Volksläufe Again (2014 Edition)

I've written about this race so many times, I'm guessing you're all tired of it right?  So, we'll keep this sort of brief.

Yes, Jason and I ate the pancakes before the race again.  However, this time we also rolled the dice with a plate of eggs.

Breakfast!!!

Rather than break out quick this year and try to maintain, I went with a different approach.  It was more like don't really try for the first half, and see what I have for the second half.

About the 5K mark I picked up two runners that didn't seem too happy about me being near them.  They were obviously a couple, and the girl and the guy were pretty much flawless physical specimens.  When the maker created them, I'm sure there was one last squeeze before sending them out in the world.  They were really, seriously, super attractive people.  They also seemed to be super pissed about a fat guy keeping up with them.

I would pull close, and I would hear them get all huffy about it, and they'd hurry up back ahead of me.  It was cute.  They didn't even know that, at this point in the race, I wasn't even trying.  Finally, at the 10K/halfway point, I kicked it up, and left them far behind.  "People should know when they are conquered." I'm also pretty sure the person at the half point told me my time was 68 minutes.  That was awful, if that was true.  I was on pace for a 2:16...my worst at this race.

Anyway, with buckets of energy to spare, I started passing people left and right down the dirt road and over the bridge.  I hit the hills that usually beat me down and leave me for dead, and I pretty much rushed right through them with no trouble at all.

By the time I hit the 15K mark, I figured that, with only a 5K to go, I might as well try to treat the end like a regular 5K.  So I just did my best to sprint the rest of the race.

Now I was really passing people.  I blew by people like they were standing still.  There were a lot of remarks about how much energy I had left.  One woman even asked if she could hop on and get a ride to the finish.  I said, "Sure, catch me and hop on."  She did not catch me, even with my slight detour on the hill to high-five the inflatable Sparty.

I came in with a 2:05:33, which was shocking if the front half was really 1:08.  Could it really be possible that I ran the last half in 57 minutes?  Couldn't be...right?  Maybe I'll find out if there were split times...

Anyway, I've learned that I can't go out super slow on this race if it's not 90+ degrees out.  I also learned that eggs are okay with the pancakes before the race.  The 2:05 is only a minute more than my best at this course.  That's a good sign, considering I sleepwalked through half this race.  I don't know, maybe I should actually start using my Garmin again.  I've just been in this mode of not being a slave to times and being ruled more by how I feel, how I want to run, and how I work.  I figure that shooting for specific times is just going to hinder the long term goal, and there's just too many emotional highs and lows playing that game.

Anyway, I've also learned that races only have good shirts for the first one or two years that I run them, and then they get boring and lame.

I mean...look at this crap.  Immediate goodwill pile!
You better do something good for the 40th next year.

I still need to bump up the training and I've gotten a little laxed with the lazy days of summer, but I'll turn it back around soon.  Everyone needs a small break sometimes.  I'm still in real, honest-to-goodness training mode this year, and I won't be falling off.  Maybe I'm not PRing like a madman, but I think I'm really setting up well for the marathon this year, and, as long as I stay on track, I'll be shocked if that's not a significant PR.

Also, there still may be a 5K and 13.1 PR in there.  I'm not ruling it out.