There are a few reasons that this race strikes a cord with me. First, it was the first race I did when I got back to the States after my last deployment. It was a return to racing, as I had not competed in a race since 2001 - not counting my races (and dodging mortars) in Iraq. It's the biggest local race, it supports the Soldiers and the community ... and it's just plain fun.
I first raced Country's 5K while in Iraq. The event was held with satellite feeds sending images back and forth. It was a lot of fun, even for an early morning in Iraq, and it was a big deal judging by the amount of Soldiers and Airman that came out to run it.
Last year, it was a stepping stone on the way up to longer mileage as I prepared for my first marathon. Tropical Storm Fay had rained down all day and she decided to stop pouring down on us just before gun time. Though the course was slippery in some spots and the roads were not illuminated with luminaries, as is the tradition of this race, I had a great time plugging down a personal record. I would end up with a 4th place age group curse that followed me through a few more races.
Friday night I made a plate of my running "load-out food." It's a mixture of brown rice, lentil soup and corn. I also added some leftover BBQ beans. Saturday will be the test to check if this crazy culinary concoction will do the trick on my morning long run. On two previous occasions it made a difference, with one of them being the one of my Army 10 miler try outs.
Today (Saturday morning) I drove to Uptown Columbus and started a warm up run. 2.3 miles around uptown Columbus and over the Chattahoochee into Alabama in 22:13.
I then met with the CRR's and ran down the Riverwalk south. It was a great day to be out and I had to keep pulling back as the body and mind are "jazzed-up" for tonight's 5K. Still ended up with a negative split as a group of 4 of us seemed to pick up the pace a bit. The last three miles we kept an almost perfect 8 minute per mile pace. We had a good group going and we had conversations the whole way. I feel great and it seemed like everyone had a good run this morning. That was another 8.2 miles in 1:08:46.
Maybe the Crazy Culinary Cuisine helped or perhaps I am just too excited. But I felt like if I didn't have a race, I could have kept going at that pace for another few hours. Now at T minus 3 hours until gun time, household-6 and I have discussed how it felt last year and this year. I have gone back through my old posts, groaning through some of the errors of English. They are linked here: Country's BBQ Midnight Express 5K - 2008 or Preparation before the 2008_race.
Last year I was a nervous ball of energy. I wanted to do well and get a personal record. I hoped for a good performance. I paced and checked my race bag a few times more than I needed too. This year, I'm completely excited. I have gone through my pre-race rituals and I am confident when I walk out the door in a half hour, that I have everything. My energy's are now focused and I don't have a PR goal, except to improve on this course over last years time.
Can't wait for the Country's BBQ sweet tea and pull pork sandwich! :)
Bottom line: 10.5 miles in 1:40:59; T: 70; H: 88%; DP:66; W: 170
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