It may have been considered balmy (around 30 degrees) compared to previous 10-kilometer Tortoise & Hare races, but there were a couple early-morning signs that this winter’s Lee Martinez Park 10k would be no cakewalk. First was the way my all-wheel-drive roadster went around a corner onto snow-covered College Avenue: a four-wheel slide, Steve McQueen style, but at at 10 mph. Second was the sight of two race participants abruptly quitting the race after only 1.5 miles. One of them was ambling back to the staging area not long after I commenced this fastest-people-start-last race, and he yelled, “ice beyond the [something that sounded like ‘ramp’].” Continue reading »
I have to admit that I initially thought Kenny’s plan for the Tortoise & Hare races was brilliant. A few months ago he told me how he had been “sitting on his butt” all summer so that he would be slower for the initial T&H races, yielding slacker predicted times and a higher probability of racking up bigger points in future races. But today in the Rolland Moore four-kilometer race, it seemed like someone or something was trying to foil his plan.
“Please note on your blog,” he told me, “that [Kenny’s wife] Amy was faster in the last race, and yet she’s still starting before me. Totally unfair!” Continue reading »
“This year,” said Nick, “I am going to win a pie.”
Considering the phenomenal year Nick has had in running (five first place finishes, five seconds, and two thirds in distances ranging from 10 kilometers to 100 miles), the only question in my mind was whether he would win a pumpkin or apple pie for finishing in the top three in his age group in the four-mile Fort Collins Thanksgiving Run. That and if I was going to run the race too. Given the prize money and consequent depth of the field (2,000 racers including Olympic-caliber marathoners), there was no way I was going to win a pie nor finish in even the top 10 in my age group. Plus, I had hardly been running in the last couple months. Maybe it was better to be a spectator with a warm cup of hot chocolate instead.
“Come on,” said Nick. “It’s a Thanksgiving tradition.” Continue reading »
“Oh crap,” I replied to my friend Jen who asked me a question online 45 minutes before the start of the Warren Park 5k. “Is it this morning? Um, there’s still time! Um, I guess I should come even though I haven’t been running AT ALL.”
Forgetting about the race and waking up late is probably not the best way to get ready for a five kilometer run. Neither would being fully clothed in warm-up gear from head to toe while blabbing away with my friend Dana when buddy Nick (the race director and Dana’s wife) matter-of-factly stated, “Felix, you start in 30 seconds.” Continue reading »
Shortly after arriving at the start of the Pineridge 4 Mile race, Kenny — who ran an astounding 15-minute five kilometer race in college — put everyone on notice.
“I have been training all summer for the Tortoise and Hare races,” he declared, “and I have a strategy.
“The last few months I have just been sitting on my butt so that today I’ll be nice and slow. Then, as the series progresses, I’ll naturally get much faster. I’m going for the series win!” Continue reading »
“Next time,” I wrote the last time I did the Mountain Avenue Mile, “I will try to finish under five minutes.”
I fully believed it was possible, and after all my speed workouts on the Colorado State University track the last few months, it should have been. But belief ensures execution only as much as a good recipe and oven could result in great tasting cookies. For me it would require the near-perfect race where my pace would be at least as consistent as pre-made cookie dough from the grocery store. Continue reading »
&title=Mountain Avenue Mile "The Mountain Avenue Mile: Running as if I was being chased by a bear. I think the bear would have caught me. (Photo: Eddie M.)")