The Race

I have hit "the Wall" in a marathon but I never felt a "wall" quite like the blast of frigid air at the 3.4K mark of the Christmas Rush 5K on Saturday. It was about 20 degrees F at the start of the race and the skies were clear and sunny. The problem was the wind, steady at 15-20 MPH with gusts to 40 MPH. Needless to say, it was a cold wind--really effing cold!

Some background: we (me, Scott, and George--photos above) were challenged by our work colleagues Don (a local champion who has run 16-flat 5K and a 4:20 mile), Marc G and Marc R. Marc G has raced off and on and completed triathalons up to Olympic distance. Marc R has never raced but is a regular jogger and is fit. My team had some challenges: I'm fat and slow and our #1 runner. George is a novice runner who is a regular lawn mower and occasional golfer. Scott last ran in high school.

They offered us 9 minutes (a handicap, based on total combined time of the 3 person team), we asked for 20 and eventually settled on 15. The losers were to buy lunch, which included the bar tab.

George trained diligently and even ran a trial race--he did quite well, finishing in 27:07. I ran 23:35 in the same race and figured if I could cut a minute off that I'd be within 6 minutes of Don. Scott tried running and limped for the next 2 weeks. We were hurting.

George bought running shoes--opting to save his cross-trainers for lawn mowing--and a watch. Scott said he didn't need the watch because he had a phone. We laughed at the thought of him calling for the time during the race but he claimed his phone had a stop watch. When he demonstrated this, though, his phone was in calendar mode. This was not a good omen.

We met early on the Wednesday before the race and "jogged" the course. By that I mean we walked for 20 minutes, ran for 5, then walked and ran the remainder. George had a sore left knee that caused him to grimace with every step, walking or running. I didn't like our chances.

So, back to the race. About the time I hit the wall, Don was solidly in second place overall, on his way to a 17:28 finish. George was neck-and-neck with Marc G. His knee pain was mitigated somewhat by the fact that he'd stepped in a pothole and twisted his ankle and the ankle now hurt more than the knee. Scott's calf was hurting so much he decided that he'd be better off running (he'd planned to alternately run and walk) to get the event over quicker. His pain focal point was his right hand: he'd lost his mitten while wrestling his phone out of his pocket at the one mile marker and was now flirting with frostbite. He also had Mrc R. in his sights, albiet somewhat in the distance.

The "wall" was a fierce Arctic blast--a headwind, of course--that pummeld us for the last mile+ of the race. Nothing to do but put the head down and put one foot in front of the other, even if it seemed like running in place. I did that, and finished in 22:53, 5:25 behind Don. George beat Marc G. by a minute and a half or so, and Scott finished the same amount of time behind Marc R.

As a team, we needed less than 6 minutes of the 15 minute handicap. Our competitors graciously bought the beers and the lunch, which as is always the case with hard earned food and beer, tasted great! It was a good day.