Celebrity Classic River Run 10K - RR

Columbus, GA

18 April, 2009

After a decent nights sleep, I awoke at my regular early get-ready-for-Army PT hour, looked at the alarm clock's bright red numbers ... and fell back to sleep until 5:00. Then began my pre-race rituals to get ready for the Celebrity Classic River Run 5K and 10K.

I had tapered off caffeine over the last few days, which included no coffee, tea or soda on Friday. I was going to attempt to shock the system and see if it would help my racing performance. Banana, half a bagel with PB, tea to get the body going. It was a chilly 43 outside, so I threw on my long sleeve Mickey marathon shirt that has now become my recon the race shirt for early mornings.

I had been debating retiring my DisneyRunning.com bright orange racing shirt, but after the race I had last weekend in PCB, Florida I got my all jockstitious and wore the same outfit. (Yes, I just made up a new word - Websters, take note.)

One beauty of this race was that it was just outside of Fort Benning in Columbus which meant it was only a 15 minute drive at the most. Columbus has so few races which is odd because it is the second biggest city in Georgia; that it is shockingly disappointing. A large portion of the runners today were from Fort Benning, so come on Columbus! "Can't you see having races is a great way for you to get more of the Soldier's greenback$!"

In this case, the money raised is going to a good cause. I am a fan of any race where Country's BBQ is a major sponsor, as they bring out a civil war cannon for the start pistol and lots of sweet tea and BBQ sandwiches for after the race. (Speaking of race, I need to write a report about running the race here soon!) There were just so many wonderful things about this small set up that it was a great time.

I arrived at Rotary Park, which is connected to the Riverwalk, just before the crack of dawn around 6:20 AM. The volunteers were in-place directing traffic to the parking area by the Civil War Navel Museum. Radio station trucks, a stage and a few shelters were already set up, as well as the Country's Barbecue mobile kitchen. In one shelter, the ladies were on one side getting all the shirts ready, and waiting for me to pick-up my packet on the other.

Today's race had chips similar to the ones used at the WDW marathon, but Country's one-upped the Mouse by issuing out small (Velcro) hoop and loop fasteners with their logo on it. Attach the fastener to your shoe, then place the chip through and close the Velcro up ... and you can reuse the Velcro tape at every race with that type of chip. Now even your shoes are like a billboard for something other than the shoe company.

I chatted it up with a few people, ran into an Army chaplain I knew from "overthere" and met a few nice folks both before and after the race. At 7:00 I did a 2 mile easy warm-up on the Riverwalk and get my mind ready for the start. The course would be out and back with the 10Ker's leaving 5 minutes before the 5Ker's. I returned and downed a large amount of coffee and ditched my long sleeve shirt, then went into my stretching routine. It had warmed up to almost 50 degrees and the sun was out on a beautiful day.

Finally, we were called forward to line up. Next to me at the line was a high school aged cross-country runner. We were given, "get ready" and then, "BOOM!" The cannon went off without a seconds pause. By the time I had my first foot down over the line, the x-country kid had gotten an arms length away. He was quick .. and had I have known he was going to win, I would have Tayna Harding'ed him at the start line!

A few others got the jump on me as we surged forward, but within 100 meters, a pack was forming that I was able to get around and I counted that I was in 5th once passed the pack. Although the Riverwalk is mostly flat for purposes of elevation, it is always rising and falling slightly. Even with only one real hill, it is a constant switching of gears to keep moving.

In the straight-away to that hill, I got ahead of "Army-brown t-shirt" (ABtS) guy. But something was wrong. My breathing was hard and I was not getting air efficiently. Houston, we have a problem. Then I felt it; both of my nostrils were locked up. I was mouth breathing 100% and we were moving at a good clip. As we were nearing the hill, ABtS dude got ahead of me as I was trying to get myself "cleared-out." During this time one other racer got ahead of me, and he quickly got ahead of ABtS guy also.

We passed the 1 mile point (5:55) and still had not broken the code on the clog. As we went around turns by the trees on the winding path, finally I got my breathing back. I'd gone 1-1/2 miles at my optimal pace while having a severe case of vapor lock. I could only wonder if the damage was done and how well it might affect me later.

At mile two (6:14), I was still holding onto my place and settling down a bit into my intended pace. It was hard to catch my breath while still trying to go at 10K pace to over come my problem earlier. Slowing down just a bit more may help.

"It's a race," I told myself. I needed to keep up the fire so I continued to fight and maintain.

My pace decreased slightly, but I had to get control of my air-flow. Then I started to see the leaders coming back from the turn-around point. We each told one another "good job" and I flashed the hang loose "Shaka" sign.

Mile 3 (6:25) came at a slight up hill and then I could see ABtS dude again at the turn around. I wondered if I could catch him or if it was to late for me. When I got to the turn around and headed back to the hill, I saw the first female competitor. She was close and there was another guy giving chase to her. I flashed them. You know, the "Shaka" and begged them not to target the orange shirt guy.

Past experience has taught me that the blinding bright orange shirt is what a lot of people try to pick off near the end of a race. I am now training to fight them off at the end of a race, and I hoped that I would be able to keep my current sixth place for the remainder of the run.

Mile 4 (6:45) I had slowed down over the last mile some more as I tried to get everything working to full capacity. Somehow, I had built up some distance between myself and the next racers, but I worked at getting my pace back up. I would remain in position and would soon start running through the back of the pack 5Ker's. I gave them "Shaka's" as I went by, and got a few back.

Mile 5 (6:31) I kept looking and feeling for the last downhill to come. I would start to break ahead a bit then feel my legs start to slow down again. This is where I needed to build speed. Finally, the hill. I went down it a bit more controlled than I should have and tried to keep the speed throughout the straight-away. Only a few small turns left and as I hit the tree covered path I saw a hint of the finishing area. Now my speed kicked in. I tried pumping my arms and the legs fought against it, but they had to follow. I looked up and read 39:xx on the clock and it was a dash to cross unto and over the chip mat. I heard the electronic beep and slowed down to get a drinks from a cute little boy handing them out with his mother.

Mile 6.2 (7:27) I turned around and talked with a few of the other racers as we collected up our t-shirts, sweet ice-tea and barbecue sandwiches. A couple people admitted to me they were trying to catch the orange shirt, and I had held off the next guy from over taking me. He said when he'd surge, it seemed like I would surge. I guess my training is paying off.

The award were presented at 9:30 and they were well put together. Overall top 3 male and female winners and Grand Masters (50+ years young) received trophies. All the age group awards were little medallions that were gold, silver and bronze colored with a nice front and already engraved logo, place and age-group on the back.

X-C kid was 1st overall with a 32:xx
ABtS guy was first overall 5th, 1st in his AG (25-29)
The guy I held off was 7th overall and 2nd in his AG(20-25) (I think?)

Bottom line: 6th place overall (out of approx. 400), 1st in the 35-39 AG, and a shattering new PR of 39:14. And a 20% off coupon at Hibbett Sports ... which will populate another blog post.

Race Happy!