Though I must confess yes my view is a wonder about this,this love I possess love,it must be the dreams of our fathers"
Dreams Of Our Fathers Dave Matthews Band
Oh the irony,not only a 5 mile race on the 35th anniversary of "the auld fella's" death but it was pissing down rain........just like it was that fateful night back in August 1972 back home in Berrings Co Cork the nite my father chased me and his godson Liam home 5 miles in the dead of night in the pouring rain threatening us w/ a swift kick in our collective arses if we stopped running......
Fast forward Sunday October 27th the first Run For Blue Market Street 5 Mile race......
I delayed my arrival to the start till as close to 8am as possible as it was already raining,I'm no stranger to running in the rain to begin w/ but I do get flashbacks of that nite 47 years ago of being chased by a lunatic in the black of night and the pouring rain the entire 5 miles home,to this day I credit that nite to the start of my running career which in earnest didn't begin for another four years on an old cinder track in Charlton Park as a high school freshman
As is my won't I lined up a little behind the front of the starting line so as not to get caught up in the inevitable mad dash from the starting pistol but before we made the turn from Front St to Arch St I had moved my way upto 11th b4 we then made a left onto 2nd St and then a right onto Market St.
From the gun the lead three had distanced themselves from the field,4th place{and 1st female} had also gotten clear and I was the caboose of the 7 runner pack as we made our way up Market St from 2nd to 30th
Two choices,draft off of these guys or run my own own race......
I made my way into 5th and on the way to the turnaround saw the lead three had become two b4 3rd and 4th passed me heading back down Market St
Either I didn't see mile marker or there weren't any so I was in the dark re splits till post race via the Garmin
I forget when the second female passed me,pretty sure it was just b4 rounding City Hall which was when I surrendered 6th spot to an old "sparring partner" Andy Cherry
Andy and I have been racing against one another for longer than either one of us probably remembers and have had some epic duals,today was no different and I'm sure our paths will cross again
I wish 8th place had been closer to force me to push harder,I doubt I'd have caught Andy but knowing 7th was secure I probably didn't dig any deeper than I had to.
Crossed the line in 31.55.9 off of 6.13 mile pace w/ splits of 5.59-6.12-6.08-6.13-6.37,I made the turnaround in 16.45 which means a negative split of 16.45-15.10
It's been a while since I registered a top 10 finish,it's also been a while since I ran a five mile race,the last one was 06 when I ran 30.54.42......so in 13 years I've only slowed down by 59 seconds.....
I said last week I wasn't sure of my chances of an age group award due to it only being top 2 not top 3 plus being 50-59 not 55-59,I needn't have worried Andy Cherry and I were the not only 6th and 7th overall but the first two 50-59 runners so not only an age group award.....BUT a medal to boot......
#199 which means the 5k at the upcoming Rocky Run will be #200,the 10 miler will be #201 and the bonus medal for both races will be #202
Once again I was delighted to have Mrs Shamrock Warrior w/ me for a race,after years of having girlfriends who treated my running like a major inconvenience it means the world to have someone who wants to come to my races even when it's raining,......that's hard core right there if she said at 6am " it's raining I don't want to stand around waiting" I wouldn't have held it against her...but no she came w/ me and never once complained about the weather,as I told her post race it's NOT a coincidence I've been producing impressive times and performances this season w/ her as my support system,thank you
Final word has to go to "the auld fella" on the 35th anniversary of his passing,glass half empty he'd want to know why I only finished 7th,glass half full he'd have a wry smile to himself in the knowledge that that fateful nite in Berrings Co Cork in August of 72 wasn't all in vain
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