Do It While You Can

Distance: 20.0 mi.
Time: 2:32:47.15 - 7:38 ppm.

I wasn't really sure what I would end up doing today, but I was determined to get in at least 15. It didn't happen this morning. After the race yesterday Adrienne and I each went straight to work. There was no run this morning because of church, after which I was still feeling exhausted. But David Brinkley wanted to meet, and I knew I would hate myself later if I didn't get in a good run. He wanted 15, and I told him I would meet at his house in Madison Park and do 15-20 myself, depending on how I felt.

We started off slowly enough running towards the Booty Loop. It was here that we encountered Compton, and I stopped him to ask what he had planned for the day. Like us, he had just started his long run and wanted to keep the pace easy, having raced the Winter Flight yesterday as well. As evidenced by the map, we end up basically running around in circles for most of this one. I actually thought that made it go by a lot faster. The three of us were together for 9 miles before Compton branched off to go home.

We headed back behind Montford and crossed Park Road right at the McAlister's, towards Dave's house. He was ready to be done and I was tightening up a good bit. When we got back to his place I spent a few extra minutes stretching and taking water. As before, I had been taking Gu chomps throughout this run, and I actually felt pretty well-fed - just very tight in the legs. I had still felt great a few miles earlier, however, and so I was determined to go the full 20. I told Dave I didn't want to be in this position again next week - desperately needing to amp up the distance and not knowing if I had it in me.

I didn't want to go too far from Dave's house, so I just ran back and forth on Seneca for the last five miles - towards South, then back the other way, then back towards South and back to Dave's. Seneca is a tough road to run on when you're tired; it's very hilly. We had kept the pace easy throughout but I was pleased to get the 20 done.

2012 Winter Flight 8k

Warmup: 1.98 mi. in 17:11.4 - 8:41 ppm.
Race: 5.02 mi. in 29:46.67 - 5:56 ppm. Splits: (1) 6:02.38; (2) 6:11.34; (3) 6:08.42; (4) 5:51.35; (5) 5:28.15.
Cooldown: 2.09 mi. in 18:25.94 - 8:50 ppm.
Chart
Map
Graphs

Race Results

Eggers' race recap

My true goal for today was to somehow prove to myself that I'm in as fit as I believe to be - in other words, to simply gain some confidence as I progress towards my second marathon. I felt like I could go under 30 minutes, so that was my time goal. I achieved both of these things, even surprising myself a bit in some respects, and I'm quite pleased with the day. I will write the recap now and add a couple pictures later...

This race was not scheduled until 10am - a good thing considering the hour-plus drive we had ahead of us. Baum and Mitchell were going to carpool from the east side of town, and Adrienne and I hit the road at 8am after a breakfast of waffles and strawberries. I don't normally eat that much on race day, but I figured I could get away with it due to the later start. I also had a few glasses of white wine and some sushi the night before.

Adrienne and I arrived on the campus of Catawba College right at 9am, then phoned Eggers when we couldn't see any kind of direction as to where to go. His response was something like, "yeah, it's tough to find - I spent the morning before the race last year kind of running around campus like a mad man. You'll just have to figure it out. Good luck." Perhaps I should have called Mitchell instead. Adrienne's intuition found us in the right place a few moments later. She went inside to get our bibs while I parked, and when I met her we bumped into Mike and Brian, as well. There was a decent crowd of runners inside the gym, conversing and trying to stay warm.

The four of us darted around for a bit, trying to figure out where the starting line was so we could dump our stuff (racing shoes, extra clothes, etc). I spotted John Compton and he helped out with the start location, then we took off for a warmup. We ran into Eggers, fashionably late as always, and got in just under two miles, most of it on the first part of the course. It was about 45 degrees and lightly drizzling - perfect weather for a race, in my opinion. Mitchell found a dry spot for our bags and we ran into Kevin Ballantine. He and I both had the same goal and talked at the Runner's Lunch the day before about trying to work together to hit said goal. I told him I wanted to start out conservatively without getting too far behind - 6:10 or so - and he mentioned that the first mile was the only fast mile of the course, so it might behoove us to bump it down to 6-flat. Ok, fair enough. Speaking of the course, I'm usually pretty stressed about making sure I know what awaits me in a race, but I would not have such an advantage today. I just tried not to worry about it and just do what I can. It was kinda neat to be racing in an unfamiliar atmosphere.

I slapped on my racers and headed back to the start. Adrienne and I wished each other luck as she settled back a bit and I found a spot on the front row. For reasons unbeknownst to any of us, former Olympian and record-holder Joan Nesbit was the guest of honor, and she gave a few words at the start. Pretty neat, right? But again, it wasn't really clear why she was actually there, unless I just wasn't paying attention (the likely scenario). There was a prayer and I looked around at my competition. I was on the far left, with Kevin in the center. We exchanged knowing "oh-there-you-are" nods. I didn't see Eggers anywhere, though. A bit after that, there was a mark-set-horn, and we were off.

I made a point to get around any crowds up front, found myself right behind Dan Matena and some orange-clad Asheville studs, and then slowed way down. I let a good number of people pass me, ducking my head back a couple times until I saw Kevin. We eased into a comfortable sub-6 mile pace and went down a treacherous hill that was followed by a sharp right turn. Kevin had predicted that "at least four people" would bite the dust here. I eased up a good bit and took the turn with caution. We conversed quite a good amount here, with Kevin providing some very helpful pointers about the course. It sounded like things were going to get pretty tough sooner rather than later. Mrs. Nesbit sidled up next to us for awhile, chatting and asking what he had planned to hit as goals. When we told her sub-30, she said, "Oh boy, I've gone out too fast, then!"

We hit the mile in about 6:02, feeling pretty happy with keeping the plan, but I was questioning things. My legs felt tight and my lungs were struggling to grab air. I think this is where experience saved me a bit; in the past I might have gotten scared and eased up, but instead I just told myself that my body was getting used to the pace and working out the kinks. Kevin and I began to reel in several runners after the mile mark as we turned off the road and into some side roads, making a few turns in the process. I had a couple steps on him at this point, and during one sharp left I turned my head just quickly enough to see that Eggers was about 10 meters back, waiting to pounce. That inspired me, and it was here that I left Kevin and began to mow down a good bit of runners in front of me.

The details begin to get a little hazy at this point. I will take that as a good thing - a sign that I was very much zoned-in, focused on racing and not worrying about much else. Again, I didn't have any real idea what I was going to see as far as the course was concerned. The blank memory may hurt the entertainment value of this recap, however!

So I broke away from the early pack and came across the first female and a masters runner, working together up a long, steep hill. This would be Miss Molly Nunn and Mr. John Anderson. I felt comfortable and went right on by them. I quickly learned that they weren't about to let me get away without a very serious fight.

John and Molly hung right on my shoulder, and I began to feel rather used. It was about this time that Eggers came strolling past the three of us, and for a moment I felt a bit deflated. Here I was thinking I had a great chance to finally beat my longtime friend - at a time when his training is down and mine is up - and he's flying past me up a steep hill.

I put the demons to bed and just tried to keep Molly in my sights. John had left to hang with Eggers, now about 10 seconds ahead, and Molly was wasting me on the uphills, with me gaining some ground back on a short down or a flat section. We did this for what seemed like an eternity, but I think it was really a little more than a mile and a half. My second mile was 6:11; my third was 6:08.

Working the hills and enjoying the country-like setting of the highway lanes, the four of us raced on. There was a lone runner up in the distance - an African-American Masters runner named Joseph Willis - and, it seemed, no one close behind. Compton, Matena, Mitchell, and the Asheville men were obviously long out of sight up front.

I split a 5:51 for the fourth mile. Again, the details are hazy, but sometime a little before or right after that marker, I finally found an opening with Molly. She appeared to ease up slightly right at the same instance that I found some more air in my lungs. I went for it. I slid to the outside and sprinted past her, trying to keep pressing before she could pass me back again. We came to another huge hill, and I feared for a second, but rebounded to keep pressing in an effort to reel in John. He slowed down some and I caught him at the top, nearly running into him as we made a turn back into campus and prepared for a fast finish. I knew I had him.   With no more uphills, I knew I had him, and it was time to set my sights on someone else.

I thought about screaming, "Eggers, don't slow down!" but he seemed to get that idea. There were a couple instances when I thought he appeared to be coming back to me, but alas, that was not the case. He caught Joe Willis going around the track as I tried to bring them both back. I am confident I gave it everything I had. I had not been passed by anyone the whole race, except for Eggers. Maybe next time? Willis stayed in front of me, too; I would have had him with another ten meters but I didn't have another ten meters. I ran into him in the finish chute, then apologized; he was cool and slapped my hand. I accepted a piece of paper that had an "8" written on it - hey, this is just like high school! Eggers whooped my ass and I have to hand in a number. I had run my last mile in 5:28 and my last three miles in 17:27. I didn't even think I had that in me. What more could I have done?


I waited for Adrienne - despite claiming to not worry about time, she broke 36 minutes, and finished first in her age group! Kevin and Brian weren't quite as pleased with their performances, but each has had some minor setbacks recently. We will all be there in due time. There was some racking-up of awards and a jubilant post-race lunch, but I will have to save that for another post.

I hope you all enjoyed reading. 'Til next time.

CRC Help

Distance: 13.21 mi.
Time: 1:37:44 - 7:24 ppm.

I had tentative plans to meet Eggers and Brinkley at 8:00 at Old Bell. The possibility of a missed connection was detailed the night before, so I wasn't that surprised when I got to the lot and neither of them were there. I was glad I was there, though. I wanted to get this thing out of the way. My plan was to run up the road and try to find the CRC group of Aaron, Megan, Jason, and Kahn. I had a long-sleeve dry-fit on top of a short-sleeve dry-fit with my longer running shorts and a hat. I honestly felt fine except for my hands: I hadn't been able to locate my running gloves, a problem that will need to be rectified sooner rather than later. I took off down the greenway and hadn't yet made it to the park when I found Megan Hovis and Jason Martin. It felt like a reunion: I really enjoyed running with them over the summer, and it had been awhile.

Megan told me later that she barely recognized me at first on account of how much weight I had lost. Truth be told, it's a lot. I weighed 218 in March, before I had recovered from my injury; I weighed 205 this summer, even when I was training hard; today, before my run I weighed 187. I don't think I have weighed under 190 since right after college. This is an accomplishment. Body fat, not weight, is the important thing for health reasons, but when it comes to moving fast, I need to be light! Kahn said something about my weight earlier, as well: "I can tell even with layers on that you've lost a lot of weight. Your face is still ugly, but thinner, ya know?" Love that guy.

At various parts of this run, I found myself with Jason and Megan; Jason, Megan, Ben, and Compton; Aaron and the Matenas plus the rest and Mike Mitchell; and towards the end, just Mitchell and Compton. I greatly enjoyed the conversation and the faster pace. It's a good group. I ran my last mile - solo - in 6:45.

Group Run at McAlpine

Distance: 10.23 mi
Time: 01:14:31 - 7:16 ppm
Running Buddy

In keeping with the plan to do long runs with a (fast) group, I peeped the CRC Facebook page to see the main long run option involved McAlpine for this week. I think I can go ahead and state for all future references that McAlpine is simply the best place to run in the Charlotte area. There is nowhere else that offers the combination of easy access, a soft surface, potential miles of trails, and a legendary race course. There is nowhere else in Charlotte that could be considered a legendary race course; nevermind the other factors.

I was the first to drive up for this group run, and I finally met CRC co-founder Jay Holder for the first time as we waited to see who else would show up. It quickly became apparent that we would have a good-sized group, especially considering the 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning start. Jay and I were quickly joined by a middle-aged black guy named A.J., then Alex Wernikoff, Paul Mainwaring, Jason Martin, Caitlin Chrisman, Stephen Spada, and at least two other dudes whom I don't know.

We headed down the greenway at an easy 7:40-ish pace, with yours truly fully aware that it wouldn't stay that slow for long. Paul turned around after less than a mile; I'm assuming he had started an hour earlier. Jay asked me a few questions about my car and I turned into a Hyundai Motor salesman for about five minutes. Believe me, they are making the best cars for the mainstream buyer right now. I'm not saying that because I have one; I have one because I know this to be true.

John Compton joined us at the park and our group headed towards Harris Boulevard. Jay, Caitlin, and I had been setting the pace for awhile and I eventually eased towards the back to have a few words with Compton. I had noticed he missed the latest GPX race, King Tiger, and I asked him about it, assuming he wasn't really training for the series. I figured this was his year to win it but he told me that his coaching duties and several high-level out-of-town races would pull him away from the series for most of the year. I guess that means it's Paul's for the taking (Paul won King Tiger easily in a time of 16:08).

As discussed previously, I actually do enjoy running alone - it's just that I want to get faster and the solo stuff isn't going to help. Running in a large group on a narrow greenway is a new experience once again; at one point I threw back my left arm to stretch and nearly took off A.J.'s head in the process. But all in all, I think it will work wonders and I consider myself a regular amongst the Sunday group runs from here on out. The pace was quick for a long run, as we clipped along in the low 7s for most of it, but the conversation and the large group made it go by fast. When I wasn't joining Compton and Caitlin in making fun of Chris Elder I was talking NBA Finals with Jason and some guy I don't know.

We got back to the park and Compton, Martin, and myself split off from the group to visit the water fountain and the bathroom. We would fail to re-up but it was just as well for me as I was over 8 miles in with a 2-mile run back to my car. I ran back with Jason and we reeled off 7-flat pace for the last one-mile-plus. We discussed coaching some more and as I prepared to head home he took off back down the greenway - saying something about having another 45 minutes for today's run.

Getting the run out of the way early does wonders for me. Logistically speaking, it makes sense because it's 20 degrees cooler, but it also sets the tone for the rest of the day. I already feel like I've accomplished that one thing, that GREAT thing, and whatever other travails throw themselves my way for the rest of the day, I will be all right.

Life is good.

First CRC event - the Halloween party!

I recently joined the Charlotte Running Club as a way to re-assimilate myself into the local running community.  I realized this was a good idea as soon as I registered as I received a few e-mails giving me lists of every member in the club - several of whom I had made acquaintances with over the years - and of each fall marathon and which members were doing it.  I also exchanged several e-mails with co-founder Aaron Linz and found quick responses to my questions, which ranged from ideas about workout sites to reconnaissance for racing competition.  Finally, I also received a message from the chair of the "social committee" informing me that there is a monthly social gathering in the club and that October's gathering would of course be a Halloween party.

There is a marathon the weekend of Halloween - Philly, I believe - so the party would be held two weeks early.  For some reason I always dread Halloween, yet I always have a blast every time I manage to land a decent costume.  One year I was a gorilla and yes, I was running around on all fours growling at people and beating my chest.  Last year I was "Slimer" from Ghostbusters and yes, I left a trail of green slime (water-based paint that washed out easily) all over uptown/downtown/funkytown Charlotte.  My best friend Zak, who is about my size, told me he had a Batman costume that he would be willing to let me borrow, so I decided to check out the CRC "social."

I was well-aware that I was about to show up at this party knowing absolutely no one.  I have some friends who are technically members of the club but they aren't active.  I know Ben Hovis and John Compton but they are really just acquaintances.  However, I have spent enough time around runners over the years to know they are generally the most easy-going people in the world, so I was 100% confident I would somehow have a good time. 

I showed up around 10 or so and made a point to introduce myself to a few people before I put my Batman mask on.  One guy was dressed as a 1920's-era gangster and fired his fake gun at me several times before joking that the bullets just didn't work on Batman.  I recognized Caitlin Chrisman because I read her blog so I introduced myself and told her I was excited about getting to meet some of the people in the club.  Caitlin ran her first marathon recently, in Minneapolis I believe, and apparently qualified for the Olympic trials.  Wow.





I'm Batman!!  John Compton is a smelly pirate hooker.

 Compton was the only person there that I knew and he left about ten minutes after I got there, saying something about being tired from the morning's race.  He finished third in his 15k debut, the last race of the year in the Grand Prix series, which I plan to compete in next year if things go according to plan.  I met a guy named Billy Shue and another guy named Brian McMahon, both of whom are apparently very fast as well.  Billy and I talked at length about marathon training and made tentative plans to do some long runs together at some point.  He finished fifth in the Charlotte race last year and seems to have improved a good bit.  I think we can declare him one of the favorites to win it, folks. 
I met the "head of the social committee," Emily Barrett, and several of her friends and basically just had a blast getting to know everyone.  I did spend a good bit of time trying to figure out who-runs-what because, again, I didn't know any of these people yet and what else was I going to talk about?  All in all I was really impressed with how friendly everybody was and it's safe to say I have found myself in the midst of an awesome group of people.

A few more pics...

"Dora the Explorer" a.k.a. Emily Barrett, the CRC social chair....and a smiling
Billy Shue in the background.

The Dark Knight enjoyed mixing it up with various Tom Cruise characters.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

This is going to be a long one....

I jolted out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 2nd, prepared to run a 5k race.  I'm pleased at how nervous I was; there was no chance apathy was going to set in here.  I fiddled with my race number about 10 more times (did I mention that I was nervous?) before heading uptown.  I parked at my friend Matt's place in First Ward so I could stash my keys on his patio and then jogged towards the race site.  It was about 51 degrees outside at 6am - perfect racing conditions!  I was wearing an Under Armour shirt and basketball shorts over my racing kit, so I would need to find a place to stash my stuff and just hope it wouldn't get stolen.

Large expo areas were set up in several of the big parking lots near Bank of America Stadium, and I suddenly became intimidated by the multitudes of people.  There were people everywhere (the Observer reported that there were about 16,000 people who participated), and they were all wearing pink and white.  I reminded myself that this was not a serious race and that I was probably faster than all but 20 of these people.  I started looking for some water - not too much to ask, right?  Volunteers were handing out orange juice, cookies, and potato chips, but I couldn't find water anywhere.  The fifth person I asked looked around at her booth, handed me a bottle and said, "Well, you can have this one, I guess, it's not open."  The exact same scenario played out after the race, too.

Around 6:45 I headed for the starting line at Tryon and 1st Streets, and ducked into the neighboring atrium right by the Ratcliffe on the Green.  I found a bush and decided this would be where I stashed my clothes.  I did some short sprints down Tryon Street to try to get my legs prepared for what would be a much faster pace than that to which they were accustomed.  Not long after that, a woman from WBT got on the microphone and began her emcee duties for the event.  She talked at length about the cause, the event, and many other things, but all I really heard was "all competitive runners need to be at the starting line at 7:15."  With 10 minutes to spare I jogged down to the port-a-jon one last time, headed back to my spot, peeled off my outer clothes, and headed to the line.

I walked right up to the front of the starting line and once again became terrified that I was going to be right at the front of this race.  Not only was John Compton nowhere in sight, but I only saw a couple guys who even looked like they knew what they were doing.  There were two high school kids discussing strategy and a guy in an orange-and-black (we'll call him "Orange Guy") racing kit who looked to be in his mid-thirties to my right and left.  I asked Orange Guy what he was hoping to run and he said, "18:45."  Perfect!  I told him I would like to break 19 and he said he thought I could do it.  Thanks!

With WBT woman continuing to talk, I tried to keep stretching and finally noticed the presence of Mr. Compton.  Orange Guy and I would not be leading this thing.  Good.  WBT woman gave a countdown from 10 to 1 for the start (that was pretty cool), and we were off.  Compton blasted into the lead as one of the high school guys followed right with him, and I tucked in behind Orange Guy was we headed down Tryon and then turned down Morehead Street.  I was cold, half-asleep, and tightening up as my legs tried to get used to sub-six-minute pace (the fastest mile I had turned in any workout before this was about 6:20 pace).  I estimated shortly before the mile mark that I was in 7th place.  I ran stride-for-stride with Orange Guy, who told me, "Just stay with me and you'll break 19, easily." 




The tall guy in the yellow shorts was tired of listening to the emcee and just wanted to race.  On the left, high school kid.  On the right, Orange Guy.

Unfortunately, Orange Guy lost me right before the mile - or at least I think it was right before the mile.  I looked down at my watch right past where I thought the marker was and saw "6:05."  I was running well but fading fast.  We made a couple turns, then headed away from town on Fourth Street and ducked into some neighborhoods.  A lot of people were passing me.  I went from 7th to what I guessed to be about 25th place.  Crowd support was good but once again there was no marker for the 2nd mile.  16,000 competitors and you can't bother to set up mile markers?  Are you kidding me? 
We made it back to Fourth Street for what would be the homestretch of the race.  I started to pick up the pace a little bit, with many of the people who had just passed me well within reach.  We passed the slower runners who were making the turn from 4th into those neighborhoods, and I was in awe of the sight.  So many runners....many of them cheered us and waved as we passed in the opposite direction.  That got me fired up, and then I looked up and saw the finish line about 400 meters ahead.  I'm an idiot.  For what, exactly, was I saving my energy on the 2nd mile?  I'm used to the marathon training, which allows to maintain a certain pace for 10 miles or so, but the 5k pace was a little intense.  I guess I just wasn't totally ready for it.  With that being said, I took off and passed about three guys, and when I realized several more were within reach, I dug down into an all-out sprint up the hill and into the finish line in a time of 19:10, good enough for 15th place.  I was laughing at myself when I crossed the line.

Orange Guy (who I now know was a guy named Marcus Barton), no doubt seeing my little sprint, walked up to me with his hands in the air and said, "I told you to stay with me!"  He actually looked like he was pretty pissed off.  I handed in my chip and then found my old rival, John Compton.  We exchanged pleasantries and briefly talked about the Charlotte Running Club, and he told me that he had in fact won the race in a time of 16:02 (he later told me that due to poor markings, he took a wrong turn in Mile 2 and lost about three seconds, preventing him from breaking 16).  Unlike me, he never quit; he had run collegiately at Wake Forest and was now helping coach at Providence Day.  He told me that the high school kid hung around for awhile before fading, and another runner finished second, about 45 seconds back. 

As for me, well...I noticed before the race that my bib had someone else's name on it, and by then it was far too late to fix this problem.  So, according to the results, someone named "Kroy Presley" finished 15th in a time of 19:10.  I e-mailed the powers that be in the hopes of getting this changed, but by now I've resigned myself to the fact that this was never meant to be a serious race.  I walked away from this effort not overly pleased, but certainly not disappointed.  The fact that I had so much left at the end tells me I could have gone much faster, but I ran a decent time for someone who has been out of racing for many years.  More importantly, I am training for a marathon.  I will view this as a great effort to get back into the racing scene, but mainly as a good speed workout to prepare me for December 11. 

Now, assuming I survive the marathon, the goal is to jump down to the 10k/5k distance in the spring.  Until next time....

Preparation for a race

This past Friday I once again had the pleasure of reuniting with an old friend.  A former teammate and roommate of mine at UNCW, Andy Painter, noticed via Facebook that I had been running and training a lot more these days.  He was coming to Gastonia for a wedding and sent me a message saying that he'd like to run with me at McAlpine.

We met at the Sardis entrance at 9:30am and set off to run the course and back (7 miles).  It was fun catching up with Andy, talking about what all we had been doing over the years and rehashing old memories.  We ran our 7 miles at a leisurely 7:51 pace.  Running in 70-degree weather after dealing with the nineties for five solid months is just fantastic!

As previously discussed, I have decided to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K.  This past Friday was the eve of that race.  I paid the $35.00 entry fee and picked up my packet at Run For Your Life on Park Road.  Unlike most runners, I never liked to eat pasta before races (you can get the same energy stores from fruits and veggies, without all the cheese and noodles), but I was housesitting for my parents, and that's what was in the fridge.  So I devoured some pasta and proceeded to feel like crap for the next 12 hours. 

I was pretty nervous for this race.  I felt like someone (me??) was going to be really disappointed if I didn't perform well.  But what would be "performing well"?  I only started training seriously as recently as two months ago, and I hadn't run a race of any distance since track season my junior year at UNCW (2003).  I discussed strategy with Eggers and we determined that a time of 18:45 could be doable given how well some of my workouts have been going.  I knew that there were many potential mental blocks from having been out of it for so long but tried not to think about that.  Given my marathon training, I would be going on endurance, not speed, but I felt like 19 minutes was a reachable goal.

Now, here's where things get interesting.  While Komen is a fantastic cause (the proceeds go to breast cancer research for those who don't know), it has never been a very competitive race.  It's really more of a party than anything else.  I was suddenly afraid that a time of 19 minutes or under would put me right at the front of the pack.  I recently joined the Charlotte Running Club, and I e-mailed founder Aaron Linz to ask if any of the local heavy hitters would be suiting up for this one.  He confirmed my point about how the race was not usually competitive but mentioned that John Compton and a guy named Billy Shue would be running in it for sentimental reasons.  Compton was a rival of mine in high school; he ran for Providence Day and was four years younger than me but was already running in the low 17s when he was in eighth grade (my personal best in high school was 17:11).  Knowing those guys would be there relieved any fears I had of having to make a decision at the front of the field.

Friday night, I fiddled with my race number and laid out a black-and-white Nike singlet that I found buried in my closet.  I would also wear my Nike training shoes and some yellow-and-black racing shorts.  I drank several glasses of water, ate some berries, and tried to go to sleep.