Firecracker 5K
Turns out that the Huckleberry 5k in Jay was on Saturday. I missed that one so I went to Tulsa this morning(Monday) for the Fleet Feet Firecracker 5k.
There was no entry fee for High School runners so there was a full field of youngsters chomping at the bit at the starting gate.
As to be expected, there was a a quick bolt out at the start of the race. Within the first half mile I found myself in 15th to 20th place.
The admirable thing about young runners is that they do not hold back. That trait is what gets them to the front. Unfortunately it sends some quickly fading to the back as well.
After 1500 meters, I was in 11th place.8 high schoolers and 2 'older' guys led me through the 2000 meter mark. I passed one of those 2 just before the halfway point of the race. The next older guy in my sites was now only 5 to 10 meters in front of me. I closed in on him and paced a meter or 2 off his heels until we made a left hand turn with about 1500 meters to go. On the 4 lane road he went wide right and I took the shorter distance by hugging the curb on the left. He yelled over to me that I was on the wrong side of the race course. I knew he was wrong (always take the shorter tangents on open road races), but I obliged and cut back across the road to his heels. (If I was going to beat this guy, I didn't want him thinking I had 'cheated' to do it.) On the next turn about 3/4 of a mile from the finish, I made my definitive move. On a slight up-hill I passed him and pushed hard to the crest where I then saw the finish line chute less than a half mile away. I knew this may well be the race for the Masters Division, so I opened up my stride the best I could and gutted it in. I crossed the finish line in 17:31. My 40 year old competitor crossed nearly 20 seconds back!
The Masters win was mine! I won a fancy box of chocolates and a beer glass ......whoopee!
My time was not what I had hoped for before the start of the race, but the finish made up for it.
I haven't finished that strongly in quite awhile so progress is taking place even if the clock doesn't reveal it.
There was no entry fee for High School runners so there was a full field of youngsters chomping at the bit at the starting gate.
As to be expected, there was a a quick bolt out at the start of the race. Within the first half mile I found myself in 15th to 20th place.
The admirable thing about young runners is that they do not hold back. That trait is what gets them to the front. Unfortunately it sends some quickly fading to the back as well.
After 1500 meters, I was in 11th place.8 high schoolers and 2 'older' guys led me through the 2000 meter mark. I passed one of those 2 just before the halfway point of the race. The next older guy in my sites was now only 5 to 10 meters in front of me. I closed in on him and paced a meter or 2 off his heels until we made a left hand turn with about 1500 meters to go. On the 4 lane road he went wide right and I took the shorter distance by hugging the curb on the left. He yelled over to me that I was on the wrong side of the race course. I knew he was wrong (always take the shorter tangents on open road races), but I obliged and cut back across the road to his heels. (If I was going to beat this guy, I didn't want him thinking I had 'cheated' to do it.) On the next turn about 3/4 of a mile from the finish, I made my definitive move. On a slight up-hill I passed him and pushed hard to the crest where I then saw the finish line chute less than a half mile away. I knew this may well be the race for the Masters Division, so I opened up my stride the best I could and gutted it in. I crossed the finish line in 17:31. My 40 year old competitor crossed nearly 20 seconds back!
The Masters win was mine! I won a fancy box of chocolates and a beer glass ......whoopee!
My time was not what I had hoped for before the start of the race, but the finish made up for it.
I haven't finished that strongly in quite awhile so progress is taking place even if the clock doesn't reveal it.
posted by Hawk at
8:01 PM
2 Comments:
6th over-all,as I passed a couple other youngsters during my dual with the 40 year old.
By
Hawk, At
July 4, 2011 at 8:50 PM
Way to go Pops!
By
Cara O., At
July 8, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home