Posts Tagged ‘Race for Life’

That's me in the green nearing the finish line, probably costing myself an extra second. Thanks to my friend Travis, who I usually run with, for taking this photo. He was a spectator today to watch his wife race.

I’ve left myself speechless. I did 22:41 in today’s Race for Life 5K in Lynchburg, Va. That’s a PR by 1 second - ONE SECOND - breaking my time of 22:42 in August 2007.

There’s not too much to say about this really — I did what I planned on doing. With the first mile being down hill, I just went for it. I hit the first mile in 6:48. The second mile finished going down hill and flattened out a bit: 7:15. The third mile … well, I wasn’t speechless then. I talked to myself out loud for the first time ever in a race. Heading up the hill in the last mile I told myself several times, “You can do this. Just do it.” I dug deep coming up that hill, and I did it. It was one of the toughest ends to a race I have ever done.

My time put me in 45th overall out of 467 racers - a HUGE crowd for Lynchburg. It was great to see so many people taking part in this event today. The volunteers were awesome - they can’t get enough thanks. And there was plenty of food and drink to go around too. I also want to give a shout-out to Dr. David Wimmer of Wimmer Chiropractic who was there. (Full disclaimer, my wife is a patient of his.) I got a free analysis of my back to discover that I’m mostly OK.

My only complaint is that this race has gotten fairly large for a very crammed start with too many people starting toward the front that probably shouldn’t be there. That’s not a bad thing though - it’s a sign of how popular races are becoming around here. That being said, my first quarter mile was slowed a bit because I had to get off the trail to pass people. I could have been a tad faster at the beginning.

But I’m not really complaining. After all, I’ve had two races this year and I’ve had two PRs.

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Lastly, Jess of the blog Half of Jess, was the official winner of the Shirt Off My Back contest for this race, but she doesn’t want it. I am totally fine with that - it was great to have her guess a time that was 11 seconds of my official time. So, to do the right thing in the contest, I’ll give the shirt to the second closest finisher, Steve of 265andFalling, who was 18 seconds off. If his name sounds familiar to you, it’s because just the other day he did a Q&A with me on this site.

But to all of you who guessed my time, you need to step it up a bit next time I do this. My mom guessed 22:45 last night. Mother does know best!

This probably sounds weird, but I love seeing other people’s race shirts. I also like going out of town and getting a race shirt from somewhere close to where I don’t live. Thanks to having in-laws, I have two Turkey Trot shirts from Warren, Ohio, which is a full 400-plus miles from where I live. I’ve had the “what race is that from?” conversation from race shirts before – it’s a great conversation starter.

So that brings me to my 5K this Saturday – I want you to have my shirt. If you’re not around the Lynchburg, Va., area, think of the conversation you could have if someone asks you about your shirt. So to win the shirt (size is large) – that I promise I will not wear or let my dog lay on or clean my truck engine with – all you have to do is guess my time for this 5K in the comments section for this entry. The cutoff time is 9 p.m. Friday.

To help you in guessing my time, this 5K – called the Race for Life, a fundraiser for the Liberty Godparent Home – is unique. The first half is all downhill; the second half is uphill. There is some flatness to the middle part, but it’s pretty much a down-and-up out-and-back course in Lynchburg. My goal is to give this race all I have. For those who have followed this site, you know that I have focused on distance in recent years – this is only my third 5K in as many years, although the gap between my last 5K and this one isn’t nearly that much.

On race day, it will have been 123 days since my last 5K in December – a 24:34 in the Bedford Christmas Classic, in the rain, 413 days after a 5K in October 2008. Before October 2008, I had a 420-day gap between 5Ks. My PR in a 5K is nearly three years old – 22:42 in August 2007. Out of 13 5Ks, I’ve had just three faster than 24 minutes. Keep in mind that just a month ago I set a PR in a flat half marathon in 1:42.

Please guess the times to the nearest second. I’m not sure if the race will be measured in tenths of a second or not, but I will round down the time for the giveaway if that happens. (For example, if my time is 23:49.9, a winning entry would be 23:49.) If there are any ties, I will use Random.org to help pick the winner. If you pick the exact time, I will slip in a little something extra. And this will not be like the “Price is Right” – the winner is the closest second whether you’re over or under.

Again, the cut-off time to guess a time is 9 p.m. (ET) Friday. Please leave an accurate email address in the comments section so I can contact you. Good luck! (Please note, to be officially entered, leave a comment here. Guesses through Facebook and/or Twitter will not be accepted.)