Skyline 5k 4/26/14
Racing last Saturday morning in Charlotte was really nice,
and seeing some familiar faces made it even better.
Much has changed about the Skyline 5k since I last toed the
line. They moved the registration area and post race festivities. A long with
it, there was a big change in the course design. No longer would we be looping
around the Memorial Stadium on the start or the finish.
Now, the course starts and finishes on Kings Street. This
gives the runners a nice long downhill stretch to the finish. Pretty much
giving runners no excuse for not having a strong finishing kick.
Tim, from RFYL, gave the wheelchair and baby jogger
divisions a one minute head start over the main field. As he was counting down
the final seconds before we were to go, the thought crossed my mind why am I
doing these short races. In some ways, they seem to hurt more than the longer
races.
Then, Tim said “go”, and the thought disappeared. Time was
now to get on with the racing. The first mile is slightly up hill. My legs are
trying to respond. Cory was perhaps 30 yards in front of me. I didn’t see Spada’s red singlet but assume
that he was lurking close behind.
By the mile the distance between Cory and I had stabilized –
5:41. There was no one else between Cory and I now, so I focused on Cory’s red
singlet. The course tops over and we get a nice downhill along 7th
street. I seem to be closing the distance on Cory. My breathing is labored. All
week long the pollen in the air has been messing with my sinuses. Breathing normally
was a struggle before the race. We make a right turn and then another right
return. The race is about ½ over and yes, I am closing the distance on Cory.
The course is slightly uphill now.
At the 2 mile point, my Garmin flashes a 5:44 split, and I
have closed right up behind Cory. I have been pushing hard to close the
distance on the uphill, but now that I caught Cory, I had a decision to make. I
could try to push past him while we were still climbing or wait for the downhill
then make my move.
Once you “poke the bear” there is no taking it back. I
decide to push past him. As sometimes happens in a race, passing someone tends
wake them up. It helps bring back their competitive drive. Cory responded and
passed me back as we topped over the hill. He was digging hard. I tried to
maintain contact, but while the mind was willing, the legs were not. He was
slowly opening a gap on me.
We are out on the final downhill and the home stretch. Cory’s
led grows, and then Spada flashes by me. Spada has run a smart race and is
closing hard on Cory. Possibly, he could catch him.
At this point, I can do nothing but watch the race unfold in
front of me. I hear Chuck calling splits at 3 miles. My Garmin says I just ran
5:40 for the last mile. No time to think about it, I have to push hard to the
finish.
Hitting the stop button on my Garmin, I finish with a time
of 17:49. I finished 12th overall and 3rd among the
Masters’ runners.
My overall assessment of the race was good. I had a solid
race and finished with my fastest mile being the last one. Although, while we
were racing, I thought I was slowing down. The thought never occurred to me
that Spada and Cory just ran faster last miles. Hopefully, we get more chances to race
together this summer.
On the news and notes front, Skyline 5k has a team
competition. The team aspect creates great conversation piece along with some
extra fun and bragging rights. Of course, I created a Charlotte Running Club
team for our members.
Later at the team awards, our Charlotte Running Club didn’t
win either in the mixed or the open. I thought it strange, but then again, I
didn’t know who might have registered on our team. No one is required to be on
a team.
Here’s the strange part, I remember them calling out that
the “Fort Mill Fast Feet” won one of the team categories. I don’t remember
which one but I just remember how excited all of the women were while picking
up their awards.
Later Saturday, I was checking out the results online and
decided to wonder down to the team awards. Usually, they list the top 3
finishers for each team. Yep, there was the “Fort Mill Fast Feet”, but the names
listed underneath were off. I knew them as CRC members. Hey, just because you
are a CRC member, we would never say that you couldn’t run for another team.
However, the dead giveaway that something was wrong with the
names came when I saw the 3rd name listed. It was my name. I distinctly
remember signing up for Charlotte Running Club team because I created the team.
I have no idea what happen between the registration and the race results being
posted. Someone clearly got something off along the way. Oh, well.
Sharing one thought at time,
The Cool Down Runner
Comments