RACE #21
Hard to imagine that in less than 3 weeks my racing days will come to an end. ...still trying to embrace the suck, the feelings of the ending of my journey, though honestly, I'm ready... Can I do this? #Leadman...in heart failure? Damn, gonna give it my all...dig through those dark times in my final 3 races...maybe roll the dice, see what happens!
(Dark times...keep reading as I addressed dark-times on day/memory #22...)
I had great conversations with two really good friends today. Mike...hell, I've known and run against/with Mike for the better part of the past 40 years...Mike is also doing #Leadman this year (Currently in 10th place OA...) ...and Gabe, also running the Leadville 100 trail Run on August 17th/18th with Mike and I... IF I can somehow finish both the Leadville 100 MTB and the 100 trail run, my last awards ceremony as an athlete will be at noon on Sunday August 18th with 2 of my best friends...ALL wearing our finisher belt buckles...THAT'S how I want to finish this crazy running 'career'! Bring on the suck!
So let's talk about running/racing memory #21... I'm going to preface this 'story' by saying, I've met some amazing people/friends and have forged so many life-long relationships because of running/racing...and one of my best is with Dale Bahr.
When I moved to Mankato in the summer of 1993 to run for MSU, one of the first athletes I met was Dale...we clicked right away. We ended up running a LOT of miles together, and spent too many nights at the Albatross (Sorry coach...). Dale was coming off a knee injury, but the cat was a beast...DII National Champion in the indoor 800...amazing athlete...and boy could he drink, damn! ...may have gotten in trouble a time or 3 with D, but that's a story (...long story...) for another day.
So many memories with Dale...road-tripping to the UP for the Big Bay Relay (BIG win...); or our still-standing Med-City Marathon Relay course record (...run with 2 others...) ...or the time we were out running on a hot day...Dale needing to stop and poop on the side of the trail, only to wipe his a** with poison oak...he was a red/swollen mess for weeks!
But for this story, #21 on my memory list, the 1997 Trail Mix 25K, held at Hyland Park/Bloomington, MN.
I have run TM 4-5 times...anywhere from 1:39 to 1:49...loved the race, the course...sweet shirts as well!
Dale and I, now out of college and living in Mankato, still running well, decided to test the waters at TM as we prepped for the Big Bay Relay.
Two 7.75 mile loops...rolling/soft trails. ...and Dale and I take it out hard, building a solid 1:30+ lead after the first loop. 'D, I gotta crap...'. ...seriously, Dale? Now?
Yep...off Dale heads to the restroom, conveniently located at the 1/2 way point...1 minute, 2 minutes, and as I'm watching the clock, I'm watching our 1st place turn into 3rd, 5th...and by the time Dale is 'done' and ready to run, we're in 7th place...ugh, well, let's start picking 'em off. One...there's another...2 more...and we can see the leader now, Dave Anderson, I think he was running for SDSU when we were at MSU...solid runner, but we're gaining, working hard...just not enough room. We ended up tying for 2nd place in 1:44:14...Dave running 1:43:30.
Didn't get the win that day, and TM is a race I never won, by a 2nd place tie with Dale, I'll take it!
See you at Hairball later this summer, Dale!
...Dale and I kneeling up front. Picture is from the 1997 Big Bay Relay.
Running playlist song #21: F.O.D. - Green Day
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25 DAYS AND COUNTING...COUNTING DOWN!
RACE #22
I have been talking to friends, fellow athletes and coaches lately about the Leadville races coming up next month, and mentioning that if I have ANY chance of finishing the 2 longer races, I'm going to have to be comfortable in a 'dark' place for an extended period of time, maybe miles of 'dark'.
What is your 'dark' place? It's where you go when things get ugly, REALLY ugly.
I have been in that dark-place so many times while competing that while I wouldn't call in 'comfortable', I expect it if I want to compete... Some athletes can't get there, some are afraid to go there...others thrive and do well by going dark/deep.
One of my former athletes, Jordan Roby, who TODAY quailified for KONA at IM Canada...BEAST...sent me a text after his huge race: 'Thanks coach! Went to a super dark place but got it done. Reminded me of Marquette...' (I added the 3 dots...). Kid is a beast, and he's a beast because he knows what to do in his dark-place...
Where am I going with this? Wondering if I can still go deep...it's been so long since I've had to put in that type of 'dark' effort, and I'm going to need an effort like that...
Race memory #22 did NOT need that type of effort.
Funny, looking up results for this race...15 years ago, really? Doesn't seem that long ago...seems like just...well, I guess it was a long time ago.
Decided to drive to New Orleans and surprise my mom for Mother's Day in 2002...drove the 19.5 hours on Friday, getting 4 hours of sleep Friday night and scooted off to a local 5K the next morning with my sister, The Gospel and Blues Run, held in downtown New Orleans on May 15th. ...and I was tired, really tired. I wanted to race, but not really...and was quietly hoping that the field was not that competitive so I could just run 18 minutes...just doing enough to win.
Gun goes off and wouldn't you know it, there is some clown who wants to race...f***. Hoping he blew his wad in the first .5 mile and that he was just a poser...mile 1 in about 5:20...nope, what the hell, I had ZERO desire to run this fast. By 1.5 miles I realize that he wants to run...so, being tired and cranky, I start pulling from my bag of tricks. Wide road, we're all alone, I'm running right off his left hip, yet I 'accidentally' bump into the back of his elbow a time or 3, irking him, I'm sure...maybe a splash or 2 from puddles from overnight rain.
Damn, I can't shake this kid...what else can I do? Still running about 5:20-5:25 pace, and still on his left hip, I let out the Scott Steuernagel 'sigh', the 'give-up sigh', giving him the impression that I was done...he made a little move, probably too soon...I just needed to time it right, and I did, winning by a second or 2 with a furious kick. (Furious is relative...)
I know, I'm a dick, and I do feel bad that I was a dick, but we talked after the race and I told him what I did and why, and he was cool. We went on a cool-down run together...and funny, we found each other on Facebook a few years ago...friends.
Hoping that by being friends with him now, that he crosses me off the 'list', similar to the 'list' Steve Buscemi had in the movie Billy Madison, right before he applies that awful shade of lipstick.
Why did this 5K race make the list? I've run/raced 100's of 5K's, winning more than my share. This race was an experience and part of my journey... Having run so many races/5K's, I honestly don't remember a lot of them, though looking back at this race, it was a win, it was an amazing weekend with family...and it makes a for great story, especially after 3 shots of Goldschlager...
Honorable Mention...tired, not today.
Running playlist song #22: Sandstorm - Darude
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