Big Fish in a Little Pond

Its been about two weeks since my last post and two weeks since my much obsessed over 10k race. The recent two weeks is full of good news and bad news. The good news is that I did what I had to do at the local 10k. Much to my annoyance, the guy from last year who had crushed my spirit and beat me last year was a no show. The only other runner of any conceivable fitness was a buddy of mine who is currently training for the Chicago Marathon in October and actually made it into their "Elite Development Program" which means he starts with the other professionals and gets his entry fee paid for. He had done a decent sized workout the day before and really didn't feel like moving too fast that particular day, so he was running the 5k. He did however, help pace me out the first mile or so. We went out at an extremely controlled pace of 5:18. As the course continued up hill, I started to feel good, REAL good. Soon I left my pacer behind and set on what would be a very bland 5 miles that basically turned into a glorified tempo, culminating in a 33:12 win, along with it a course record. I felt if I had someone there for the majority of it, even the first 5 or 6k I feel I could have pulled along to somewhere in the 32:40 region. Still it was a 50+ second pr, and shows how much fitter I am this summer than last year. First of all, I RACED last year to a 34 flat. This year was a lot more relaxed and was significantly faster. Plus I hit the goals I set for myself which is always good. Hoping to go sub 33 next year.

Now fast forward 10 days. Clark County, WA (where I live) has a wonderful running club that meets every wednesday during the summer for 3 mile races/runs. A lot of people from up and coming High Schoolers to old farts still living the dream come and socialize and run. Not everybody does it hard every week, but if you do decide to strap on your flats and race, you are usually going to get your moneys worth ($2 or the $10 membership fee). This last week was at the Washington State University-Vancouver campus. The only word to describe this course is HILLY. And thats an understatement. The first 1k of the course is completely down hill. Which is fine because you are running fast, until you realize the next mile and a half are completely UPHILL, which is not fine because you are running really slow. It then rolls in gently the last half mile for a 3 mile course that has never had anyone break 16:13 until this last week. I was hoping to run right around 16 flat or maybe be the first person to run under 16 for that course. And its not like talented runners havent run this course before. My buddy Shane Geiger, who finished 40th at Division 1 XC West Regionals running for the University of Portland had only run 16:28 on it last year. It's a damn tough course.

It's even tougher when certain people show up. And by certain people I mean Alan Webb's workout partner. These runs have been dominated  by the Baumann brothers, two guys in their upper thirties who can still throw down a sub 25 8k and aren't too shabby on the track either. One of the brothers paces workouts for a lot of the Nike Portland athletes such as Ritz, Rupp and Kara Goucher. And when either of these guys show up, "they don't come to these to jog" (an exact quote from our warm up together).

The run starts. Oscar and Arhlin, the two brothers start out in front with me on their shoulder. Oscar had the old course record of 16:13 and is always tough and Arhlin is a beast, even more so than Oscar. Arhlin then takes the lead. And me being the dumbass that I am, follow him. Hell, I get side by side with him and try to show him that I can take what ever you throw at me. The first 1k down hill is brutal. Then the uphill begins. And it doesn't end. We are both breathing hard, looking at our watches, then at each other, wondering will someone quit? He doesn't make quitting an option. He steps up the pace even more as he passes through the mile in 4:35, with me in 4:39, in absolute sticker shock over how stupid that first mile was. I still have a whole mile and change of continuous up hill in front of me and I did THAT????? Oscar is playing it cool coming through in what he calls a "routine" 4:51.

I'm dying. I can feel my legs start to shut down, over riding my brain. What's worse is that while one runner is slowly leaving me behind, another runner is coming for me. He smells blood. I will my way through the 2nd mile, a dismal 6 min split. Arhlin, way out in front hits 2miles in 10:05, I'm back fighting off Oscar in 10:40. Now a lot of you might be thinking, "10:40 for 2 miles??? A 6 min mile in the middle of a 3 mile race? That's Pathetic!" All I can say to that is, unless you have run this course for yourself, you have no idea what type of sick and twisted things can and will happen to you physically and mentally trying to give it all you got uphill for 5,280 feet. Especially when you try to butt heads the first mile with Alan Webb's pack mule. The third mile is sloppy. The race for first is already lost, but the race for second continues. I have never beaten Oscar in my life, at least head to head. We both look and feel like shit. You can see it in how we race. One of us would surge, trying to leave the other one behind, only to tire too quickly or slow down too much and let the other runner surge by, only to perpetuate the cycle. There must have been 8 lead changes that last mile, only until the last 300 or so meters was the race for second up in the air. I crossed the line in 16:02, Oscar in 16:04. Arhlin took this run to a whole other level with a 15:23 course record that will take some insane summer fitness to break.

So that has been my running life thus far. I think i could've sneaked in a 15:45-15:50ish mark had I not tried to hot dog it the first mile and instead ran with an ounce of common sense, but i'll take the pr considering the circumstances. I don't think I will have any more summer races/fitness checks until actual cross country season, but I am excited to really start upping my miles the next couple weeks. I'm going to hit 80 this week, and then increase each week there after, all in singles until I reach 110-120 when team camp starts, which will begin doubles for the remainder of the season.

Hope summer running is going well for everyone and as always DO WORK!