Say good-night 49...

Saturday I ran my last race as a 49 year old and in two weeks I begin a new journey - or better yet, racing in a new age division. There are sub 20 minute racers out there in their 50's so don't think that easy days are around the corner for me. In fact I believe I will have to train harder than ever before. And I fear it appears that I will finally have to give up booze, smoking, and chasing girls. Just kidding mom, I stopped drinking long ago...

Growing up my mom and dad (still miss him - someday I'll tell the story about when he shook the ketchup bottle during dinner with the cap off and ketchup flew everywhere...ceiling, walls, you name it. Funny how little things pop in and out of your mind) had this thing we'd do at birthday time. Before falling asleep the night before your birthday you would say "Good night 7 (or whatever your current age was)". When you woke in the morning you would say "Good morning 8". It was kind of goofy but it stuck with me and I still do it to this day. I've tried to pass this tradition on to my kids. In their early years they were all in. Today not so much. If I look at the right moment I catch part of the world famous eye roll...So I say it to them...for them. I know they are thinking it and I'll settle for that.

I had slapped some added pressure on myself for this race. I needed it to be a good one since I was closing a chapter. Knowing this, Sharon fine tuned my training plan. I hated most of it. Hate is really too strong a word. Let's say I didn't always look forward to the next day of training, knowing that it would hurt and I would be tested. Additional cardio days were inserted, 400, 800, and 1600 sprints at speeds I'd not done before, hill training, and longer long runs. Yup, like a soccer ball to the groin but in this case a "cup" doesn't ease the pain.

Race day weather was perfect. Mild temp with mostly overcast skies. Jerry was out to run the 10K and Albert and Sharon running the 5K. We even had special guests - Sharon's mom and dad came out to support her. They are great people and it was nice of them to come out. They may have turned out to be good luck charms as Sharon won. She came in 1st for all women and 3rd overall - meaning she out ran every man but two. Smokin! Albert ran with her, coming in just behind. He ran 9 miles the day before - talk about energy. Jerry ran with his dog and finished the 10k in 4th place - and that's running with a dog and spending the first 1.5 miles running along Sharon and Albert talking to them. Oh, and I believe he's now running 80 miles a week for his marathon training...

For all my training complaints, the plan and execution was spot on and worth it. I ran the fastest race of my life, a 22:16. I started out a bit too fast (sub 7:00 pace) and settled into a pretty good pace for the first two miles. I was in a weird spot. The fast runners were well ahead and others were well behind. For most of the run I was by myself - that makes the hard parts of the run tough. Mile 3 wasn't fun but I pushed harder than ever before and soon I could see the finish ahead - oh sweet nectar! I went into a full sprint (my Garmin reflects a 5:00 pace if you can believe that) and crossed the finish well spent. I had trouble standing for a minute or two but recovery came soon enough and I could celebrate. And for the first time I won my age division. Yup, 1st place. After 19 races, number 20 will have a 1st place medal to remember it by.

As 49 heads off into the sunset I'm excited for 50. Bring it on..."cup" included...