Wild Rover Race #3

Hynes 5 Mile Run 3/8/09
It’s an amazing day for a Wild Rover race. Its sunny and a little mild, compared to the wind and snow a week before. But there is a still a cool breeze blowing to remind us that is it is still an early spring day. Josh is sore and I’m proud that he is here. The day before he just completed a 52 mile snow run/ snowshoe marthon(see here for details). It is his best ever early run of the year and I’m awed by him and his fellows runners that finished the 52 miles. I think to myself this might be the race that I will get to encourage and pull him along like he has done for me so many times.

We do the normal race prep of retrieving our numbers, check our gear and attemp a few stretches while enjoying the sun. I’m tempted to leave my light pull over behind but the breeze is too chilly for me. We wander to the start and hear the announcer explaining the timing chips and gun times. The stupidity of it all is the winners will be based on gun time and not chip time… What!! Wtf is the point of wearing the chips then… ahg… Where shake our heads and wonder what conflicts will come about at the end of the race. We make our way to the mid back of pack and antsiely wait for the start of the race.

The gun sounds and we slowly make our way to the start of the race. We finally get threw the start gate and can start to jog and get around people. I mention to Josh that one of the biggest challenges of this race is it starts up a small hill and I know that end is also up hill. It’s a bit of mental battle to think about the up hill at the end. He laughs and says its great. Its clear from the start that Josh will still be leading me along in this race. He is endless in his endurance this weekend and seems to feed off the challenge of helping me along. I’m very gratefully for it and if I feel like shit at times during the race.

Very soon in the race it starts to get warm. Really warm. I shed my pull over first. As I continue on its is apparent that I’m still going to feel too hot. I sigh and begin to plan how to strip out of my under-armor that is under my t-shirt without flashing to much of the world. I have Josh hold my waterbottle and proceed to snake out of my clothes. Once done I feel much better and we continue on to the first water stop. We pass it up since we are both carrying water. I soon regret it as the warm spring day is making it a hot run. Then just ahead is a bonus water stop sponsored by Remax! I gladly grab a cup as we run by.

We are still going along ok and passing people. But it is hot to me and I’m struggling with it. We see the front runners on the opposite bridge and muse over the fast pace they are running compared to mine. We head up the hills at the half way point. I want to walk. Josh calls me on. No more hills he says. I say there is hills until the water tower. I take a deep breath and lighten my step and mood as much as I can. It’s a beautiful day and there is happy people all around. I make it to the top. I tell my self it’s all down and flat for a while now. I keep a good pace going and feel great and continue to pass by people.

The home stretch is here and car traffic is all sorts of backed up and stopped this year. Sucks to be them. Down a hill and up a hill we push on. Josh encouraging me to go faster! Damn the end isn’t as close as I thought. I hope I can maintain for just a bit longer. Up and down the end hills And a bit more. Finally the end is in sight. I have just enough to give a little kick at the end. We cross the finish, some one says congrats Team Robert. It makes me smile. Ugh I feel nauseous but great. We get out medals, it’s that biggest of the three. The two other medals can hook onto it. We wonder right from the finish to the long beer line. We grabbed our two allotted beer and find a seat on the ground. I’m thrilled that I did so well. And I really feel my hard training since the race a week before really helped. I’m amused that Josh showed no discomfort during the race and just coached me along the whole time. He was as supportive and inspirational as always. Knowing that I can always be pushed further than I think. After the beer we grabbed some soup and headed home.
Time: 52:22 (PR)