Sometimes you can blow a race well before the starting horn sounds. And in the case of the 4 on the 4th on Monday in Elmhurst, I recall the exact moment I knew my race was not going to go well. I believe it was when I opened the second bottle of wine around 10:30 the night before. We had friends staying with us from out of town, and I rationalized that we don't see them often, but we have races just about every weekend. I believe I said something about "throwing in the towel" early for the next morning's race.
Nevertheless, my wife and I woke up and threw on our running clothes on and dragged ourselves to the start of the race a good 20 minutes before the 7:15 starting time. It was just enough time to get in a short warm-up and stretch. But it was not enough to cure my dehydration from the wine and lack of energy from the lack of sleep.
I had originally hoped to run about 6:40 pace and be a little under 27 minutes for the 4 mile distance. As we lined up Monday morning, however, I revised that goal and decided to run how I felt, and see where I was at the first mile split. And I was nowhere near 6:40 pace. My first mile was closer to 7:10, and my comment about "throwing in the towel" became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Regardless, it was a great day to run, and celebrate Independence day. The sun was shining, and the heat was manageable. There were lots of people I knew in the race and along the route, so I decided to just enjoy the run, and not worry about the time. Thanks to my Ragnar relay teammate Ray Hecker for snapping this shot of me at about the two mile mark of the race. I think a lot of people could relate to the difficulty of maintaining your focus for a holiday race that falls on the final day of a three day weekend. Running requires some sacrifices, but also some perspective about priorities.
Heck, at least I got to run. My training partner, Rick, was stuck on the other side of a stopped train just a half mile from the starting line, and by the time the train finally moved, he missed the start of the race. And while that was maddening for him, it was a blessing for the top runners in his age group who he would have likely challenged, and probably beaten.
Elmhurst's 4 on the 4th is a really great little race. They attracted more than 800 finishers this year, including a pretty competitive field at the front of the pack. The top two runners ran under 5 minute pace, and every age group had strong finishers. Part of the reason for that is that the race is part of the CARA circuit, so leaders can earn points that help their rankings in the season-long race series. Race director Bob Richards also does an excellent job of making sure this is a race that caters to more serious runners. Here's a look at the final results if you're interested: http://www.theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=1331&result_type=file
Next up, a 5k run for ALS at U.S. Cellular field next week. http://www.run4als.org/ . This is a great race that they have invited me to the last couple years, but it never worked out in my schedule. This year it does and I'm looking forward to it. I plan to run it with some of my media teammates, including Dina Bair from WGN. Hope to see you out there.
See you on the roads........
Sorry for almost running over you as I rolled that stop sign in Elmhurst this morning.
Posted by: ranckle | July 07, 2011 at 09:10 AM