October 15th, 2007
Livestrong Challenge Day 2 Part 1
The cell phones started ringing at 6:30 in the morning and we all got out of bed dragging a bit. Morning people we aren’t though Ron does do a good impersonation. By the time we got everything together, such as Ron and I putting on our Nike+ systems, Paul’s heart rate monitor, and stretching it was about a quarter after seven so we headed out and walked the seven blocks to the capitol building in the heart of Austin. The start/finish was setup directly in front of it and the race headed out towards the river from its steps. We got a passerby to take a picture of the three of us in front of the start/finish then we headed around to the runners “corral” to get ready for the race. A random runner told us that there were 2,000 runners and 4,000 cyclists here for the weekend. We took the statements at face value but looking back at the results and the number of people I’d say around 500 was more accurate.
As seven o’clock approached the LAF speakers began to take the stage and talk to the crowd. The main purpose of moving the 5K to Saturday and at the capitol was to promote awareness of a vote coming up in November to provide some of the most ambitious funding for cancer research in the nation. Not being from Texas I’m not entirely in the know on this law but do know from what I’ve heard and been told it seems like a great idea and initiative. Several of the lawmakers responsible for the law were introduced. During all this the rumor began circulating through the crowd that not only Lance Armstrong was running the 5K but also Andy Roddick, the tennis pro. The rumor was pretty quickly confirmed when Roddick was introduced and he came to the podium in running gear to talk about his support of the proposition and then introduced Lance who also spoke at length to the crowd. Afterwards a young girl did a pretty impressive rendition of the national anthem. It was a great version but those that tried to sing along in the crowd quickly gave up as she sang it her way and at her pace.
Paul, Ron, and I had been talking about the run most of the morning and they were getting the impression from my times that I was pretty fast. I don’t think so but they did, which while it may be wrong, was a pretty good ego stroke. Paul said that he was going to use me as a pace and try to stick with me as long as he could which I thought would be a cool idea and run. Once the guys cleared the stage the race started with Lance and Roddick leading everyone out, at least I assume they both were there since we were too far back to see. It took 19 seconds to get from where we were to the start line, based on the results. Once we got across the line I saw an opening against the barricades and told Ron excuse me and I’d see him at the finish as I got by him and started to push through the pack to get open. I set out with the purpose of setting a new PR and I felt that if there was a time and a place to do it I wanted it to be here at this race.
I got through the pack within a couple blocks and looked over to see Paul right there with me. I had only run fast to clear the crowd and was planning on slowing down to find my pace to stick with. Now with Paul right there and all the talk from before I was thinking that he was going to push me all day. I had a slight fear of this to begin with and then just went with it as I was feeling really good and AC/DC had just kicked in on the headphones as we approached the first bridge. I looked back again and Paul was gone. I continued to cruise as we made the turn to the first mile marker which said 7:03. After that it was another turn to head back over the river at the next bridge.
It was then that I caught site of a runner all in black with a yellow stripe on his pants, a survivor card on his back, and staff written in yellow on his back. Lance was wearing almost the exact same thing when I saw him on the stage, though I didn’t know whether the staff was there. Either way the thought I had caught Lance was in my head and I had to know so I sped up and caught the runner at the halfway point of the bridge. Turns out it wasn’t him and I didn’t really expect it to be since he had done the New York Marathon in three hours. I kept on going but at the two mile mark I started to feel the pace getting to me and wanted to walk and pull back, but I knew that where I was and why I was doing it meant quitting wasnt an option. I gritted my teeth and got through it and as we turned up the back of the capitol building to come back into the finish I was feeling great again.
As I rounded the capitol another runner caught up to me and said something I didn’t understand so I just nodded and told him we had 400 meters to go based on what my Nike+ had just told me. He sped up and so did I, then 300, I kept accelerating and he hung with me but a step behind. At 200 I kept accelerating and he was gone as I passed another runner. I came into the finishing chute and raised my hands over my head waving my hands in the “raise up” motion to the crowd to get them going. I knew I had to be close to my PR and I was loving it and wanted the crowd going too. I could hear them cheering more and I’m pretty sure the announcer said something though I couldn’t hear with my headphones. I saw the finish clock and it said 21:58 and I knew I had beaten my best chip time by 10 seconds and that clock was by gun time. I lept across the line with a fist pump, I can only hope that the cameraman caught it cause I want that picture.
Chip time is the time from when you cross the start and when you cross the finish. Gun time is when the race starts to when you cross the finish. Hence the gun time is higher based on how long it takes you to cross the line. I had beaten my chip time PR with my gun time this race. As I got out of the finish line area I knew it was a lock and I ran into Andy Roddick. I had carried my camera with me so I gave it to someone walking by and asked him if he’d mind if we got a picture. He said no problem so I got a shot of us at the finish line. I asked him his time and he said he didn’t know but his friend told him it was 20:55 so I came within a minute of catching him on the course. Lance was nowhere to be seen but I expected that. In the official results they had my gun time at 22:02 which was surprising but still beat my old PR of 22:08 and the chip time, which is what I track, was 21:43 which crushed my old time. Overall I got 31st place out of 463 timed results, so obviously the serious runners weren’t there if I pulled that place.
I headed back up the course with my camera to try to catch Paul and Ron on the run and as I started I saw Ron coming in. I managed to get the camera out and on just in time to catch a photo before he passed. I walked back and met him at the finish where we talked for a second before he spotted Paul in the chute and i got a picture of him as he got his water and chip taken off. Ron finished with 25:19 for 84th place and Paul got 26:24 for 120th place which was really good for his first ever 5K. We wandered around the finish for a little while and got another group photo in front of the capitol before heading back to the hotel to relax for awhile.
A side note is that my knee held up great. It got a bit stiff later in the day but during the run it twinged a bit in the beginning but as I got going it loosened up and didn’t bother me again. I think this bodes well for the cycling on Sunday.
