Day One Hundred Four - Gobble Gobble
I gotta tell you guys - that 18.2 miles way back on Day 99 WRECKED me. Seriously. I was really hurting for most of the weekend and into the early part of Monday. And then I got lazy. Well, not exactly...OK, yeah, lazy. I did nothing on Monday and told myself I would wake up early on Tuesday to run before work, as I was taking a train home on Tuesday night. That...didn't happen. Man, I really do wish I could run in the morning before work, but I have a mental block or something. Just can't do it. Course, a few months back I couldn't run more than 4 miles comfortably, so I guess it's more that I "won't" do it. Yay rah rah.
Anycrap, got back to CT on Tuesday night, which is always a nice break from the city with plans to run on Wednesday. And then that didn't happen either. I did go to The Sports Authority and to Dick's Sporting Goods and got some fancy new running duds and accessories though, so I was running in spirit.
On Thursday though, the run was unavoidable. Every Thanksgiving in Manchester, Connecticut they run the Manchester Road Race. This year was the 70th running (which, I think, makes it the oldest continuously run road race in the US). I grew up drinking hot chocolate and watching my dad run the race while other members of my family volunteered with the race committee, so it's something that I've been around for a long time. In high school my sister ran one year with my father and several friends of mine made it an annual tradition. I didn't run until my sophomore year of college. That was the last year my father ran and my step brother and I joined him. That was a miserable run. I hadn't run one mile to train and just went out and ran like hell for 47 some-odd minutes. It was cold and sleeting and afterwards my legs tightened up and I couldn't take a flight of stairs for days. It was like the aftermath of my first day of training in August, but worse. Probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done.
Last year I decided I wanted to run the race again. Being older and wiser I actually trained this time, although not well. Fortunately a few family members decided they wanted to run as well. My cousin Peter is a big time competitive runner, so he and his parents were in right off the bat. Oh yeah, Peter was in 6th grade at the time and it was just a given that he was going to finish first. Yeah, the kid is fast. Then my cousin Jessica and my Uncle John joined the fun. We all went and ran in the snow last year and had a great time. We finished in a loose group (well, Peter was way ahead of us) right around the 43 minute mark.
This year everyone was back from last year and we actually added a few new runners. Cousin Jessica how has a better half (a sprinter, actually) and my Auntie Po decided to join in on the fun. I woke up Thursday and it was pouring. The temperature was somewhere around 40 degrees or so. Basically it was miserable. I hopped in the car and headed over to my Uncle Matt's place where we were all meeting. I scarfed down an english muffin and we all piled into Uncle Mart's SUV and headed over to Main Street in Manchester. We parked about half a mile from the Army/Navy hall where we usually meet up (along with half of the other 10,000 or so runners). The rain had let up and we made our way over to the hall and found a good spot to stash our stuff. After 45 minutes or so we made our way out to the starting line. Peter filed in with the 30 - 35 minute group and we pushed our way through the crowd to the back as the national anthem played and the wheelchair participants started the race. At this point it started to absolutely pour and it was a challenge to keep warm while waiting for the start of the race. I expected the crowds to be thinner with the terrible weather, but it was the most crowded I ever remember it (we saw someone with a 10,000 number on their chest which means at least that many runners registered for the race, not to mention bums like me that just show up and run). We couldn't even make it under the ropes into the field of runners until the race began and the pack in front of us thinned out.
When the mass of humanity started moving we all filed forward. We reached the starting line at around 2:45. I started my watch and moved as far to the outside as I could and started running. Or trying to anyway. Running in a pack like that is quite the challenge, especially with spectators on the side of the path and rain soaking the road. I was weaving in and out of traffic, but couldn't really get moving. I hit the one mile mark at 12:00 on the official clock (about 9:15 by my watch) and felt good because I had navigated the thickest crowds and was only off my mile goal by 45 seconds. The entire second mile is one long hill and it was here where the training from the past two and a half months really kicked in. The crowd was still pretty heavy and I found myself zig-zagging back and forth and stuck behind a slow moving group a few times, but mostly I got creative and ran on front lawns or through huge puddles to keep my momentum (at one point I ran past a group of spectators and someone shouted "watch out, he's a splasher").
As I crested the hill I started feeling really good. I was definitely moving at a good clip and knew that the hardest part of the run was behind me. I cruised into the downhill section probably a little too fast, but just kept going as I was feeling really good now. I hit the three mile mark and refused to check the time as I was confident in my pace and didn't want to get in my own head if I was ahead or behind by a significant amount. I was running my race and feeling good. The crowds were amazing throughout, as they always are with this run, and there were several bands and people with signs (and adult beverages) braving the elements to cheer us on. Twice I passed houses with large gatherings of people where radios were blaring the theme from Rocky and I'll tell you something - that shit works.
I hit the four mile mark and let it rip. I was psyched to know how much I had left in the tank and knowing I was going to finish strong had me feeling no pain, no cold, no rain. I could see the finish now and tried to throw it up one more gear, but I was giving it everything I had. The desire to go faster was there, I just didn't have the mechanics. As I approached the shoots I heard footsteps behind me. I was trying to hold off whoever was advancing on me when I got passed...
...by a guy...
...in a banana costume.
So much for my pride.
I crossed the finish line at 38:55, right behind Banana Guy. The upside was that I had finished the race in the time I had set out to run it. 4.74 miles in less than 40 minutes. I met up with Peter at the Army/Navy hall. He had finished in 34 minutes. The rest of our group trickled in over the next few minutes. Everyone finished well and we all shared war stories of the weather and some of the characters out on the course. Naked Guy (actually wearing a thong of some sort) was a favorite of Po's while I prefer the tradition of The Blues Brothers, who run every year. Heading back to the car in through the rain was actually the worst part of the whole affair. With the weather you'd think that one in eight of us would have thought to bring maybe a towel, a change of clothes or even an umbrella.
Soaked and cold we got back to Uncle Matt's with plenty of time to head back home, shower, get ourselves warmed up and head back in time for our Thanksgiving meal. Next year we run again, and we're looking to expand our numbers. Maybe Jen will make the trip to CT to take part in the tradition.
As for you Banana Guy - you may have won this time, but I'll be back.
DAY 104
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 4.74
TOTAL MILEAGE: 240.97
Anycrap, got back to CT on Tuesday night, which is always a nice break from the city with plans to run on Wednesday. And then that didn't happen either. I did go to The Sports Authority and to Dick's Sporting Goods and got some fancy new running duds and accessories though, so I was running in spirit.
On Thursday though, the run was unavoidable. Every Thanksgiving in Manchester, Connecticut they run the Manchester Road Race. This year was the 70th running (which, I think, makes it the oldest continuously run road race in the US). I grew up drinking hot chocolate and watching my dad run the race while other members of my family volunteered with the race committee, so it's something that I've been around for a long time. In high school my sister ran one year with my father and several friends of mine made it an annual tradition. I didn't run until my sophomore year of college. That was the last year my father ran and my step brother and I joined him. That was a miserable run. I hadn't run one mile to train and just went out and ran like hell for 47 some-odd minutes. It was cold and sleeting and afterwards my legs tightened up and I couldn't take a flight of stairs for days. It was like the aftermath of my first day of training in August, but worse. Probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done.
Last year I decided I wanted to run the race again. Being older and wiser I actually trained this time, although not well. Fortunately a few family members decided they wanted to run as well. My cousin Peter is a big time competitive runner, so he and his parents were in right off the bat. Oh yeah, Peter was in 6th grade at the time and it was just a given that he was going to finish first. Yeah, the kid is fast. Then my cousin Jessica and my Uncle John joined the fun. We all went and ran in the snow last year and had a great time. We finished in a loose group (well, Peter was way ahead of us) right around the 43 minute mark.
This year everyone was back from last year and we actually added a few new runners. Cousin Jessica how has a better half (a sprinter, actually) and my Auntie Po decided to join in on the fun. I woke up Thursday and it was pouring. The temperature was somewhere around 40 degrees or so. Basically it was miserable. I hopped in the car and headed over to my Uncle Matt's place where we were all meeting. I scarfed down an english muffin and we all piled into Uncle Mart's SUV and headed over to Main Street in Manchester. We parked about half a mile from the Army/Navy hall where we usually meet up (along with half of the other 10,000 or so runners). The rain had let up and we made our way over to the hall and found a good spot to stash our stuff. After 45 minutes or so we made our way out to the starting line. Peter filed in with the 30 - 35 minute group and we pushed our way through the crowd to the back as the national anthem played and the wheelchair participants started the race. At this point it started to absolutely pour and it was a challenge to keep warm while waiting for the start of the race. I expected the crowds to be thinner with the terrible weather, but it was the most crowded I ever remember it (we saw someone with a 10,000 number on their chest which means at least that many runners registered for the race, not to mention bums like me that just show up and run). We couldn't even make it under the ropes into the field of runners until the race began and the pack in front of us thinned out.
When the mass of humanity started moving we all filed forward. We reached the starting line at around 2:45. I started my watch and moved as far to the outside as I could and started running. Or trying to anyway. Running in a pack like that is quite the challenge, especially with spectators on the side of the path and rain soaking the road. I was weaving in and out of traffic, but couldn't really get moving. I hit the one mile mark at 12:00 on the official clock (about 9:15 by my watch) and felt good because I had navigated the thickest crowds and was only off my mile goal by 45 seconds. The entire second mile is one long hill and it was here where the training from the past two and a half months really kicked in. The crowd was still pretty heavy and I found myself zig-zagging back and forth and stuck behind a slow moving group a few times, but mostly I got creative and ran on front lawns or through huge puddles to keep my momentum (at one point I ran past a group of spectators and someone shouted "watch out, he's a splasher").
As I crested the hill I started feeling really good. I was definitely moving at a good clip and knew that the hardest part of the run was behind me. I cruised into the downhill section probably a little too fast, but just kept going as I was feeling really good now. I hit the three mile mark and refused to check the time as I was confident in my pace and didn't want to get in my own head if I was ahead or behind by a significant amount. I was running my race and feeling good. The crowds were amazing throughout, as they always are with this run, and there were several bands and people with signs (and adult beverages) braving the elements to cheer us on. Twice I passed houses with large gatherings of people where radios were blaring the theme from Rocky and I'll tell you something - that shit works.
I hit the four mile mark and let it rip. I was psyched to know how much I had left in the tank and knowing I was going to finish strong had me feeling no pain, no cold, no rain. I could see the finish now and tried to throw it up one more gear, but I was giving it everything I had. The desire to go faster was there, I just didn't have the mechanics. As I approached the shoots I heard footsteps behind me. I was trying to hold off whoever was advancing on me when I got passed...
...by a guy...
...in a banana costume.
So much for my pride.
I crossed the finish line at 38:55, right behind Banana Guy. The upside was that I had finished the race in the time I had set out to run it. 4.74 miles in less than 40 minutes. I met up with Peter at the Army/Navy hall. He had finished in 34 minutes. The rest of our group trickled in over the next few minutes. Everyone finished well and we all shared war stories of the weather and some of the characters out on the course. Naked Guy (actually wearing a thong of some sort) was a favorite of Po's while I prefer the tradition of The Blues Brothers, who run every year. Heading back to the car in through the rain was actually the worst part of the whole affair. With the weather you'd think that one in eight of us would have thought to bring maybe a towel, a change of clothes or even an umbrella.
Soaked and cold we got back to Uncle Matt's with plenty of time to head back home, shower, get ourselves warmed up and head back in time for our Thanksgiving meal. Next year we run again, and we're looking to expand our numbers. Maybe Jen will make the trip to CT to take part in the tradition.
As for you Banana Guy - you may have won this time, but I'll be back.
DAY 104
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 4.74
TOTAL MILEAGE: 240.97
posted by Demps at 7:21 AM
1 Comments:
i'm in for next year, if only to see banana guy.
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