6.25 miles in 55'13"

everyone was fixated on the non-game (at the time) between auburn and alabama. i was tired of reading "major" by todd balf, a fascinating book about major taylor's cycling exploits in the late 1800s and early 1900s. what a great narrative. an african-american athlete ignores the racist whites of the south and breaks world record after world record. amazing story! still, i can only take so much sitting around. i had to get out and do something.

i announced my intentions to run a 10K (6.25 miles actually) and be back by 5:00. with the women away, no one batted an eye. so i pulled on a long sleeve base layer and shrugged into my GoRun wichita shirt, slipped on my shorts and shoes and headed out the door.

the first mile was a real grind. i was stiff and didn't feel all that great, but i kept going and eventually i started feeling a bit better and got my legs under me. i entered eudora from the south and turned off the main road, a busy two-lane street, onto side streets at the first opportunity.

running west past the 2-mile mark (i was at an 8:20 pace then) i turned north and then west and then north again and made my way to a final westward turn and dove down the hill on 10th street to the 3-mile mark just before turning south on 2100 road.

2100 began with a fairly steep climb back up to the west side of eudora. i ran it at a decent clip and then dealt with the rolleurs that followed. a run up and over highway 10 brought me to the 4-mile mark. i was somewhere around 35 minutes at that point. the pavement ended shortly after that and i was running on gravel.

i crossed 1300 road and continued on toward 1200. the hills started coming thick and fast and at the bottom of nearly every one of them there was a driveway that looked like a road. i'd fly to the bottom of the hill eagerly anticipating my final turn only to be disappointed. i'm serious! it happened three or four times before 1200 finally appeared out of no where.

i turned east knowing that i was on pace to finish with a time close to the PR i established in haviland at the end of october. i was pleased to be doing so well and feeling so well considering the addition of this route's hills. there were no hills in haviland!

i continued down the road at high alert. before i left the house, my dad had warned me about a couple of dogs and i didn't want to be caught by them unaware. they never materialized.

i turned north into my parents' housing development and headed up the hill to the north end of it. i was pretty sure i wasn't going to land a new PR at this point, but i figured there was no reason not to try for one. i felt strong as i climbed. i made it to the top and turned east. a little down and up and i was at the corner just north of the finish line.

i turned south and ran hard to the end. i stopped my watch at 55'13" giving me an 8'50" per mile pace. not bad. on the flats i'm sure i would have PRed had i run as strong. be that as it may be, i loved the hills that challenged. they added interest and excitement to the race against the clock.

i walked a block or two to cool down, then walked in the door a few minutes before 5:00. "you're back!" my dad said. "it's not even 5:00." gotta love that!