Vadnais Heights Snail Run 5k....

There is ALWAYS someone faster, stronger, better…maybe not on that particular day or that particular race, but its true. That’s why we set goals for ourselves! My goal for the day was to run, injury free, but still put out some good effort. All 3 goals were met…I ran, I’m not feeling any new injuries, and I put out my best effort! How do I know its my best….well, until I show something better, the feeling of needing to puke, gasping for air, and the spins right after I crossed the finish line, thats a pretty good sign to me.


My son, Kyle, and I headed out early saturday morning for the race. He was going to run his second 1k after I finished my 5k. I had a 10k option as well, but opted for the 5k in order to keep my IT-band issue at bay (hahaaha). Anyway, we got to the park…got Kyle signed up and verified my entry…got our bags of goodies and race shirts, and then went and played at the park (we got there way too early, but no big deal). A bit later Erica showed up to race the 5k with me and it was her birthday!! happy Birthday Erica and good job on your race in the dense Minnesota humidity! Race was slotted to start at 8, which it did, so we just relaxed and chatted before hand. Jo-jo showed up around 7:30 or so and she and Kyle were gonna hang out while Erica and I raced. It was beautiful morning, just a bit thick….just hot enough for me to run shirtless, which is probably a scarey sight for most, but I don’t care…not anymore.


We lined up for the race…about 2 minutes and counting til the gun goes off. I’m right up front with two other shirtless guys…they were young and confident and college track runners! I’m not judging, but i’m betting, at this point, that they are probably pretty quick. I was right!


5k and 10k start was the same time so we had about 320 runners ready to go. Race director Mark Bongers of Final Stretch Inc. sounded the horn and off we went. I wanted to run, fast, hard, but not get hurt…I mentioned that already I think, but that was the gameplan for the get-go. First mile of the race was flat and or down hill (you know what that means on an out and back course) so the tempo was fast at the beginning. About 10 runners shot off the gates in front of me, so I made sure to try and keep them at least in my sights. After mile 1 I had only been passed by one guy, he was moving at a pretty good clip…so I let him go as I was running at my threshold pace already. He didn’t get too far ahead, though, trust me.
Water stop at about 1.3 miles then the halfway turn point for the 5k was just ahead…a younger girl in front of me asked the course marshall where to turn, he said “right here!” So what did she do, you may find yourself asking? She literally turned right there…even though there was a ‘5k tunrnaround’ sign and a bunch of orange cones just 10 yards in front of her. What the course marshall said and what he meant were obviously two different things…so I won’t hold it against her…actually, it gave me a great reason to go ahead and pass her, but in due time.
So I’m running, and struggling to find air…it was there, but now my mind was playing those little tricks on me! Slow down, don’t hurt yourself, you don’t need to finish this race hard, just relax. ALL lies, don’t listen to those voices…If you can think that much then you can run faster! I’m coming out of the lake road (which is actually called Sucker Boulevard) on my way towards the aforementioned downhill, which of course has now turned into an…yep you got it, an uphill. This is where I do my dirty work! I’m climbing, I see too many people I need to pick off. I’m on my toes now and my Asics DS Trainer 14’s are just the shoe for this type of race (lite and fast). Grinding my way towards the top, grinding to pass…and as I do I tell one fellow “I love these hills!” he didn’t respond, I don’t think he liked me too much at this point. There was still a girl (the one who schucked the turnaround) and a dude (wearing a bandana like Jesse James) in front of me…this was my day, not theirs, so I passed them too. The top of the hill, a hard left turn and one tenth to the finish. I didn’t even notice my time and of course forgot to stop my garmin. I was somewhere between 19 and 20, and somewhere between 5th and 7th overall. I love it, 5ks are grueling fun!! Great race, good times.

http://finalstretch.com/races/snail_run/results/2009_5k.htm


After I was finished with my run and got my bearings straight I went down the hill to watch for Erica, (did I mention it was her birthday?). After a bit she rounded the corner and I cheered her on to victory. I told her she was doing a great job and to keep it up cause “it’s your birthday”. A lady in the crowd yelled happy birthday to her as well and when Erica passed the woman sasked me if it was really her birthday. I told her it was and she was 46 years young (Erica is actually now 32 and looks like she could be 25), I think the woman almost passed out…hahahaahah! I told her I was kidding and we got a good laugh out of it. Naughty me….
BTW, great job Erica…that was a tough race and you did great!
About one hour after my finish it was Kyles turn to race his 1k! He was excitedly nervous! He kept asking me whre to go, where was the run going to go towards, I better go line up and get ready to run (we had 20 minutes still until race start). I love his courage…I wonder often what may be going through his mind as he readies for a race, that would be interesting to know for sure. I kept him calm, talked up the game a bit and he was ready to roll when all the kids came up to the line. I started taking some pics at the start line, and then after the buzzer went off i followed him around the track to snap a few more pics…I got some real good ones, very action packed…lol!I tried to help push him through some of the hills and talk him through it. He listened real well and put it all out there. I am very proud of him. Good job little man!! You did good.


Good day! Followed the race up with some work time at the Running Room and then off to the house for doggie patrol and back on the road to celebrate Ericas B-day! Awesome day, great afternoon, and wonderful evening….
Bishop (greenking17) out….