Bananarama!!!
I was trying to break two personal running records this week.
1. Run more than 45 miles total for a given week.
2. Run faster than 24:35 in a 5K race.
I ran 7 miles on Saturday to break the first one. I was a bit worried that a run before my 5K race on Sunday would slow me down. Nevertheless my inner voice say F*** it! Just go for it!.
7 miles, 1 Chipotle burrito and an ice bath later and I'm in bed all ready for my race.
But no.
Must read.
Must surf.
You got to understand that when I read, I tend to read at least three books in one session. 50 pages of this, 10 pages of that and so on. I got cozy with:
1. Mystic River - yes it's already been made into a movie
2. 23 Days in July (Tour De France book featuring Lance Armstrong) - I'm not really an Armstrong fan but he sure inspires.
3. The Art and Science of Oracle Performance Tuning - the guy who wrote this is a co-worker.
100 pages later and it's 12 midnight. F*** it!. I have to get up at 5:30 to have enough time to get ready and get to the darn race tomorrow. Correction... TODAY! I then gave my inner voice a dose of it's own medicine. Sleep comes fast.
Alarm wakes me at 5:30 am. I hit off instead of snooze. Big mistake. Biological alarm wakes me at 7 am. F*** it!. I do the following in less than 20 minutes:
1. Brew coffee.
2. Print directions from mapquest.
3. Pack bag.
4. Put on running attire. Asics Kayanos for this race.
5. Look decent.
6. Contemplate kicking the printer for printing so slow (my fault).
7. Jump into the car
Car fuel gauge says its almost empty. F*** it! It will take me 8 minutes to head to a gas station and fill up! Hmmmmmm. I'm driving a Honda Civic. One of the most economical cars in the world! F*** it!. I'm driving straight to downtown!
45 miles later and I'm driving on fumes in San Francisco. I almost pissed on myself when the car stalled momentarily because of low fuel while I was on a 50 degree slope. Normally it'd be ok, but not today with an expensive looking Mercedes close to my tail.
Parked. Ran to venue. Registered. Portalet trip. Ran to the start line with 45 seconds to spare before the race started. Whoah!!! Nice race! Lots of people. Men dressed-up as bananas. Kids of all ages. Runners from various running clubs. Me and my Rudy Projects, Kayanos and Asics jacket (forgot to take it off).
I found myself panting on the 1-mile mark. One look at my watch and then I deduced that I was in trouble. Why you ask?
1. My watch read 6:25! That's way too fast for me on a 5K race!
2. I was loaded up on caffeine.
3. I'm getting warm and I have a jacket on.
Basically I committed the runner's sin of starting out to fast. Couldn't help it. I slowed down and carried my jacket but I was still panting like a dog in heat. Almost gave up at mile 2 if it not for my inner voice saying F*** it! Just go for it!.
5K later and I'm pleasantly happy with my time of 23:25. I didn't break 23 minutes but it was still a minute faster than my previous 5K four months ago.
Nice race. Lots of freebies. If I only had my girlfriend with me at the race, then it would have been a "perfect" day.
Banana Men
The finish
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