Cherry Creek Sneak 5-mile 2011

It all started with a wager.

In March, I texted my younger sister with a challenge: if she would sign up for the Cherry Creek Sneak 5k, I'd sign up for the 5-mile, and we'd see who had a faster overall time. I felt pretty confident that I could win that bet. I knew I could run the race in just under 40 minutes; after all, I'd finished the Runnin' of the Green in under 33, and this was only a half mile more. Heck, if I really pushed it, I could probably run the Sneak in 37 minutes. Meanwhile my sister would probably finish her race somewhere between 39 and 41 minutes. So I made the challenge. To my delight, she accepted. Then I looked at my training schedule.

I'm currently training for the Steamboat marathon on June 5 (changed from Seattle on June 25 for financial reasons). Imagine my chagrin when I noticed that the Sneak was scheduled the day after a 20-mile training run! When I realized this, I only-half-jokingly told my sister that she'd have to give me a handicap of five minutes. She laughed at that and said there was no way, because "You always seem to surprise yourself when you race." After a bit more teasing, on race-day morning she finally relented and agreed to a two-minute handicap. She also agreed to the stakes: loser buys the winner a massage.

Sunday morning was quite chilly and somewhat overcast. Perfect for running, not great for standing around waiting. Since the 5k was scheduled to start at 8, and the 5-mile at 9:15, I saw Sara off at the start of her race and was able to cheer her in when she finished. Since there was no finishing clock and she hadn't started her Nike iPod correctly, she wasn't sure what her time was. We figured about 41 minutes. Since I thought it very unlikely that I was going to run much faster than 8:30 pace (if that!), I was glad she'd agreed to a 2-minute handicap!

I seeded myself right at the front of the 9-10 minute pace area. When the starting gun went off, I shuffled my way forward along with everybody else, then cranked my iPod and broke into a run. I also started my Garmin, but told myself I wasn't going to look at it--after all, my sister had had no idea what her time or pace was, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know mine. Running along Cherry Creek Drive North to Colorado, waiting for the crowd to loosen up a bit, I settled into what felt to me like a 9-to-9:30 pace, right where I felt I could stay for the whole race. We turned onto Colorado, then came back along Cherry Creek Drive South to finish the first mile. As I ran by, a volunteer was calling out times: "Nine forty-four! Nine forty-five! Nine forty-six!" That felt just about right to me. One mile was down and I was feeling pretty okay, so I decided to turn up the intensity just a little bit for the second mile. I pushed myself to what I thought was probably a 9-minute pace. I resisted the urge to confirm that by looking at my Garmin by simply pretending I wasn't wearing it. Instead, I focused on my music, and on my form: leaning forward slightly, shoulders relaxed, landing on my midfoot, legs under me and not too far ahead, then pushing off behind me (what Coach Manthey once referred to as "controlled falling").

Just before I reached the 2-mile mark (call it 1.95), Metallica happened. "All Nightmare Long" is an 8-minute song. Now, I was actually feeling really solid at this point, not tired or stiff, and with plenty of energy. Plus, we were about to turn south on University and climb up to Alameda--the only real hill on this course. Not only that, but since the course turned north on University at Alameda, it meant I'd have a chance to see some of my Runner's Roost teammates coming the other way. All these factors combined to convince me that I could finish mile 3 before that song was over. (This was not the first time a Metallica song pushed me to run faster: last year, "Master of Puppets," another 8-minute song, got me through the last mile of the Donor Dash 5k.) I turned up the juice and ran. Down University to Alameda, then back up University to Speer, then west on Speer. Twenty feet before I reached the 3-mile sign, the song ended.

NOW I was starting to get tired. But I also noticed that I'd pulled up closer to a couple of my Roost teammates. I let myself slow down a bit, back to what felt like a 9-to-9:30 pace, but at the same time kept my eyes peeled for any of my teammates that I might be able to catch. Sure enough, at about 3.8(? Anyway, just before the 4-mile mark), I caught up to one of them. Here was our conversation as I passed:

Her: Go big or go home, right?
Me: You said it! How you feeling?
Her: Pretty good, you?
Me: Oh, I'm dying!

And that was mostly true. My music was still pushing me, and I was inspired by seeing my friends running along the course (going west on Speer I could wave to them as they came back the other way after the turnaround), but I was starting to run out of steam. Or so I thought. Running along 1st Avenue into Cherry Creek, I could see the finish line in the distance--a bit of a tease since we still had more than half a mile to go. We turned north on Detroit up to 3rd, and as we did so I saw another teammate ahead of me. A small part of my brain said I could catch him, but the rest of me ignored it. But as I ran along 3rd, I could see I was gaining on him ever so slightly. That small voice recruited some friends and got louder. As I turned south onto Steele, and then east onto 2nd, the voices became louder and more insistent. Almost unconsciously, I found myself pushing harder (though not as hard as the Metallica Mile), and closing the gap between us.

As we turned south onto Milwaukee, I knew I had him. I poured as much as I had left into passing my friend, which I did just before we turned back onto 1st. Sprinting out the last block, I crossed the finish line in 39:06. The day after a (fairly challenging) 20-mile long run, I pulled off a sub-40-minute 5-mile race, and set a nearly 10-minue PR for myself to boot. My sister was right: I do surprise myself.

A quick shout-out to congratulate some other members of the Roost Team (all of whom had fantastic races of their own): in the 5-mile Keith Solverson took 1st, and Heather Utrata took 2nd female! In the 5k, Jason Rahm took 6th overall and 3rd in his AG, and Anna Parker took 7th female and 1st in her AG! Nice work guys! I'm proud to be associated with this team!

Official Time: 39:06
YTD Race Miles: 51.6
YTD Total Miles: 510.3
Oh yeah, that wager?: I lost. My sister ran her 5k in an amazing 36:41, a huge PR for her as well!