About a month ago one of my good friends, Mary Leigh, signed up for the Alston + Bird Corporate Cup 5k and I volunteered to pace her. At the time I didn't give a second thought to my ability to pace her for the sub 30 minute goal. Little did I know that
running for two would slow down my “easy” pace to the point where I was worried
about my own ability to run that fast! As much as I still love running, it is a
lot different and much harder than it used to be. Finding the drive to get
myself out the door has been a huge challenge the last month, but fortunately
this past week seems to have been a turning point. I ran 15 miles this week
(including the 5k) and felt better than I have the entire year. I am very
thankful to have my energy back, and hopefully I can get my running worked into
a normal schedule from now on. So, the fun part, the race:
Friday
night before the race Mike and Mary Leigh came over for dinner to carb load
with some delicious gnocchi from Pasta Provisions and bread rolls with honey.
We followed dinner by watching the highly motivational episode from The Office: “Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin
Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run
Race For the Cure;” I figured we could use a few pointers before our race
the next day! After that educational viewing we decided to turn in early. What
seemed like just a few hours later, my alarm clock was sounding the alarm that
race day was upon us. I had forgotten how much I LOVE race day. There is
something amazing about hundreds of people that are complete strangers all
coming together for the purpose of running. Most of them are not there to win,
some of them (Mike) haven’t even trained, they just want to be a part of
something that they know will benefit their health (or allow them to eat an
extra piece of cake later), and I just think that is so cool.
 |
| Mike, Mary Leigh, myself, and Jason before the start! |
Before
we knew it we were standing in the starting coral ready to go. The gun went off
… and we stood there. Another thing I forgot is that when you are not on the
front line of the race at the start, it’s really not that exciting when the gun
fires. It took us almost 50 seconds to actually cross the starting line and
officially begin our race, thanks goodness for timing chips! The first half mile
was utter chaos. Hundreds of people were jostling all around us trying to find
a comfortable pace for the next few miles, but fortunately the four of us were
able to stay together. It turns out that Mary Leigh is a bit claustrophobic so
Mike, Jason, and I formed as much of a barricade around her as possible and
fought our way down Tryon St until we finally had some breathing room near the
half mile mark. From there on it was smooth sailing! Mary Leigh and I ran out
front with Mike and Jason right behind us, and I had an eye on my trusty Garmin
the whole way to make sure we maintained at least a 9:25 average mile pace. I
really can’t take much credit for Mary Leigh’s time in this race. After the
first half mile she dictated our speed the whole way, and I never had to tell
her to speed up. Surprisingly, I told her to slow down a few times when I knew
we had a hill coming or just thought it best to conserve energy in the early
parts of the race.
At
the 2 mile mark there was a water station and I almost started laughing. I know
it sounds silly, but before the race I had discussed with Mary Leigh the
“right” way to approach a water stop during a race, yes there is a “right” way.
She very politely listened and nodded at the time, but I had a feeling she was
laughing on the inside thinking this was just overkill on my part to prep her
for this, but sure enough there was the water station! She made eye contact
with the volunteer so they knew she was going for their cup, smoothly grabbed
it without spilling, crushed the top part a bit to make a spout, and downed
some much needed water. Then with a beautiful arc of a toss, got the empty cup
as close to the trash can as possible without hitting other runners in the
process … I was so proud! Ok, enough gushing about water cups, back to the
race. We had a mile to go, and most of it was up hill. Our average pace was
9:18 so I knew we were looking good for sub 30 minutes if we just held steady
and maintained. Soon we were all rounding the final corner of the race course
and could see the finish line just 50 meters away. I encouraged the group to
speed up and Mary Leigh said she didn’t have anything left, but then Mike
started looking like he was going to pass her; and that was all it took. It was
as though there was a fire under her feet and she took off! I was actually
worried about my ability to keep up at that point, remember, running for two
here. We all approached the finish line together, and at that moment I probably
looked like the biggest jerk in the world. I wanted Mary Leigh to finish first,
so behind her back I grabbed on to Mike’s arm with one hand, and grabbed
Jason’s arm with the other to pull them back and make sure she crossed first.
She did, and the three of us followed immediately behind her. Final time: 28:50!
It
was such a wonderful feeling to have run a race with friends and meet our goal.
We celebrated by heading to Brueger’s Bagel for second breakfast and enjoyed
some nice hot beverages. I am looking forward to more races like this one
during the next few months. Next up: Austin 10 miler on April 15th
with Christine and Andrew Tilt!
