HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Pre-Race: 5:30 am

Yeah! I completely forgot that I have a 10k road race today! Unfortunately I had a fairly intense workout yesterday so I'm a bit tired... at least that'll be my excuse if I don't do well! Bah ha ha!

Its called "Butte to Butte" and its held every year on the 4th and has been around for quite a long time. This is the first year that I've ever done it and I'm really looking forward to it! According to some of my friends it has a really festive feel to it and some of the intense Eugene running elites actually have some fun as opposed to being all, "I'm super fast running dude... and I will CRUSH you!"

A friend of mine, Jeff, who I know through coaching his son in soccer and baseball threw down the gauntlet and said he's going to take me... of course... his wife Sally has been egging him on... which is hilarious. The thing is... I think he's a stealthy bastard and will probably throw down some sub 6 min miles! He's so very quiet and unassuming that you just never know. We'll see how it goes.

My plan is to have fun! I'm going to stay with Jeff.... period... and if there's an opportunity to blow by him while laughing... I'll do it. However, if he kicks my butt... I'll claim injury or something like that! HA HA! YEAH! (In a super whiny voice) "But Jeeeeeff! I had a really big workout yesterday AND... my pinky toe hurts!" Yeah... that ought to do it! His son Daniel will be running the 5k walk... he's a little stud and I'm sure he'll do GREAT!

Post Race: 10:30am

I'm home and happy! What a great event! It almost seemed as if the entire city turns out for the thing... as evidenced by the line for the porta-johns before the race. Like all races the energy was extremely high and people were just tickeled to be out there! I was standing around listening to some of the conversations people were having... they ranged from two young, strong, svelt runner dudes, "Bro, I'm chillin on dis one yo. I fugunna put down about a 36 min finish." To a couple of overweight ladies in their late 40's, "I'm just SO happy to be out here doin it! I'm just glad that I don't work tomorrow! Hee hee hee!". That's exactly why I LOVE these races! So many differenct people with so many different goals... but they are ALL out there... and they are all THRILLED about it!

Jeff immediately said that he wasn't expecting much from himself in this race so I decided to pace him and make him be consistent throughout. The weather was PERFECT! Totally clear and sunny... although I did hear some complaints at the starting line! The picture above is just after mile 5. Jeff did a great job of holding his pace! He would go off into LaLa land for a second and start to drop but all I had to do was say his name or "Come on Jeff" and he would come right back on pace. At mile 5 Jeff told me to go, "I'll be right with ya." So I went... and he didn't come with me. LOL... I'm proud of him though. Considering the lack of training on his part he should be REALLY happy with his performance! I'm not exactly sure what the official times were... but I'm pretty sure that Jeff held an 8 min/mile avg! Not too shabby! My unofficial finish time after leaving Jeff at mile 5 was 45:39 which averages out to be 7:42/mile. Slow for me but very VERY comfortable. The best thing about it was running with a friend and getting to have that experience with him! It was just cool!

GREAT JOB JEFF!!

It's hard to see in the picture but at left is Jeff's son Daniel BLAZING through the 5k! Did I mention that he's 10 years old and he cut 6 whole minutes off his time from last year's race?! What a STUD! OH! He's also a good student and enjoys My Little Pony! (Just kidding about the Ponies Daniel) He is a smart kid though! Be very proud Daniel! I expect you to smoke your Dad next year in the 10k!

As I type this I'm smokin a brisket in the smoker and gettin ready for the 4th of July festivities! Tomorrow I'm heading to Bend on business AND I get to join Drew for a KMA session with his trainer! I don't expect to be able to walk after we're done... and I fully expect to throw-up all over Drew about halfway through the thing! YES!

Breathe...

p.s. What's your fav part of the 4th? I wanna know! Leave a comment!