Today is Labor Day and I ran the Summer Sizzler 10K. It was
a well organized event and a fast paced run down Peachtree Street. Running down Peachtree always seems like a treat
to me. The slight rolling hills made it a fast course. Plenty of water
stations, however I try to avoid these and will speak about that soon.
On the way to the race, oh so early this morning, there were
some sprinkles of rain and huge flashes of lightning. But, during my warm up stretches and run it
remained dry. Then in those 10 minutes
when you are on the anxious side of the starting line it began to
sprinkle. When the start was issued it
was raining and it rained the whole race. Not fierce, but some big drops, and a steady
plopping rain. By the fifth mile there
were puddles to avoid along the asphalt.
My wet running clothes added at least five pounds to my weight.
The end of the race was not to my liking with too many
corners to turn. Right at the end there
were three corners. I like to turn a
corner and see the finish line so I know where I am going and can leave what I
have left on the course. That last bit
is a great place to pass others, too. But,
today by the time you turned that last corner there was little room to make
that last move and have your final kick. Still, it was a good race and my pace
was 7:33.
So the posted results showed me as 2nd in my age
group, defeated by about 30 seconds.
That is a good measure of defeat.
The awards had me listed as 3rd place because they are based
on the gun time. So the 2nd place award winner was slower than me (5th
in our age division) but because he started ahead of me he was placed ahead of
me. I usually try to place myself about
1/3 of the way back in the starting group.
There are always plenty of slower runners at the front of the pack that
you have to maneuver around and I must have had to maneuver around the 2nd
place award winner. I did not stick
around for awards, but still something is not mathematically or logically right
with this plan. If you are timed by a
chip, that is what should determine all of your placings. Not one for the race and one for the awards.
The after race expo was stocked with goodies and vendors;
however with the rain coming down I took off.
My pre-race routine was scattered for this one and I will
address that next. Stay tuned.
What do you think?
Zippy
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