Canada Day 5k

Nobody went first, so I guess it's my turn.

What a perfect day for a race. Nice and cool, overcast, and only a threat of rain, we couldn't have asked for better weather. Although the course wasn't marked at all, I was close enough to the lead bike not to need it (for the first time ever), and I don't think any one got lost.
Every race I remember has advertised itself as "fast,flat,and scenic", and this course actually was all of those (not the outright lie you usually find on race day). I can't believe how fast this course is. I guess we'll start with the fact that I set a PB (by an entire minute plus) and then show the whole race, kinda like in a movie.
The start was fast, and going out behind a group of super fast kids was a little amusing, until I discovered that one of those kids was "wonderkid" Adam Doxtator, Damon got a fast start and left the group of us about 20 meters behind very shortly after the start. After we cam under the bridge the first time I decided to go with him, and passed the group, setting off in pursuit of our eventual winner. By the time we turned onto the path, I had closed the gap a little, and felt good. My heart rate was only 87%, and I knew I could push 92% and still survive a race this long (short?). I upped the pace, and Damon responded, Adam seemed to be dropping away (pretty strange worrying about a 13 year old kid, but he deserves that respect.) and I again tried upping the pace a little. Damon seems to sense when I'm gaining, because without looking back he increased his speed again and started to open a larger gap. We passed back under the bridge and I realized that Adam was beginning to close on me.
Was second place slipping away? Had I gone out too fast and spent all my energy? The wind in my ears indicated no, but something was happening to my cushion, and I didn't like it. We made the turn around and I knew I'd have to dig deep, my gap to Damon was the same, but Adam wasn't 15 meters behind. By the time we got back to the water station he was right on my heels. I declined a drink to save some time, and remember feeling relieved to hear him take water. A split second gained by me, and lost by him.
At this point in the race I was in survival mode, my ego wouldn't let this kid beat me, but my legs suggested I just let him go. I followed my ego. I began planning my route so that if I was passed he would have to go the long way around, and as we turned to head East for the final time he was right beside me. I decided that if he was going to beat me he'd have to work for it, and accelerated again, with about 400m to go I concentrated on everything I had learned about running fast, my heels came up, my arms came down, I stood tall, stuck my chest out and I ran. I ran with every ounce of will I had left in my body, and as the finish line came into sight I ran even harder, only backing down when I knew I had done it.

So, there you have it, how I, a man who's been running for 20 years, beat a 13 year old kid. I ran that kid so hard, that he beat his personal best by 20 seconds (or so I heard), and I had to drop over a minute off mine to do it.

Those mixed feelings...I feel bad that I tried so hard to beat a boy so young. I mean, sure he's fast, the kid's a monster, but he's still a kid. I also feel great that I ran one of the best races of my life. That kid pushed me so hard that I dropped over a minute off my PB.

Adam, if you read this I have a few things to say to you.

1. You're awesome man.
2. We are all driven by different things to perform, not just person to person, but also race to race. Today you are what drove me, but tommorrow it may be the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement. I read a story once about an American track icon who set a US record trying to outrun the footfalls of a a competitor he'd long dropped, he could only hear his own feet hitting the ground, and couldn't believe that he wasn't able to drop his competitor no matter how fast he ran. I'm not proud that I beat a 13 year old boy, but I am proud that I beat an incredible competitor, and I'm sure that very soon that won't be a possibility anymore.

Keep racing

Mike