Indy racing

We were in Indianapolis to pick up Ryan after the Drum Corps Finals competition.

He spent the entire summer traveling the country as part of a competitive Drum and Bugle corps.  We were able to see their show several times and it just kept getting better and better.

We were happy he had that experience but we were thrilled to have him back with us.

I took advantage of the trip to run one of the new Double Road Race events.  There have only been a few of these so far around the country. They are a unique combination of a 10K race, and a 5K race, with a halftime in between.  The two race times are combined.

These are the latest brainchild of Bob Anderson, who founded Runner's World magazine many years ago when he was a student at K-State, my Alma mater.  We chatted a little about K-State at the start. 

During halftime, Shelly and I stumbled upon this runner.  He isn't as fast as me, but to be fair, he is a Goonie who runs in shoulder pads and has Hobbit feet... 

Seriously though, Sean Astin is a an actual runner; he doesn't just play one on TV.  He just showed up to run the race with no fanfare whatsoever.  I'm not even sure the race organizers knew he was there.  He has finished several marathons and has a respectable 4:04 PR.

At the beginning of races, when runners are bunched together and most start out too fast, I like to listen to other runners' breathing patterns compared to my own.  Most of the people huffing and puffing in that first mile will peter out long before the finish.  As a rule, I won't pass anyone breathing slower than me, and I don't worry about getting passed by anyone breathing harder than me.  I will see them again.

This lady passed me breathing quite hard.  I expected to catch her later but never did.  She is Christine Kennedy, arguably the world's best runner in her age group.  She ran with the elite women in Boston and finished in 2:55 at the age of 58!

The course was flat, with only a few bridges.  It was relatively cool at the start, perhaps 65F, but very humid.  When the sun came out, the 5K was downright hot.  Still, decent conditions for summer racing.

In runner-speak, I sought to run both the 10K and 5K at my "LT" pace -- nominally the pace I can run for an hour in race conditions.  I claim I can run this pace by feel, so I tried to do just that.  I held back a bit in the first mile of the 10K to offset normal adrenaline effects, settled into a steady LT pace, and finished without any final kick.  This was the first time I have smiled at Shelly at the finish line of any race.  I had more in the tank, finishing the 10K portion in 41:31.

I tried to stay loose during halftime but my muscles still felt a bit tight at the 5K start.  I tried to push the pace as much as I could but it was tough, between the heat and the fatigue from the earlier race.  I wasn't smiling this time.  I finished the 5K in 20:12.

My combined time was 61:43, placing me 11/163 overall, 2/10 in my age group, and second among male Master runners.  I earned a nice medal and a $50 prize.  I also got to meet Bob Schul, the only American to win the 5K Olympic gold medal, at Tokyo in 1964.