All I wanted was a race to get some confidence back, little did I know that every runner in the state apparently had the same idea! File me under last to know, of course I knew the River Bank Run is a popular race, but had no idea there would be twenty thousand runners! If there were that many runners, add the number of spectators, and suddenly this thing is becoming epic. Often I've wondered what a big race would feel like, well this is it.
For the coolness factor of a big race, there's a downside. Take a look in that picture and see if you can find me, it's impossible to find somebody, even if you know they are there. The event was broken down into two 5K's, a 10K, and then the 25K races. I had a relative running the first 5K. Within about three seconds of getting downtown, it was obvious to me that there was no way I'd even see her. CT had a friend running in the second 5K, so off she went to try to find her. This left me alone in a sea of people to wait until the start of my race.
First, I just watched people. I found myself trying to guess how serious the runner is based on their shoes. New clean shoes meant a new non-serious runner, right? Then again, maybe they just pull out their special shoes for race day. Bored with that, I switched to doing some stretches. I've never stretched before a race before, not sure what prompted me to do it, but I did a few. It wasn't long before I noticed a few people around me now starting to stretch. Did I start this? Hmmm, I wonder if I start to stretch in goofy poses will these people mimic me? I didn't. Still, I had plenty of time to kill. At this point I sat down and tried to figure out what was going on with myself. I went to my bread and butter song and finally something happened. Doubt, nervousness, feeling alone evaporated and my race plan became clear. The whole time this is going on there's a staging area moving left to right in front of me. The 25K staging area was now straight ahead, but the only people there were the race organizers holding the various pace group signs. My second bread and butter song was now playing, then it just kind of hit me that there are only two possible outcomes to this race, I get my goal or I don't. Last week it didn't feel good, one way to change that and that time was now. I can't be hundred percent sure, but to me, it felt like I was the first person lined up for this race. There certainly wasn't anybody around my spot. Lets do this thing! For the record, just like the stretching, it wasn't long before people followed me and started showing up.
The plan was simple, follow the pace group. Didn't matter if I was feeling great in the beginning and wanted to bolt or the heat wreaked havoc on me, the pace group had to stay within eyesight of me until the final two miles. The last two would determine if I'd get my goal.
When I came up with that plan, I still didn't realize how big this race is. Arrrrrgh goes the horn to start the race, thirty seconds later the mob finally starts to move forward. It was such a long walk to the starting line, I had plenty of time to scan the crowd. I wonder where CT is. Can CT see me? Then the reality, there ain't a chance in hell I'm going to see her or she's going to be able to see me.
Holy shit, this is a ton of runners! Even in the busiest race I've done up until this point after a mile or two things are thinning out. At mile seven, we were still shoulder to shoulder. This is a damn stampede. You know that plan I came up with, well, I couldn't change it if I wanted to. I wouldn't be able to pass anybody unless I had a cattle catcher attached to the front of me and I'm pretty sure if I needed to slow down, we'll I'd be permanently flattened to the pavement from being trampled. Wanna talk 5150, this is it. Water-stops felt like the damn lottery, it must have looked like a rack of beef being lowered into the Amazon River as piranha attacked. I took two elbows and got kicked once and though it sounds like I'm complaining, I consider myself lucky.
I did modify my strategy in an attempt to find the largest empty pocket I could without jockeying too much. There were actually people concerned about passing, so could float to these small open areas. I couldn't figure out why people weren't doing the same thing, but I wasn't about to give them hints. Not only did these pockets allow for a little more visibility to see the road, less chance for flying elbows and feet, but the best surprise was a little extra air flow to help with cooling.
I started to base how I was doing with where the pacers would be in relation to me after each water-stop. It became a game within a game if I could somehow find water, drink, and get back to it without loosing any ground to them. Some stops I'd break even, others I'd lose some ground. Between mile seven and ten, it was still pretty crowded. A couple times I remember being irritated that there were so many people in this kind of shape, shouldn't they be tired by now? Just past mile ten, some hills started. This is the point where, although I did feel like I was getting tired, I seemed to be catching people. People who were ahead of the pace group this whole time were getting closer and closer to me. Mile twelve the hills were done. Stick to the plan.
Once the hills were done, I felt pretty confident. Part of me wanted to start to push it, but I talked myself out of it, told myself I at least had to wait until thirteen and a half before I could go. That's about the time I passed the pace group. Once I passed them, some common sense set in. It was obvious to me that I'd get my goal, so I didn't see the point to trying to really improve my time beyond what it was. One big race this month and I don't want to get injured. Even though I told myself this and felt like I was trying to do this, the last two miles did get quicker.
The final stretch, I tried to enjoy it more. As I scanned the crowd it became more about finding CT, where would she be standing, would I be able to find her? I felt pretty damn good knowing that my goal was in the bag, yet I still wanted to share it with her. Reality hit, there's no way I'd be able to spot her. Next best thing, maybe she'll be able to see me, so I put my hands in a heart over my heart and crossed the line.
Twenty thousand people, needle in a haystack! I made my obligatory race tweet about the Two Hour Club has a new member as I stopped my watch. Then with one glance, into the crowd, there was CT looking back at me with this huge smile. Twenty thousand people in a 25K, found the only person who mattered at that moment.
Crossing the Line:
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