Dragons

Well, Friday pm's workout didn't go as well as hoped. I'm not sure if it was most affected by Tuesday's lingering effort, my Friday morning mileage that may have been ran harder than I suspected, or just my general lack of conditioning. A combination of all three seems most logical. Regardless, it has helped bring me to some conclusions. With Friday's embarrassment still on my brain, I started my run yesterday morning with a goal to figure out some sort of strategy for the Turkey Trot. The whole process alone has committed me to staying on top of my training just so I don't end up doing this 'cram session' ever again.

I don't think it has been very efficient.

As I cruised to Silverlake park, I really tried to tune in on what my body had been saying these past couple weeks. Aside of the cries of agony and screams of 'No!', I see now that Thursday is going to be little more than an exhibition -- a low-standard setter, if you will, so that in a year I can say, "Wow. I dropped nine minutes off my 5k in only one year!"

Last year I ran 18:31, one second behind 16 year old John Leavitt. It means little outside of this story, but I coulda outkicked him. It just doesn't seem right to have that much left that late in a race though. Well, John, I don't suspect that will a problem this year. If there is one thing I can be sure of right here, right now -- it's that I will not have a kick on Thursday.

That's right, from the man who produced what could only be described as, "a rocket-like kick", there will be no propelling myself from last to first this year. Thursday's strategy sounds more like something that Petie's coach would have come up with.

Get out there and try to hang on.

It worked pretty well at the 88-Crime 8k last March, but that course was quite flat and asphaulty. Now we're talking the Turkey Trot course. Now we're talking a field that consists of probably 60 people who go out under 6-flat for the first mile and don't finish under 20 minutes. Now we're talking hay bales, water pits, and a 17 year old John Leavitt who probably had a growth spurt and is really out to stick to Old Man Blax.

I don't like it, but there is nothing I can do about it at this point. This won't be like last year, John, as I slowly reeled you in over the final section of the course after the river crossing. No, this year, it will have to be I who is leading as we take it to the final hill and the subsequent hay bail jumps. And this year. on 11/23/06 John Leavitt, should you be the one coming for me as I am totally falling apart in the final 80 or so meters, I only hope that you will return the compassion that I showed you last year, and not blow past this humbled, accepting, and broken old man.

On the other hand, John, if you've got me by even an inch when we hit the 2.5 mile mark, you can just rest easy because I will surely be done moving up at that point.

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