Saturday, November 01, 2008

Tesfa 5K

Or, “Trying To Defend My First Title.”

Or, “Bringin’ Home Lots of Goodies.”

If you’ve just recently started following my blog, you might think that I’m a pretty good runner. Well, it hasn’t always been like that. Exactly 1 year ago, I won my first race, the Tesfa 5K, in a time of 19:15. Today, I was headed back to the same race, to try to win it again.

Last Night:

Last night was Halloween. That meant candy. I had A LOT of pre-race candy. I counted 6 mini York Peppermint Patties and 4 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. And I don’t even like chocolate. AND, to cap it all off, Pharmie said, “Let’s order Thai!” Super. What a great evening of crappy food the night before a race:



After our meal, Pharmie went to visit her folks, so I had the bed all to myself. I literally slept like this the whole night:



CLICK HERE for the uncensored version of that photo.

Pre-Race:

I got up, had my typical pre-race poop, had some oatmeal and some of Phramie’s left-over Thai, and was ready to go. I drove into Fort Snelling State Park:



I looked across Lake Snelling, which was the lake we were going to be running around:



I parked, got my race number, and started walking part of the course to stay warm. In this photo, the final turn is off in the distance, and the finishers chute is tucked off to the right:



Walking past the start/finish line, I spotted a few doe and one buck just a few feet off the trail. Here’s the buck (a 6-8 pointer):



I stopped to talk with 2 ladies directing traffic for a few minutes, and then headed back towards the race start. After a few minutes, Borsch showed up, and we were both ready to race.

Today, I FINALLY looked like a real runner! Let me explain. Running IM WI last year, people teased me for my LONG, baggy running shorts. So I took that to heart and went in the opposite direction, and that saw the birth of the SHORT yellow shorts, AKA the Bowl Full of Sunshine. Here are those 2 pairs of shorts (long shorts from IM WI 07 on State Street, the Bowl Full of Sunshine from WIBA 08 also on State Street):



Today, for the first time, I wore a pair of NORMAL LENGTH running shorts! Here’s a photo of Borsch and I (after the finish), and you can see how “normal” I look (despite the funky socks):



Anyway, we lined up, and got ready to run. I saw a tall 17 year old boy, and I told him he looked speedy. We talked for a moment, and we both figured we could go sub-18 on a good day, so I knew there was going to be a race!

Race:

We heard the air horn, and we were off. I hopped right into 3rd place. There was an older, lanky guy with a small ponytail running in front of me, along with the speedy 17 year old. I spent the first mile just on their tail, running in 3rd. I was running easy, and I felt good.

Mile 1: 5:40. “Umm, I thought I was taking it easy.” That 5:40 mile felt good! It felt so much better than the 5:34 first mile at my 5K a few weeks back. I was feeling great!

We hopped off the paved trail and hit more of a gravel path. I don’t like gravel: I “spin out” too much while trying to run that fast. I caught up to the older guy with the ponytail, and we actually chatted for a bit on that part of the trail. “Nice pace!” I said. “Oh, I love running these trail runs,” he said back. I replied, “Well, I just like running in this weather this time of year.” He agreed. We went back-and-forth for 2nd and 3rd for a few minutes.

Mile 2: 5:43. “What? I’m holding onto that pace?” I have to admit, 2 letters entered my mind: PR. Yep, I was NOT planning on being able to PR. But with those first 2 miles, I thought I’d kick it in the butt a little and see what I could do. I pulled away from the guy with the ponytail, and I only pulled farther and farther away. I had 2nd place.

I pushed and I pushed. But there was no way I was going to gain on that speedy 17 year old. Anytime I kicked, he did too. He was always 10-15 seconds in front of me. I came up to mile 3 near the final turn. Here’s what it looked like:


Mendota Bridge in the distance, and a sharp left to the finish

Mile 3: 5:46. I have NEVER had such consistent splits over a 5K. They were all within 6 seconds of one another!

Last 0.1: 0:38.

Total: 17:48
Second place overall
First place in Age Group
My second fastest 5K!!
1:27 off my time from the same course last year!


It was a good day! I had told Borsch that it wasn’t a “PR course,” but I got close! And before too long, Borsch came to the line WITH A PR!!



Swing by Borsch’s blog to congratulate him on his 5K PR!

Post Race:

We cheered on the other runners for a while, and then we started back towards the shelter for the awards. On the way, we met up with Kat (or Cat, maybe Katt, in dunno...) and we all chatted. She had just finished her FIRST RACE! Congrats Kat!! (If you’re reading this, how do I spell your name? You can comment anonymously without an account, so feel free to drop a note and just sign your name so I know it’s you. Hope to see you at more races!)

I received my award for first in my age group:



The 3 of us talked a bit more, and we were ready to take off. But the sponsors had donated too much stuff, so the race officials kept asking us to take more. Here’s the haul that Borsch and I took away from the race:


Sweet! We don’t need to cook for 4 days!

So, another fun 5K in the books! I’ll be back with some BIG NEWS on Monday!



47 comments:

  1. Congrats on the almost-PR...

    I think it didn't happen cause you didn't wear the yellow shorts.

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  2. HA! Thanks for putting that seed in my head, Kelly. Now I will ALWAYS have to wear the short yellow shorts...

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  3. Nice run! I still have no idea how you can eat all that crap the night before a race and not pay for it the next morning. So how many people are going to admit they are a perv? There was no way I wasn't going to look behind that door. I was expecting some monkeys ass or something.

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  4. Congrats on a great race!

    And yes, I am now officially one of your pervy readers. ;)

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  5. Congrats congrats! I think it was the candy that powered you to your almost-PR!

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  6. sooooooo I'm a perv ;-) Thanks for reminding me of that!!

    Glad you had a total kick ass race!! Congrats on your PB =) And for wearing normal length shorts!

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  7. Got me on the perv thing. Yep, that's me, Pervy Rural Girl! Great run!

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  8. I'm totally not falling for your pervy boobie trap (thanks, rural girl, for the heads up...I might have otherwise;)).

    Great race, congrats on a near PR.

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  9. Great job on the excellent finish! I think it's pretty funny that at some races they have probably completed the awards ceremony before I've even finished.

    Nice work on the consistent splits...mine are never consistent.

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  10. Clearly you were slowed down by the extra weight of material from the normal shorts vs. the short shorts.

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  11. We should just start calling you "Lightning."
    Excellent race!

    BTW- I notice you won a Dicks certificate. When Mike won a Dick's Card at the IMWI banquet, we told im he had to say "I love Dicks" before he could spend it. I'd say the same rule applies to you, but I am afraid you might just say it..... :-) Congrats.

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  12. Nicely done Steve!! You are a freakin' rockstar. I ran ONE mile just under 6 minutes and thought my heart was going to explode. Although I find it amusing that you looking "normal" warrants a picture;)

    Enjoy all that boost, lol!

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  13. Pad Tai noodles and spring rolls! Yummy!!!

    Please put me in the Perv column. Great race and congratulations on going above and beyond last year's time. Heading over to Borsch's site and congratulating him as well.

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  14. How do you eat that shit and still run like the freakin' wind?! I'd be 600 freakin' pounds!!!

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  15. great job on the race! and i agree with the others, not sure how you can eat that pre-race! looked yummy though.

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  16. Great job!!! You are super speedy!!! Your new shorts are nice, but I think you need to go with something that has a little more "spark" to them...maybe the same length but in yellow? Combine the best of both worlds!

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  17. Great job! I would have loved some free goodies. So jealous of your pace! My one hour run is 30 minutes for you!!!

    BTW, I'm not a PERV :) I just wanted to see if you were forreals!

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  18. That pace is flying. Good to see you had some competition!

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  19. Steve!

    That's it. I've read enough about your PR's and age group wins. While I could wait about...what...3 or 4 months until you hit the big 3-0 years officially and exit my age group--ole man--...I'm coming up to challenge you on a 5K (0r 10K...or does it really matter?
    We're going to have a blast no matter what) course and hopefully I put an end this unbelievable run you're currently experiencing on the road courses. That's it: I'm ready to announce that I challenge Steve in a Speedo to a race!

    There, I did it. Now promise that you keep the finish close as you look over your shoulder at me :)

    I'm on my way to appleberryjam.com (or whatever it is, I'll google it) and the plans are under way.

    Nic

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  20. Congratulations! Glad you had the funky socks on, otherwise I might not have recognized you!

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  21. you are fast!!! If I tried to run that fast, I'd give myself a hernia. Great job!

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  22. CONGRATS HOMIE!! Killer job!!

    I debated on clicking the link but in the end my pervyness prevailed :P

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  23. I am a perv.

    Great job on the race. Your splits are superhuman. Um...your finishing time is about my mile and a half time.

    The pumpkin and custom post make me LOL.

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  24. I am a perv.

    Great job on the race. Your splits are superhuman. Um...your finishing time is about my mile and a half time.

    The pumpkin and custom post make me LOL.

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  25. So, all i am thinking about is your pre race poop and being a perv!!! Is this a bad thing??

    Dude you so rock and you look like a real runner no matter what you wear!!

    I am proud of you Steve!

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  26. As Teh World's Slowest 5K Runner, I thought I'd feel a bit of schadenfreude when (like it would ever happen) I read about you not winning a race. Well, here it is and ... I'm a little sad about it. What a killer pace! You still get Big Congrats on a great job as I realize for the first time that I'm not quite as big an @$$hole as I fancied myself.

    As for the food, don't you know the old saying that Whatever Doesn't Give You Food Poisoning Only Makes You Stronger? I assume this means that 17-year-old musta had Crap-on-a-Stick(tm) for dinner the night before. And successfully kept it down. That's the only explanation for that kind of speed.

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  27. That's a lot of loot. I vote for the midsized shorts; the yellow short-shorts just don't seem to fit you (pun intended).

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  28. I'm a perv too....

    BTW, you rocked the race! Love the yellow shorts!

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  29. Awesome race as usual.

    I beg to differ on the running pictures. I have to say that the one of you running at IMWI is one of my favorite pictures of you (and yes, I am aware that it is super creepy that I have a favorite picture of you. But I am very happily married and live 3000 miles away. So you don't have to, like, move or change your blog setting to 'private' or anything.)

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  30. Damn you're fast! Glad to say, didn't have the urge to be a perv. I see enough with the bowl full of sunshine ;)

    So weird, it makes your new regular shorts seem, well, too long!

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  31. fasty mcfastersons, I'd hate you if I didn't think you were so hilarious ;)

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  32. CONGRATS!! Another excellent 5K race time.

    (and I did NOT click on that uncensored photo link)

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  33. Congrats on a great race...and thank you for not posting the uncensored version of that pic. :)

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  34. Congrats on taking 1st in you r age group!

    (I too stayed away from the UNCENCORED version of that nude picture... I have a feeling though that it is a set-up!!!)

    BTW, I gave you an "award" on my post today! check it out.

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  35. Conversation with my girlfriend yesterday:

    Hey, want to see Steveinaspeedo's latest blog?

    Oh My God. That is awful. That is SO GAY!

    Yeah, aren't you glad I don't post pictures THAT crazy on blog? And he is married.

    To a man?!

    No, a girl.

    WOW. (shakes her head and stomps out of the room)

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  36. congrats to you!

    You are certainly having an awesome year.

    Love the picture of the deer. I always think it is "good luck" to see them on running paths/courses.

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  37. TST = PERV

    And I think I TOTALLY KNOW what your big news is!!!! And let me just say that I am HELLA EXCITED for it! :)

    Nice job on the race!

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  38. Congrats on your race.. Ahhh, the bedroom, sooo wrong in so many ways. I did look to see if you needed a waxing there also..

    Big News? Just no frontal shots please.

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  39. Damn! You scored some serious loot that time! Awesome!

    That pic in the bed made me spit my crappy mexican breakfast on my keyboard. Now the rice is making my "j" stick.

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  40. wow awesome job!!! you just keep busting out those speedy 5ks!!

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  41. Nice run, love all the pics! And congrats on winning your age bracket..

    You do look like a 'normal' runner now! :)

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  42. I'd like to request on behalf of the entire internet that you kindly remove any naked rock climbing sleeping shots from your website.

    Congrats on the PR! That is awesome.

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  43. Congrats on the 5K winning and time! Great pictures as usual and yes - that was me who clicked to see more ... I knew it was a hoax, but you never know!

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  44. you never cease to amaze me with how effin ridonk you are... holy shinta youre fast! congrats buddy!

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  45. Hey that's me next to you in the Bowl Full of Sunshine WIBA 08 pic! I look a little too happy to be behind those shorts. I guess if I'm in your blog I can give you my vote for “Best Sport Endurance Blog of 2008!” Best of luck!

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  46. I can't believe you eat that crap before running. I would be, well RUNNING the entire run.

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Thanks for your comments! Have a great day!