Welcome to "SprintFit"!

   Okay, if you have been following this blog really closely over the years (and I mean really closely) then you might be aware that, given a choice, I would actually rather be running fast over a short distance than running slowly over a long distance. If you want to find out just how I feel about it then just read this wonderful post from 2014.
   I did at one point contact the track club at Western University here in London to inquire about sprint training but then the communication sort of petered out and I've only thought about it sporadically ever since.
   Then, this past Wednesday, a golden opportunity to get involved in sprinting landed in my lap. Literally, in my lap as I happened to be reading the London Free Press at the time when I found out about it!
   There was an article about local sports hero, Jessica Zelinka. Jessica is one of Canada's all-time best heptathletes and you can find out a little more about her accomplishments on her website. Please check it out! After competing in the last two Olympic Games, this year Jessica found herself outside of being able to qualify for Rio. She came home and did a little soul-searching and then finally decided that what she wanted to do was share a little of her expertise and put on a clinic for anyone who was interested in learning how to sprint and perhaps apply some of its principles to whatever sport they played on a regular basis. She sat down with Derrick Johnston, Western's sprint coach and devised a two-day clinic (on consecutive Thursdays) that would touch on all the basics of sprinting. The decided to call it, aptly enough, "Sprint Fit"!

The article which caught my eye...

   The clinics were open to all comers---any age group, any amount of experience. When I found out about them, I immediately went into "should I or shouldn't I" mode. It then occurred to me that I can talk all I want about my desire to run fast but if I then go and pass up an opportunity that is almost handed to me, I should probably just forget about it forever. So I took a huge breath, got out the credit card, and registered. I spent five minutes thinking what the hell have I done and then I just let it go. A little later on that evening, we all received an e-mail confirmation from Derrick thanking us for signing up. In it, he mentioned that people as young as 12 and as old as 70 had registered and that made me feel a little better.
   When I got to TD Waterhouse stadium, there were a handful of people just milling around inside the front gate. I started chatting with them, just to confirm that we were all here for the same reason. After about 5 minutes, this young woman comes bounding up from the far end of the track to collect us and it turns out to be Jessica. We then all follow her to the workout area.

Autographed pic from our swag bag!

   Things had already been a little surreal (for me, at least) but as we all sat down to get ready for roll call and introductions, Jessica informed us that the one single runner who was already out on the track and occasionally whizzing past us was Damian Warner. I then had one of those holy shit moments---Damian Warner is Canada's decathlon representative in Rio, won gold at both the Commonwealth and PanAm games and is arguably the best athlete in the world! And he was practising right beside us! As a group, we gave him a little cheer every time he passed us. Then, just to top things off, the Western Mustangs football shows up on the field. The Mustangs are annually one of the top college football teams in Canada and here we were sharing the stadium with them. Yes, just a touch surreal!

Damian!

   Introductions over, we then started to learn how to do sprint-specific warm-ups and drills. Much attention was placed on leg and foot movement and arm and head position. From there, we headed over to the other side of the field and practised  starting positions and foot placement as you head down the track. 
   So much to remember! It kind of reminded me of taking a golf lesson, having the instructor tell you ten important things, and then trying to swing your club while attempting to remember those ten things all at the same time! Presumably, though, the idea is that in time many of those ten things will become second nature and will only need (hopefully) minor tweaking.
   Jessica, by the way, is a sweetheart. She's one of those bubbly, energetic, funny, and non-pretentious sorts of people who you feel instantly comfortable being around. She and Derrick played well off of each other and it was kind of fun watching them learn as things went on. They were assisted by another athlete named Paul (didn't catch the last name, sorry) who himself had been a champion hurdler as a junior and he as well had all sorts of valuable insight.
   The group of participants was about as eclectic as you could get. The age range was 12 to 70, there were about as many females as males, and the skill level seemed to be pretty disparate (although I was paying way more attention to myself). At the end of the evening, I think we had all had a pretty good time and I know that I, for one, am looking forward to next Thursday. After that, I know that I am still going to want to be sprinting somewhere and will need help with a plan for that. And what better time to ask?!



   

Old Man Playing A Young Man's Game

   Yesterday was a run day.
   So I ran.
   My ass off.
   Up and down a warm, sweaty gym floor, chasing around (and being chased by) a bunch of young ball hockey players in their twenties and thirties, all of whom play pretty well every single week of the year. And not just running but stopping and starting, twisting, turning, reaching, sliding, and diving. Running forward, backward and sideways.

Not me last night, but me back last summer. I'm the player in red on
the far left, bending over to hopefully prevent a pass...

   I was there at the suggestion of Charles, a young ball hockey player I've known for a few years who runs a couple of different teams in the London Ball Hockey Association. I'd been asking around for the past few weeks in an attempt to find a team to play on this summer and it was Charles who got back to me. He runs a night of pick-up ball hockey Tuesdays at a secondary school here in London and he thought it might be kind of cool if I showed up and played. This, then, would give him an opportunity to see what kind of player I was.
   The results of the evening were kind of a mixed bag. It's always a bit of a challenge to play with and against a bunch of players you weren't familiar with and and it took me some time to find my way and feel comfortable. What happens is you find out which guys have "moves" and which guys have "shots" and you either cover them more closely (if they're on the other team) or you make sure you get them the ball (if they're on your team). 
   All of this I think I did well enough at. For the life of me, though, what I couldn't do was catch up to the damn ball on one-timers. A one-timer occurs when someone passes you the ball in a good scoring position and, rather than cradling it and moving around with it, you immediately fire it at the net without even stopping it first. And this I could not do, all night long. There were probably about six separate opportunities for me to take beautiful passes and convert them to dangerous shots on net and I flubbed every single one of them. I would take this energetic wind-up and then the pass would go right through me. Prior to the game starting, I knew it might take awhile for the hand/eye co-ordination to kick in and I was prepared to whiff on a few near the beginning, I just never expected it to last the whole game!

Once again, not last night but several summers ago.

   Today, I am as sore as hell. My back and legs have stiffened right up and my knees this morning barely supported me. It was my first day back at work after a 5-day Easter weekend and, as long as I more or less kept moving, things weren't all that bad. Sitting for twenty minutes at a Timmy's was probably not a good idea but the rest of the day was go, go, go and that really helped. The other thing that wasn't a good idea was sitting down for the length of time it took to write this blog post.....
   So it is likely that I will be back playing with the same group of guys next Tuesday. Prior to the game I'll need to do a little work on one-timers, that's for sure. As well, I think I'm going to need to change the running routine a little, these leisurely 5K's I've been doing as training runs don't quite cut it on the ball hockey floor!
   

Back at it again!

      Okay, I'm back again! Who knows for how long I'll be back but I do promise to try and do a better job of this run-blogging thing from here on in!
   By my calculations, I've run once in the last three months! As explained in earlier blog posts, I hooked up with a ball hockey team at the end of Spring and have had my hands full with doing that kind of running, as opposed to any other kind. The ball hockey season (at least for my team boo-hoo) ended a couple of nights ago so now I have the opportunity to re-focus just a touch. 
   Which is good because I have a race in six days!
   A race I obviously haven't trained for!
   Thank goodness it's only a 5K race here in London and thank goodness I've at least been doing some kind of running, in the interim.

That's me in the red shirt on the left, bending
over to take away a pass. There was WAY too much of this lol!

   My team played a couple of nights a week and the kind of running I did there likely mostly equates to speed work or hill repeats for all you regular runners out there. It will be interesting to see the kind of effect this might have had on my ability to run a 5K race. I do plan on getting out today for a run and then hopefully a couple times more before next Friday's Summer Night race.
   This race is one of my favourites on the London Honda Road Race series. It is the only evening race in the series and is an out and back kind of affair which starts of from the Barking Frog bar here in London, wends its way down near the Thames River and then back again. The race has more of a party feel to it and is one of the races where we're also not all bundled up so it's quite enjoyable. There is a slight forecast of rain so fingers crossed but then again running in a warm rain ain't all that bad either!
   So I'm headed out shortly and we'll see where my legs take me. And how fast they take me there! Let you know later on!

My Non-Forrest Moment and a Strange Click in My Hip!

   Yesterday afternoon, I played my first game of ball hockey in about two and a half years. Because it's been so long, there was a fair amount of trepidation on my part as to how I would perform and how my body might react.
   I was pleasantly surprised!
   In my last blog post, I described my concern that, at full speed in the midst of a game, my body might disintegrate. I've been doing lots of running over the last couple of years but none of it has been at full speed and I was worried that parts of me might actually fall off, a la Forrest Gump's leg braces, if I ever actually got up to full speed.
   Well, there were a handful of times yesterday that I at least almost obtained full speed and nothing really bad happened, it pretty well felt like any other time in my life when I've run hard. My other concern was that perhaps my hand/eye coordination might be off as well but even it didn't seem too bad.

Well...it was to HIM anyway!

   I'm on a team called the Outlaws and it seems to be a whole bunch of guys who've never played together before. And they're almost all young, so young in fact that a few of them could technically be my grandchildren (though perhaps not realistically).
   This is not a new situation for me, I'm the oldest player in the league and pretty well always have been. You can look like and be the oldest player in the league but the trick is to not play like you are. I kind of think I held my own today, not sure what the other guys were thinking.
   So I felt okay yesterday and I felt okay last night but I'm kinda feeling it this morning. One thing I did learn yesterday is that a lot of distance running is not necessarily going to prepare you for the stopping and starting, twisting and turning, and bumping into guys at high speed you experience playing ball hockey.
   On top of it all, my hip now clicks.
   I got home and showered after the game and then sat and watched T.V. for a bit. The first time I stood up and walked across the room after that, my left hip was clicking. It didn't hurt and but I could feel it and it was loud enough that Doralyn could hear it as well (and it kind of grossed her out!)
I immediately went to Google, typed in my symptoms, and it appears as though my IT band is snapping across my hip bone, to dumb it down a little bit. At least the description of this exactly matched what I've been feeling and hearing. I will let this go for a little bit (my usual way of dealing with physical ailments) but if it continues for too long I may seek medical advice, or at least check in with Zeinin, my chiropractor.
   This was obviously my first time playing with this team but I have pretty good feelings about it. The talent level seems to be there but what I appreciated even more than that was they seem like good guys. This is always more important to me than how much talent there might be. I've played on some extremely talented teams in my day that were awful to play on simply because of nasty personalities and over-inflated egos but, so far, this doesn't seem to be the case with this team. The next game is tomorrow and I hope things have loosened up by then---I can't imagine having to play again today! So we'll see how it goes and I'll let you know!
   

My Downtown 5K Race Recap

   As had been my plan, I went for a 5K training run this morning.
   I normally run a variety of routes in my neighbourhood but this time I decided to mix things up and head downtown. I also normally run by myself but this time I'd arranged to get together with a few other people. There were about 250 of them and we all wore paper thingies with numbers on them. 

Me, while I was still looking
forward to what was about to transpire!

   Yep I ran a race.
   This morning I ran in the second installment of the London Honda Road Race series---the Downtown 5K. Most of the races in this series have a 10K component but not this one. This meant a larger field than normal as a lot of the people who might otherwise have opted for the 10K did not have that option. Lots of race energy going on!
   It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, the snow was all gone and the temps ended up being in the low teens. Pretty well perfect for running.
   I started the morning off with a toasted PB and banana sandwich, a cup of coffee with honey and a fistful of ENERGYbits. I've used ENERGYbits about four times at this point and the jury is still out, unfortunately.
   

ENERGYbits---ten down, twenty to go.

It was a beautiful drive downtown to Victoria Park and I passed by scores of people out running, there was just this kind of vibe going on today. About a third of the way there, I realized I'd forgotten my Garmin. Unfortunately, I'd timed things out to the last minute more or less and had no time to go back and get it. This kind of screwed up my "strategy" for the race, which had been to 10 to 1 run/walk ratio. I know, seems kinda

My Injinji socks--great for running!

extreme for a 5K race but lately, in training, it's been doing the trick. The last thing I wanted to do was to be checking my phone for time or, God forbid, set a timer so I just decided that I would give myself walk breaks at something close to the 2K and 4K intervals.

The Boer War monument in Victoria
Park. Pretty impressive, actually.

   I got there in enough time to pick up my bib and still be able to stretch. While I was stretching, this young lady walked up to me and introduced herself as a Western (the local university) journalism student. She'd been there interviewing racers as part of a project and asked if I had the time to answer a few questions.. Didn't have a problem with this so she started asking me questions about how regularly I raced and what motivates me to run, those kinds of things. A very pleasant young lady.
   Then, unfortunately, the race started.

The crowd at the starting line.
I'm ALREADY behind...

   About half a kilometer in, I knew this was not going to be a fun race. I felt tired, fat and slow. I had no real plan for the race and it showed. I basically ran til I felt tired and then walked til I didn't. People were passing me left and right and suddenly I had the real fear that I might finish last. My emergency "strategy" had gone right out the window. I found myself thinking I must be an idiot for signing up for the series of races if this was what I was going to have to go through every time.
   Realistically of course, I was fully aware of why I was having difficulties. Because of the winter, the training opportunities were way down and when you couple that with all the over-indulging of the holiday season and it being my birthday this past month then it was kind of a recipe for disaster. I just need to train and eat like I should and everything'll be fine!
   Later on, they posted the chip times and I came in 243 out of 254 and dead last in my age group. The good news was I didn't need to stick around to see if I won anything!

Some of the post-race aftermath.

   Oh, there was one bright moment. With about forty yards to go, a young lady tried to "chick" me. Now, I have no idea whether she even knew or cared what "chicking" someone meant and for all I know she was just running  her race and trying to get a better time. I have, however, been passed by a young person in the last few yards of a race before and I vowed back then that I wouldn't let that happen again so as the young lady passed me I turned on the jets, beating her by a second. It was actually kind of funny because when the race announcer realized what was happening, he got all excited and declared, "That's right, it's not a run, it's a race!"
   Although, for me, like I said, it was just a run... 
     

2ND in AG! LAST in AG!

   This past Sunday, I ran in the 5K event of the Springbank Road Races. I believe this was the 47th year for these races , making them the oldest in London. Along with the 5K, there was also a half-marathon and a Kiddie Trot.
   This was a run I had not trained for. A general running funk and some niggling groin/upper hip issues have essentially kept me off the roadways the past while so I had no real intention of running a good race, it just felt kind of good to be out there running with a group of like-minded others.

Milling around before the start of the 5K.

   I also had no true strategy for the race. I had no plan around actually attempting to run the whole thing, no plan around doing run/walk intervals, no plan around pacing, no plan around anything.
   Essentially, what ended up happening was that I ran to keep up with the last third of the runners and I walked whenever I got tired. Which was often.
   It was, though, a wonderful day to run!  Hardly a cloud in the sky and there was the tiniest chill to the air, a precursor to fall, I suppose, and a welcome relief from the heat and humidity we'd been having the previous week. I'd also decided to give my race photographer (Doralyn, my wife) the morning off as the race was an early start and she gets so few opportunities to sleep in that it seemed a shame to waste this one. Hence not a lot of pics!

And more milling around AFTER the 5K.

   So I ran and I walked and I got very, very tired.  There's my re-cap. My time was about what I expected (38.00 on the button) and this landed me 106 out of 113 runners. Frankly, if I'd known I was going to come in that close to last, I'd have been shitting bricks for the last week or so...
   Likely the most remarkable part of the day was the overall camaraderie of all the runners. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, lots of laughter and high-fives, hugs and cheering. This is pretty hard to beat and part of the reason I sign up for races in the first place (it ain't about my performance!)
   The capper of it all was that I placed second in my age group! And won some Brooks running socks, to boot! Not only did I place second in my AG, I also placed last---to be truthful, ladies and gents, there were only two runners in my AG (60-64) and the other guy beat me. Badly. Like by about 14 minutes! Thank goodness the other couple of guys who normally run in my AG were busy doing the half!
   If nothing else, it got me back into the running mood (mode) and the idea of getting back out there on some kind of regular basis now is, for whatever reason, a lot more appealing! I'm also starting to wonder if the running doldrums I experienced over the summer might also have had something to do with the added heat. Now that the fresher air feels like it's arrived, the urge to get out there and run seems to be re-kindled!

Go the Distance 10K Remiss-nance

   In my probably somewhat dehydrated state as I was doing yesterday's re-cap, I was extremely remiss and forgot to touch on a couple of things!
   I never did really mention what my time was. I think I left this out mainly because it was pretty insignificant to me, I was way more focused on simply finishing the race without embarrassing myself. Well, my time was 1:20. Not good, I know. At the same time it was pretty well bang-on with the other two times I've completed 10K, running on my own and in probably easier (read much cooler) conditions. Yesterday, it was in the high seventies with no cloud cover and I remember that by the third water station I was holding an e-load in one hand, which I drank, and a water in my other hand, which went over my head (should have removed my glasses first!)
   Another thing to touch on is that I am fat! Woo hoo! Nothing like a side pic taken by my Sweetie at the start line to visually remind me of this!


That's me at the back, neon shirt and white cap. The tip of my gut is thankfully hidden from view
but I think if you just extrapolate a bit you'll get the gist of things! Back to running more regularly!!





 
 

   I also didn't mention that this race was part of the London Honda Road Race series, a series of six races over the running season. Each race collects pledges for local charities and yesterday's race was dedicated to Hope's Garden. Hope's Garden is a support and resource centre for people with eating disorders. Here is a pic of their brochure and a link, just in case you're a "local" and might be interested in getting more info (or donating!)

                                 www.hopesgarden.org

   Okay, I think that about sums it up for my remiss-nance! Thanks to the many of you who offered support and words of wisdom as I whined and fretted in the lead-up to this 10K and then afterwards as well. Also, many thanks to my sweetie, Doralyn, who got me there and back safely yesterday (and who generally gets me there and back in most of the aspects of our relationship!)
   In the meantime, happy and healthy running to you all!




Go the Distance 10K Re-cap

   Yay, I am done the Go the Distance 10K! And if I don't want to, I never have to do it again! (but I suspect I will)

The "before" pic.

    If you've been reading along lately, you know that I've been having quite a bit of trepidation about this morning's race here in London. It was my first 10K and the training leading up to it had been almost non-existent. I also had the very realistic fear of coming in dead last.
   Well, although I started dead last (self-fulfilling prophecy?), I didn't finish dead last, so, in that regard, the race was successful.

The race started just adjacent to Budweiser
Gardens, home of this year's Memorial Cup.

  It was an absolutely gorgeous morning here in London and this buoyed my spirits as Doralyn and I headed downtown. The race followed an out-and-back course which took us from downtown London along city streets til eventually we got to the river and just followed it. This was one of the nice parts for me because this got me back on trails I'd done a fair bit of running on back in the endless winter.
  

Covent Garden Market, where the
racers gathered. Pretty cool place,
if you ever wanna visit!

I did start out dead last; I tend to line up near the back at the starting line and as the race began I took a look behind me and...no-one! My plan had been to run at my marathon (giggle) pace and let the chips fall where they may but it was a little discouraging to know that a couple of hundred people were watching my sad ass marching down King Street in last place, with the rest of the runners slowly pulling away so I cranked it up a notch, just to keep up.
   About half a kilometer along, I came up behind a woman who had already slowed down almost to a walk. I passed her with an encouraging word and immediately felt better--I had the feeling I no longer had my "last place" issues to deal with and, all of the sudden, just started to enjoy myself.
   Along the way, I passed a couple more people. Right off the bat, I had noticed this older woman running up ahead and flash-backed to my last race where I got beat out by this seventy-year-old lady speedwalker. This lady today might even have been the same lady, wasn't sure, but I was wary! We did this "you pass me, I pass you" thing for awhile and at one point, as it was her turn to pass me she said "You're not going to let yourself lose to a 77-year-old woman, are you?" I laughed out loud and told her that was exactly my strategy!


Yay!

   Walk breaks were plentiful and the last kilometer was slightly uphill and a bit of a killer but then...it was done! It felt so good to get this 10K out of the way and not have to worry about it anymore. As well, it means I can just get out and run for fun again without the feeling that I'm "training" for something in particular. The next race up is a 5K and that's gonna feel like coming home!


Aching backs, sickness and botched blood boondoggles!

   When last we spoke, I think I had just finished telling you about my wonky back from working on the back yard and generally how my aging body seemed intent on placing obstacles in my running path.

Couldn't finish the run but
enjoyed the scenery along the way!

   Well that was then and this is now and for the last two weeks my body has presented me with both the pre-amble to and the after effects of a miserable head cold.
   I've had enough head colds in my life that I can pretty well tell you the chronology of them as they take me on their journey. This one has taken me down the same scratchy-throat, watery-nose, clogged-sinuses, and hacking-cough road pretty well every other cold has forced me to travel on. This one did seem to be one of the worst, though.
   Through it all, I have tried to run twice. Each time, I was able to make it to about the three and a half kilometer mark before my lungs forced me to stop. The legs felt okay but it was impossible to take in a deep breath without gagging on whatever it was that was rattling around in my chest.

More of that scenery!

   The second time I tried to run was the same day I was scheduled to make a blood donation. From previous experience, I've learned that you don't try and run after a blood donation. Just doesn't work! So I made sure to get the run in a little earlier in the day. The donation itself was kind of strange. The person doing it had all the earmarks of a first-timer---seemed distracted and nervous, fumbling with equipment, couldn't find a vein, after the needle was already in had to adjust it and then, to top it all off, something got stuck in the needle and they weren't able to even complete the donation! Then, afterwards, I'm sitting in the little refreshment area and a fellow donator finishes her donation and comes and sits down. She's barely in her chair when all of the sudden I hear her say "oh oh", I look over and blood is just gushing out if her arm and all over the floor! Staff end up running around all over the place, staunching the flow and cleaning up. Very bleachy there for awhile! I really wanted to thank her on the way out for the awesome show! All in all, a strange trip to the clinic!

Remnants of my botched donation...

   And this all came as I was finally starting to follow a 10K training plan.
   After stating this as one of my goals for the year I have actually signed up (and paid for!) a 10K race later in the summer. This has led me to seek out a 10K training plan and I finally found one of Hal Higdon's novice 8-week training plans on the internet. Almost immediately as I began it, I got sick! Today I am two weeks removed from the initial signs of the cold coming on and I still have not been involved with  running or any of the other training components of the plan which include stretching, weight training and cross training. Obviously, I may need to slightly revise the 8-week plan!
   I already know that I can run 10K as I've done it a couple of times this spring. Both times, though, I did them in about 1:18. If I do this race at that speed, I'll still be out on the course as they're handing out the awards! So a little distance-specific training is in order!
   Nor has the weather been particularly accommodating for getting out there and hitting the pavement---LOTS of rain and wind in these parts!
   Today, Victoria Day, however, is looking and feeling like a much better day to run so I really need to get out there at some point. The lungs still don't feel a hundred per cent but hopefully I'll be able to get a full 5K in this time around. And if there is anything still nestled down there inside that chest cavity that shouldn't be there then maybe a brisk little run will take care of that for me! Wish me luck!
     

Downtown 5K Race Recap

Little bit of the little bit of an expo...

   Yesterday, I ran in the Downtown 5K, here in London. The Downtown 5K is the second race in the series of six races sponsored by London Honda, in affiliation with Runners' Choice.
   I was initially a little worried about what the weather might be like as the forecast was calling for rain right about race time but, as luck would have it, the rain did not materialize. The temp was about 8C, pretty overcast so, all in all, a pretty good morning to run.
   The race both started and ended downtown (naturally

Was my race bib a foreshadowing...?

enough) in Victoria Park. It involved about an eight block loop on city streets which we ran twice (there was also a 2.5K category and they ran the loop once). It was kind of cool because they had traffic stopped for us at all the major intersections. As a driver, this would have annoyed the hell out of me but, as a runner this one time, it was sweet!
   As I always do, I lined up for the start of the race at the back of the pack. This somehow or other only seems like the right thing to do---even when I was back in school I always headed to the back of the class when picking out seats for the first time. Anyway, it's a heck of a lot less claustrophobic back there!
   I woke up that morning feeling pretty good and ready to run. The previous couple of days I had substituted walking for running as part of my #RunToCanadaDay streak and this had left me with a little extra energy. The only thing that had me worried was the fact that it had been ages since I had actually run 5K. On top of that, during the streak we are required to run only 2K and I was finding that I was pretty tired after just that, so hard to say what a 5K might do to me!

The start of the Kiddy Trot.

  

The bandshell in Victoria Park.

At any rate, I started the race and was feeling just fine for the first couple of blocks. I very quickly noticed a speedwalker up ahead of me, a tiny elderly lady, dressed in neon, with brightly coloured compression stockings. I thought to myself "how cute", as I prepared to pass her. Well, I had quite a while to prepare as I soon realized that that she was speedwalking at the same rate I was running! I was running at what I thought was a good pace for me at the beginning of a race so that I might have something left at the end but this pace would not allow me to get past this little woman. Slightly against my better judgement, I picked the pace up a notch and was soon even with her. I complimented her on her pace and she thanked me sweetly, as I slowly pulled away.

Crowd at the starting line.

   Further along, I came across another runner who had stopped for a walk break. I passed her and then a little ways up the road, I stopped for my own little walk break. At which point, she passed me. We then started taking turns passing each other as our walk breaks alternated and soon we were joking about it. It was only at the end of the race that we realized we actually knew each other through work connections many years ago! Small world!

My Sweetie, seeing me off.

Nearing the finish line, forcing a smile. Nice
pic by my Sweetie, Doralyn!

   Toward the end of the race, I was feeling pretty whipped. I had ended up taking way more walk breaks than I thought I should really need. By this point, the neon speedwalking lady had actually passed me for the last time and did, in fact, kick my ass at the end of the race. With the finish line way up ahead, I had decided to take one last walk break so that I could at least finish the race running. It was here that she pulled so far ahead of me that there was no catching her. As it turned out, I took that last walk break a little too soon and almost had to stop and walk right in front of everyone at the finish line! Fortunately I was able to tough it out but it wasn't pretty...

The start of the race. Me at the back, yellow shoes, white cap. Up ahead, near
the curb, neon top and coloured stockings----Demon
Speedwalking Lady!!

   Anyway, here are some observations: 
                                                                                                                                  Someday, somewhere, somehow...I need to get a little more serious with the training. I ran this race in a touch over 35 minutes and that just doesn't cut it. Big goal, for me, would be to get that down below 30. (tee hee) (and that "tee hee" might be part of the problem)
                                                                                                                        I thought it would be kind of cool to enter this race series because, at my age (61), I figured I would be near the top of my AG. So, so, SO wrong on that account! The handful of other guys in this AG who run this series are all experienced runners who do 5k in the mid-twenties. Laugh's on me!

  I need to calm down a little before a race. The last race, I couldn't remember how to start my Garmin. This race, I wore a short-sleeve tech shirt over top of a long-sleeve cotton one. Bad form, I realize. WORSE form, however, is that I put the short-sleeve one on backwards....(giggle) (and that "giggle" might just be part of the problem)

Finally!

  
  

The Getting-Run-Down-On-The-Homestretch Blues

   Just a brief little story I forgot to expound upon in my recent Really Chilly race recap.
   Prior to the race, I noticed this young guy walking around the annex building. He stood out because he wasn't really dressed as though he was prepared to run, he appeared to be wearing street clothes and just a cheap pair of sneakers.
   Well, he was a runner in the race. At some point during the run I saw him running back and forth, talking to some young female, possibly his sister. He looked like he was about 16. I remember thinking to myself that it was kind of cool, a young lad agreeing to run along with some family member on a race, just to keep them company. At this point, I kind of forgot about him.
   Near the end of the race, runners turned off the side streets around the Western Fair and on to the racetrack itself. The finish line was directly in front of the grandstand and as I hit this area, there was really no one ahead of me. There was a handful of spectators in the stands, cheering on the runners to the finish. I was looking forward to my moment in the sun as I headed down the home stretch when, all of the sudden, it happened.
   The young punk lad I'd noticed before passed me!
   I didn't really hear or sense him coming and was totally unprepared for this eventuality. He passed me with about eighty yards left in the race. At that point, I was faced with just exactly how to respond.
   I had had no plan whatsoever to apply a finishing kick of any kind. At the same time, I felt as though I had enough in reserve to catch this young upstart lad before we both got to the finish line. But I didn't. And I'm not quite sure why.
   I guess it's likely due to the fact that I don't really consider these things to be races.

   I know they have prizes, starting and finishing lines, stats, cheering and all the things you'd associate with a competition but I find it almost impossible to feel as though I'm competing with anyone other than myself.
   Last year, I posed this as a question to fellow running bloggers: Do you feel as though you are competing against the other runners in a race?
   I posed it because I had just finished watching the end of a 10K race in which several runners, when they realized that they were neck-and-neck with another runner coming down the homestretch, turned on the jets and became embroiled in full-out sprints to the finish. I wondered at the time about the etiquette of passing people right in front of what's usually the largest group of spectators.
   Quite a few bloggers responded to my question and the results were varied but the majority of people said a race is a race and that it was okay to go all out and pass people. Still, I have a hard time doing this.
   I'm too polite! I even feel guilty passing people during the first couple of kilometers, its almost as if I'm saying look at me, I'm faster (better) than you!
   At the same time, I expect to be passed by other people. Lots of other people! I know where I stand (all bent over and gasping) in the hierarchy of running ability and I have no qualms as faster runners move past me, more power to them.
   But I didn't enjoy being passed on the homestretch of a run in front of a grandstand with a bunch of onlookers, suffice to say.
   Part of the problem is that I was not expecting to be passed and therefore had no strategy around responding to it. Another part of the problem (and my ego really kicks in here) is that the ruffian youngster didn't even look like a runner or, for that matter, someone who had even ever seriously run in his life. I also imagine that he could have passed me anywhere else on the course but chose to do so right in front of the grandstand.
   On top of everything else, there is that "youth vs. age" dynamic I find myself dealing with more and more often these days.
   I appreciate youth. Part of me almost wanted to congratulate this young hooligan kid and pat him on the back for getting out there and competing, there's something to be admired in that.
   At the same time, he won't be passing me again!