A miracle on the streets of Eliot

Eliot Festival Day 5k
Eliot, ME

Time - 18:18.23
Place - 2nd Overall

Going into this season I had aspirations of running a solid standalone 5k road race. I've spent two years working on my run and it's finally beginning to pay dividends in the multisport world. In fact, my ability run off the bike has equalled my pure run speed this year. Some of my fastest running occurs at the tail end of a triathlon, which is a desirable trait and one that has helped me achieve success this year.  However, it doesn't do much for me when I toe the line against actual runners. At the top end of triathlon, I'm an decent runner at best. Take those run times and throw them into a road race and I'm a nobody. So, going into this year I had good intentions of translating my developing speed into a 5k time worth bragging about. With 2012 winding down, I made my annual pilgrimage (of approximately 5.5 miles) to the Eliot Festival Day 5k this morning for my one-and-only road race of the season. (As a side note, I'd probably have a lot more success in road racing if I actually tried it more than once every 365 days.)

While I had planned for some fast running this year, I entered the weekend keenly aware of the fact that it was nearly an impossibility. In the three weeks since ending my triathlon season I have done the bare minimum in terms of training. I'd completely checked out. I was burnt out, tired, and counting down the days until I could officially begin the offseason. I hit a wall and had little motivation to find a way around or over it. I ran hard twice in those three weeks and managed to squeeze in a few other decent training sessions along the way, but I was in no shape to run the kind of time I had envisioned all season long. But I was okay with that. I've accomplished a lot this season and I am comfortable with the fact that I backed of my preparation leading into today's race. While I was eager to run well, I understood that I had nothing to prove today. So I hit the start line with an attitude of "just go as hard as you can for as long as you can and let the results take care of themselves." And, naturally, "do not, under any circumstances, let your brother beat you to the finish. If that requires a 15 minute 5k, then make it happen. Losing to a member of the family is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Ever."

When the gun went off this morning, I had not even considered a podium finish. I didn't intend to race strategically in any sense. The goal was to race the clock (and Craig). But 800 meters into the race, I was leading. The only thing in front of me was the police cruiser. Oops. Clearly there's been some sort of mistake. Either I'd mistakenly gone out at a 4:45/mile pace or had false started. The scene unfolding at the front was an impossibility - a supernatural occurrence, if you will. By the 1k mark, though, the running world was returned to a state of equilibrium and I was passed. Phew. I was starting to get concerned that I was either really fast or the rest of the world got really slow. I do, after all, only get out to a road race once a year. As far as I knew, 18 minutes for 5k was the new 15:30!

One mile into the race I was solidly in second place, though third and fourth were still in contact. As I cruised through the second mile, slowly watching the flashing blues of the police car ride off into the distance with the top spot on the podium just steps behind, I was joined by a runner. He never took the lead, but he kept me honest and made me start to think about how I was going to play my cards the rest of the way to the finish. Out the window went my plan for just running the best possible time I could muster. Now there was money on the line. Running for time and racing are entirely different entities. Running for time is something anyone can do. Racing, however, requires more thought, patience, and awareness. You aren't just controlling yourself, but rather you're attempting to control the others around you. You surge and conserve at different times to have the greatest possible impact on everyone who covets your position on the road. At the same time, you're constantly aware that others are attempting to force you into moves you'd rather not make. Racing is fun. It hurts just like running what amounts to a time trial, but the added element of strategic moves makes it much more enjoyable. So, nine minutes into the event, we were racing not running.

My first major move came as we rounded a sharp turn near the 1.75 mile mark. Through the turn and for 10 strides immediately after it, I surged to below 5:00/mile pace. It wasn't a long move, but it allowed me to create separation from 3rd place. It also came at a time where I could see that 4th place had not been dropped at all. In fact, he was slowly moving onto the shoulder of the guy in 3rd. After passing mile 2, the road tilted upward. For about a half mile, the course climbs just steeply enough to singe your lungs and legs. Normally, I'd approach this hill conservatively. My pre-race plan was to settle in at around 6:10/mile and steadily climb to the summit without changing pace. Since that plan had been left on the roadside about a mile earlier, I surged again at the base of the hill. This time, I put in 45 seconds of hard running. Again, the move seemed to have an impact on one of the two chasers, but the other didn't budge. I settled back into a more conservative pace as the road flattened for a few yards, then kicked again when the gradient increased. I upped the tempo until there were only 100 yards left in the hill and then backed off. Often, people run (or ride) too hard to the top of a hill, only to be out of gas on arrival. Knowing this scenario would almost certainly end my hopes of a podium finish, I tried to conserve a bit of energy to surge over the top of the hill. I did this with perfection and seemed to lengthen my lead a bit over third place. However, in a quick glance over my shoulder I noticed that 4th place was looking very strong and in a position to overtake 3rd. He was also still close enough to out-sprint me if I were to stumble anywhere in the final half mile.

As I neared the 3 mile mark, I began to dry heave. Fantastic feeling, really (insert sarcasm here...). Knowing you're seconds away from throwing up on any number of spectators while simultaneously being passed and bounced off the podium is a confidence-inspiring feeling (add more sarcasm.). But with only a tenth of a mile remaining, I was sure I could hold down the vomit until after the finish. Three steps later, I wasn't so sure. Then I felt okay. Then not so much. Repeat this for 30 seconds as I put on quite a display of awkward facial expressions for the crowd. At least I had second place wrapped up.

Then, there were footsteps. I was literally 15 yards from the finish and someone was moving to my shoulder. Sure enough, the guy in 4th place had blown by 3rd and was now setting his sights on my paycheck. Determined not to let this happen, I lunged for the line with every ounce of energy I had. It's something I've always wanted to do, really. Sometimes while I run I envision finish-line sequences that require a perfect stretch for the line. As my mind wanders on these lonely training runs, I sometimes imagine myself sprinting away from my pretend competition, while on other occasions a photo finish is required. In my mind, I win every time. Funny how reality doesn't always play out the way we imagine things. As we hit the line in unison I had no idea who'd won. I thought I had perfected my finish line lean, but it was really too close to call.

After the race, as the results were posted, my fears were realized when I saw that I'd been outrun by two one-hundreths of a second. According to the initial results, I'd run 18:18.25 and second place was 18:18.23. Damn.

Fast forward 30 minutes. Word had started to spread that the results had been changed. A few people approached me to say that I'd actually finished second. Most of these people were spectators that had seen the finish. I thanked them and said I thought the same thing, but it was so close that the official results were probably accurate. Then, minutes later, word arrived that there was actually a new sheet up on the results board and my name had bumped up a spot. I ventured over to the board to see just how accurate my sources were. Sure enough, they'd been right! According to the final results, I'd actually out-edged third place by .02. Sweet!

The awards ceremony confirmed this result and I was granted second place along with a plaque and some cash. I believe I doubled my winnings with that .02 second lunge! Either way, taking home cash was completely unexpected today. I figured I'd run somewhere in the top 15, but had no ambitions of finishing in the top 3. Admittedly, the field was weaker than normal, but you can only race the people who show up! My time of 18:18, which is exactly the same as last year's, was less than inspirational. I'd originally wanted to go 16:45. Knowing that was impossible given the last three weeks I was prepared to be satisfied with 17:45. Anything between 18:00 and 18:20 was sort of a worst-case scenario, but a result I could rationalize. Over that and I would have held my head in shame! That said, I'm happy with the race. I still have my sights set on running a respectable time (which, to me, means going under 17 minutes.) But that goal can wait until next year. As I said I didn't end up running to post my fastest time today (not that I would have gone any faster, though). Halfway through the race the focused switched to placing as high as possible and ran the race differently because of that. Mission accomplished on that front with my second place spot on the podium, so I left happy.

My brother managed to run under 20 minutes and secured a top 10 finish today. Eileen was also there and ran a solid time as well! Though the highlight of her day was very clearly the moment her bib number was called during the raffle. Not only did we take home prize money today, but we also left with a gift certificate to a local restaurant! Even my dad laced up his shoes for the event and crossed the line 4th in his age group. Overall, it was a solid day all around and a fitting way to end my season.

In the next few weeks I'll sit down and compose an entry to summarize my year and outline a bit of what I'm looking forward to for next season. Until then, thank you for reading and supporting me throughout the 2012 season.