Sunday, February 24, 2008

Columbia 10 mile race

Last week, I wrote about trying to take the "express lane" to getting in a good racing shape. So, I feel like I should tell you that I did what I usually dont do again today. I raced ... no, not a 3.1 mile/5K race or 10K, but ... a 10 mile race! I raced without any base milage, without any workouts under my belt, without warming up, without pants or long tights and it was some 30 degrees Fahrenheit! I did the Columbia 10 mile club challenge.




Honestly, I did not think I was going to race until about 5 minutes before the start of the race although I was prepared to race. I had a million reasons NOT to race but since it was a team event, I really did not want to be that guy.

I was really unprepared for the race. I did not even know where it was (had a general idea). I usually look up where my races are and do some homework on how the races had fared the previous years. I didnt do that for this race.

My friend, Ryan a.k.a Elf (the one guy who has really made a positive impact in holding Baltimore running in one piece) warned me that the course was tough. But I was not prepared to climb all the mountains they had there. You know how they say that for every uphill there a downhill?I dont remember seeing any downhills. I am sure they were there but I was probably busy recovering from all the torturous climbs that came prior to them. I was able to hold myself in one piece and ended up running about 6 minutes faster than I thought I was going to run. I did it in 54:34. I promised myself to be in a better shape in four weeks. Ryan wrote a race recap.


6 comments:

mczabaj said...

u r nuts

kipchirchir said...

You knew that already MCZ! Remember that time I ran 8 miles on my toes up at the quary and was sore for two days?

mczabaj said...

hahah that's nothing - what about the time you broke your foot and wanted to go home because it didn't look that serious (i think one of the bones was sticking out a bit)

kipchirchir said...

Oh yea. I remember that ... when my toe was pointing to the side and they stabilized it with a cardboard box at the training room ... awesome!

Andy G said...

That's one hell of a shout out you give Ryan.

PS-hope things are well back home. Hopefully I get a chance to get back there this summer.

kipchirchir said...

Andy G., It is true what I said about Elf. He has done a phenomenal job, you know it!

Holler when you come out these sides man. I am not going anywhere ... I am stuck here.