Team Dad

The Get in Gear 10K was today. This is the fourth one I've raced since 2003; I missed last year because I was out of town.

I haven't run all week because I've had a sore throat and cough. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to race today; I occasionally get coughing fits and wasn't sure if my respiratory system would hold up.

I hooked up with some of my friends from LTF at the starting line. They had run over from a nearby health club, which was about 2 miles, in order to run more than 6.2 miles for the day. I didn't do that, because I planned to race hard and didn't want to tire myself out, so just warmed up a little before the race. It was a total fluke that we found each other.

As we crossed the starting line, it was every runner for herself! I tried to place myself near the back so I wouldn't get in the way of the faster runners, but there were plenty of people behind me. And I was passing plenty of people, too! I saw AmyBee at the starting line; she ran the 5K because she was coaching a beginning runners group and that's what they were racing, but she stuck around to cheer for us. Nat and Marty were just ahead, and at one point I passed them, although later they passed me. They called out to me as I went by, but all I could do was wave. I was on a mission.

I set my watch for 9 minute runs, 1 minute walks. I brought my own water and drank on the walk breaks. I'm glad I did, because the sun was shining brightly and the 63 degrees felt like 80. I dressed for warm weather, then chickened out and wore my jacket. That ended up around my waist for the entire race; I wished I had put it in my gear bag.

The race went north on West River Road (that would be the Mississippi River), then across the Lake Street Bridge and south along the East River Road. The Twin Cities Marathon goes north on W. River Road, and the Lake Street Bridge is where I'm always tempted to pull a Rosie Ruiz and cut across Lake St., rather than continuing a few more miles to the Franklin Ave. bridge (Mile 19). The East River Road is where I did all my training runs for Grandma's last year so it was very familiar.

Speaking of Boston, as we neared St. Thomas University I heard some female squealing. "We must be near Wellesley," I said to the guy next to me. He just stared at me blankly. Sheesh. I thought maybe it was some co-eds from STU, but they were actually little girls, around grade-school age. "Too young," I said to Clueless Guy. They were cheering for all it was worth, though.

I ran hard, but not as hard as at the Human Race 5K in March. I realized this around the 5K mark, and it occurred to me that I hadn't dedicated this race to anyone. That's when I dedicated it to my Dad. He's been recently diagnosed with melanoma and is undergoing chemotherapy.

According to the Garmin, I ran the first 5K in 33:06 31:37. Wow. Getting closer to that 30 minute 5K goal. The second half is where it started to get tougher, with the hot sun beating down. When my left knee began to ache, I thought about how my Dad had to endure a needle through his lungs to get cell samples. He told me if he ever had to do that again, to just shoot him. It was the most physically painful thing he ever had to do. My minor ache paled in comparison.

And that's what got me through the race. I thought about my father and what he's enduring, and just kept running. I was tiring and the final mile included a slight uphill. My mantra became Team Dad. I just kept repeating that as I crossed the Ford Bridge towards the finish line. The closer I got to the finish, the more I tried to pick up the pace. Then I could see it and moved in.

"Team Dad" was replaced with, "Get out of my effing way!" Don't worry, I didn't say that out loud. But that's what was going through my head. People were blocking my way and slowing me done. I thought I heard someone call my name as I neared the finish chute, but I turned my head and couldn't see who it was.

Final time was 1:06:15. I had planned to PR for this race, but wasn't sure I could since I had the crud. I was also worried that I had lost fitness, since I hadn't run or done any exercise since my long run last Saturday. But I beat my best time by almost over 9 minutes. I'll take it. Next stop: Fargo.


RESULTS
Chip Time: 1:06:15; Division Place: 38/76; Pace: 10:40 (!); Sex Place: 1348/1875

Garmin:
Miles: 6.35; Time : 1:06:24; Avg. Pace: 10:27. I like this one better. :-)

Previous Years
04/30/05 Age 51 1:16:08 12:16
04/24/04 Age 50 1:15:33 12:10
04/26/03 Age 49 1:22:22 13:16

It's nice to start seeing improvement.