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nyrr sure tends to spoil you for other large races, doesn't it?
i gotta be honest, i'm not sure if i've got a lengthy race report in me on this one. (i've said that before, i'm sure...) but what the heck, i'll give it a go.
we got to the race a little later than we had wanted to, but to no ill effect as the marathon-in-laws were there to get our packets. we parked the car, and started walking towards the stadium. no sooner than i wondered to myself, "gee, there sure are a lot of people here, i wonder if we'll see metfairy," did we see metfairy and d-dad. hello!
just outside the stadium we met up with the marathon-in-laws, and they hooked us up with our race gear. both runners tehmselves, they typically take turns watching minimm when we all go to a race together. today, it was my father-in-law's turn to run. of the two, he's more the football fan anyways, and while hte price of the 5k was relatively steep at over $50, it's hard to get in there for less.
we head toward the interior of the stadium to look around, and to use a restroom. and there again is metfairy and d-dad. hey, again!
we get ourselves some primo seats and hang out for a bit, put on our numbers, and take the photo above.
then it's off to the races.
unfortunately, in the leadup to the race, i never grabbed a water bottle, and in the trek over to the starting line, no water bottles were being offered. oops. also, it was hot. not as hot as earlier in the week, but still pretty darned hot, with no promise of shade for the duration of the course.
mrs.mm and i were in teh second corral from the start, mingled in about midpack. i wasn't really planning on jackrabbiting, especially since i hadn't well hydrated at all, and she was just going to take it fairly easy as well. before the race, they introduced some giants players of yesteryear, and also mentioned amani toomer was present. cool. at the time i didn't quite pick up on the fact that he would be running hte race as well.
the race starts, and i run with the crowd, easing slightly faster as i felt comfortable. within maybe a hundred yards or so, i notice there's a guy with a video camera running next to another runner. it slowly dawns on me that perhaps it's amani "it's not a tumor" toomer. eventually, after doing really yeoman's work, the cameraman peels off. i don't really know how he didn't fall. those big cameras look heavy. i continue running, and probably within a quarter to a half mile, i pass amani. i figured i'd play it cool and give him something of a wide berth. i didn't want to be that guy. that guy, as it happened, ran next to him, and patted him on his back or something, perhaps even said something to him. yeah, i didn't want to be that guy. let the man run his race. he's really tall, you know. that guy practically had to leap to reach his shoulder, and how awkward would that be to trip up and knock down the pro athlete you were hoping to fawn over? it didn't happen, but it could have. like i said, let the man run.
anyhoo, i keep running, gradually accelerating, getting warmer and warmer. i'm also running without my watch, and without having done a good job of pre-scouting the route. i don't really like running blind, and i hate racing blind! but i get to the one mile, and it's just under 7 minutes. subtract my time to the start, and its about 6:45 or so. not bad. i probably can't hold it, but why not try. i stop at the water stop and indulge in two cups of water. probably hurt my time, but not doing so would've done greater damage.
the race continues along hte road to a bridge by the awful, ugly, hideous xanadu failure palace. even the trees growing up from the unloved concrete in its unused entryways were uglier than they needed to be.
that bridge slowed me down. running past the state fair, i started to feel the heat, started to drag. i got to the 2 mile in about 8 minutes, i think, though there may have been a second water stop involved. ok. fine. 1 mile to go. of course there would be another bridge, but this didn't feel nearly as bad. probably because by the time i was on it, i could better gauge how much race was left. on its downside, i started to make a mindful effort to increase my speed. as i did, i passed a runner who i had noticed in the corral - his friend was making fun of him for being a patriots fan - and who i had played a little bit of cat-and-mouse with in the first mile, with him running steadily in front, and me playing catch-up. i'd lost him until now.
off hte bridge, we head towards the stadium, and curl halfway around it. i try to push faster still, assuming there to be not more than a half mile remaining, likely closer to a quarter mile. as i rounded hte stadium towards the midfield entrance, i started to wonder if i'd turned it on too quick. but there, on the outside of the turn into the stadium, stood my mother-in-law and minimm. i swung wide, got a high five, and sprinted onward, renewed by the little munchkin, who somewhat reluctantly touched his gross father's hand as he ran by. also, hte entryway was in shade.
onto the field, turn right towards the end zone. loop around the goal post, and 100 yards to the finish. i ran a good 100, and put in a very strong 40. as i crossed hte line, i was spent. 22:45 clock time, approximately. 22:37 net time. 20 seconds slower than my last 5k, but i ran this one harder. that had hills, this had heat.
mrs. marathon came in at around 27 minutes. amani toomer was 40 seocnds behind her. i guess he doesn't run much more than 40 yards at a time...
as we waited for my father-in-law to finish, we again saw metfairy and d-dad. you again!
minimm ran the kids races after hte 5k was finished. i'm not sure he really gets it. the race started, and some of the two-year olds ran ahead - probably the older ones that are almost three. the rest mingled a bit, or were goaded by parents. minimm took off on a liesurely trot. he was in no hurry. then just before the finish lin, he pulls up. just stops there. he's a big fan of cars, though i odn;t think he was knowingly pulling a lightning mcqueen. i think he just didn't quite know what to do, or if he should keep going into the thickening crowd on the other side of the stripe. mrs.mm was there, though, to guide him across.
the kids finishers all got little ribbons for having run. i think minimm was hoping for a medal. he looked a little confused when he got it and even tried to put it on over his head. silly boy.
we also did the little football expo thing where you could trhow a football to a receievr cutout. minimm got three tries as he walked up to the receiver. on the third try, he slam dunked it into the waiting arms. nice work! my turn, to throw a 20 yard pass. it's been a whole since i threw a football. first throw, on line, but right at the receiver's feet. embarassing. second throw, much better. hit the receiver's hands, but not hte hole for the ball to go through. a good receiver, like the slow-footed amani toomer, would have caught it. not mr. cutout though. with a third throw, i reassure myself, i surely would've got it to him. another line was for little kids to catch a thrown football. a few kids prior, a 3 year old munchkin does a great david tyree impression, catching hte ball on his head. when it was minimm's turn, he started loping downfield. the 'quarterback' underhanded him the ball, and, to my surprise, minimm made a sparkling catch. he's big for two-and-a-half, but that's a full-size football. having caught hte ball, he spiked it down, then picked it up and gave it back to the 'quarterback.' naturally, i did not have my camera on me at the time. it was pretty awesome.
a good time was had by all. and look at that. a lengthy race report. will wonders never cease!
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