Guinness, Harp, & a 5K (Updated with Recap)

Pre-race report for the 100% Irish For a Day 5K run.

At 6am it was a balmy 22-degrees. It is expected to be closing in on a sweltering 26-degrees by the time the event starts at 9am. Should I go short-sleeve or stick with long-sleeve?

Just for the hell of it, I checked the local temperature for Scottsdale, where I & the family will be vacationing in twelve days time. It's 54-degrees there. That would have been lovely for this event.

Well, the left Achilles is still sore. We'll see what happens. If nothing else I have the post race Beer Party to look forward to. Each eligible participant will receive one free 10oz Finnegan's Beer. I may even purchase additional beer for $3 each. The Beer Party begins at approx. 9:45. Somehow, that doesn't seem real appetizing at the moment.

After this race, I will have six weeks to get ready...and hopefully be injury free...for the start of the real season. The Winter Begone Duathlon actually falls on my 48th birthday this year. To say I am targeting that race is an understatement.

Time for a pint. Guinness, It's not just for breakfast anymore...

Recap

Well, that was pathetic. I guess for putting in a total of 8 miles in the last two weeks I should be happier. But still. This is getting disheartening.

Mile 1: Went out at 6:23. Perfect. Just where I wanted to be. Achilles was moaning but not barking. I was feeling like I could crack sub 20-min 5K which is what I should be doing. In my sleep. Without even trying. Kudo's to the race director who came up right before the start and told the guy pushing a double-wide baby stroller to get to the back and 'don't even think about" toeing the line with the front-runners. Christ Almighty, some people don't have a clue.

Mile 2: As the Irish (Father Ted rules!) say when upset, "Arse and Feck." Put in a 7:09 split here. Couple of reasons. One, the road was getting hit by sunlight and the temperature was right at freezing. So the moisture was starting its ugly freeze-thaw cycle. There was no traction. The best we could do was either slip-and-slide in the middle of the road or, as I did, move to the left shoulder and run on the grit and hope for the best. Second, the ten-miler racers had left 5-minutes before us. And now we were having to play dodge 'em with the weekend warriors who were out for there recreational jog which is more like a friendly conversational fast walk. And they were shoulder to shoulder. During a downhill portion that was especially icy, one person went all Genghis Khan and took out a few people like a bowling ball. So, I had hoped to pass the 2-mile mark at 13-minutes and fell short at 13:32 due to poor road conditions and heavy traffic. Jeez! That sounds familiar!

Mile 3: With the leisure suit types mainly out of the way, I was able to pick it back up and did mile three in 6:29. Any chance for a sub-20 was already out the door and the left Achilles was now an issue. My running gait was now a goofy looking land on the toe for the right foot and then flat-footed for the left. I decided not to push it into the finish and just floated in best I could.

Unofficial time: 21:03

Kudo's to Team Ortho & Marathon Sports for yet another great event! It was nice to finally meet Mr. John Larson, a truly great race director. I don't know where he finds the time.

As stated previously, I have six weeks until my next event. I have to get this Achilles issue taken care of and at this point, I am considering taking the next week completely off from running. I'll lose valuable mileage. And the weather next week is suppose to be in the upper 40's & lower 50's. Which would have been nice to enjoy. For sure, I'm taking the rest of the weekend off from running. Maybe things will look better on Monday.

Where's the beer?