcing me to think of a variety of explicatives and perform one of my coveted matrix-twist-dives around him. I landed on my feet, and kept moving moving moving through the stampede.
The third thought was, “This is the coolest thing I've EVER done,” as I realized that I was running next to the one and only Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. For some reason it was racing along side us, and I slapped it's bun-base as I slide along the gravel and ran my way out of the parking lot.
The race was hardcore, as the road around Greenville just keeps going up and down up and down. As we broke out of the the parking lot in which the race started, I noticed I was with a crowd of about 10 or so elites. One guy was so hardcore, he was actually talking to someone next to him as he ran. I thought, “Hey, this isn't so bad,” then I realized that my lungs were laying on the road about half a mile behind me.
I slowed down to a moderate pace (which turned out to be 6:43 a mile, a little more than moderate!). The depressing thing about starting in front is watching all the elites that started behind you go past you.
We passed a house with a huge BEWARE OF THE DOG sign, with a supremely angry Doberman being held back by a rusty metal gate. “Someone let that dog out,” I thought, “and watch everyone's times improve!”
At every mile marker there was a water station, full of little girls holding out cups of water, eager to be of service. When I hit the second mile I decided that these girls needed to feel useful, so I scooped up a cup on my way by.
So as I was running uphill with a cup of water in my hand, I wondered how exactly I was going to go about drinking it. I opened up my mouth and tried to splash some inside, but my throat was fully dedicated to breathing breathing breathing. Half by decision and half by reflex, I inverted the cup over my head, and tossed it aside.
I was now one wet, angry, and determined redhead. I sped up a little bit and caught up to a group with a redheaded girl in it. I was determined to at least stay on her to keep up my pace.
We began to round the last corner, and a man called out to the girl “you're 36th (although at the time I thought it was 26th) and 6th for women! I now thought that I was 27th, so I pulled ahead of her in a desperate attempt for 26th. The balloons that marked our starting point were right ahead, and I managed to keep up the pace as I passed over the line.
Alas, I forgot that on the way back, we had to pass the start line and turn a bend, so she and another man pulled ahead of me, and hit the finish line before I worked up the pace again.
The final results for the race can be found here
For some reason, the electronic results (determined by a little sensor we had tied to our shoes) have me about 12 places behind the girl I know I was right behind.
According to the electronic results, for the 5k (little over 3 miles) I placed 47th out of 666 runners, 2nd for my age group (20-24) exluding the 3 winners, and 41st out of men. My guntime was 20:52, giving me a pace of 6:43 for each mile.
I'd do it again. There are 46 people that need to watch their backs next time!
I thought it had started out pretty well, although I felt a little out of place one person back from the starting line. A voice on the loudspeaker lifted over the voices of the crowd:
“One minute left!”
I tensed. I knew I'd better move like I had a purpose, as I had roughly 660 people behind me who were about to make that mad first dash. I knew the race was supposed to start with a gunshot, and being the jumpy guy that I am, tensed up as the final countdown began.
“On your mark, get set... go!”
The first three thoughts that went through my mind as I hurtled The first thought that was going through my mind as I hurtled forward was moderate surprise: “They never fired a gun... I was expected a gun...”
The second thought was fright. The man running in front of me stopped on a dime, forcing me to think of a variety of explicatives and perform one of my coveted matrix-twist-dives around him. I landed on my feet, and kept moving moving moving through the stampede.
The third thought was, “This is the coolest thing I've EVER done,” as I realized that I was running next to the one and only Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. For some reason it was racing along side us, and I slapped it's bun-base as I slide along the gravel and ran my way out of the parking lot.
The race was hardcore, as the road around Greenville just keeps going up and down up and down. As we broke out of the the parking lot in which the race started, I noticed I was with a crowd of about 10 or so elites. One guy was so hardcore, he was actually talking to someone next to him as he ran. I thought, “Hey, this isn't so bad,” then I realized that my lungs were laying on the road about half a mile behind me.
I slowed down to a moderate pace (which turned out to be 6:43 a mile, a little more than moderate!). The depressing thing about starting in front is watching all the elites that started behind you go past you.
We passed a house with a huge BEWARE OF THE DOG sign, with a supremely angry Doberman being held back by a rusty metal gate. “Someone let that dog out,” I thought, “and watch everyone's times improve!”
At every mile marker there was a water station, full of little girls holding out cups of water, eager to be of service. When I hit the second mile I decided that these girls needed to feel useful, so I scooped up a cup on my way by.
So as I was running uphill with a cup of water in my hand, I wondered how exactly I was going to go about drinking it. I opened up my mouth and tried to splash some inside, but my throat was fully dedicated to breathing breathing breathing. Half by decision and half by reflex, I inverted the cup over my head, and tossed it aside.
I was now one wet, angry, and determined redhead. I sped up a little bit and caught up to a group with a redheaded girl in it. I was determined to at least stay on her to keep up my pace.
We began to round the last corner, and a man called out to the girl “you're 36th (although at the time I thought it was 26th) and 6th for women! I now thought that I was 27th, so I pulled ahead of her in a desperate attempt for 26th. The balloons that marked our starting point were right ahead, and I managed to keep up the pace as I passed over the line.
Alas, I forgot that on the way back, we had to pass the start line and turn a bend, so she and another man pulled ahead of me, and hit the finish line before I worked up the pace again.
The final results for the race can be found here
For some reason, the electronic results (determined by a little sensor we had tied to our shoes) have me about 12 places behind the girl I know I was right behind.
According to the electronic results, for the 5k (little over 3 miles) I placed 47th out of 666 runners, 2nd for my age group (20-24) exluding the 3 winners, and 41st out of men. My guntime was 20:52, giving me a pace of 6:43 for each mile.
I'd do it again. There are 46 people that need to watch their backs next time!
