A Friendly Competition - December 15, 2007

Saturday, December 15, 2007
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Tensions have been simmering for weeks, and only my own weakness has prevented them from boiling over into an overt confrontation. Today, incited by ideal weather, clear lungs and rested legs, war broke out. It might not be all out war, perhaps more of a friendly rivalry, but today the inbound Don called the outbound Don a pussy. One of our goals during the long run is to run negative splits – always come in faster than you went out. But the last two weeks the outbound run has been so slow as to present no challenge to the inbound runner, even weakened by a cold. 38:02 last week, 36:05 the week before. Geez, Don, you could at least get under 9 minute pace. Make me work to get back in time. Pussy.
I was about 3 minutes into today’s run when I heard that conversation in the back of my head. It was 3:25 pm, about 70 minutes before darkness (sunset at 4:07), and it was about 5 degrees, clouds heavy with the threat of 12-18 inches of snow, and only the slightest breeze. Near perfect running conditions – I’m finally dressed properly for the temperature. I’ve got a bandana over my mouth and nose to warm and humidify the air. If I take it away from my mouth, it freezes solid in about 15 seconds. Cool. But anyway, back to the story. Outbound Don doesn’t like to be called a pussy, especially by some fat, bald, slow, middle-aged punk. Outbound Don throws down a smooth first mile in 7:59, and easy uphill second mile of 9:14, and a brisk third mile of 7:56. About 25:08 for three miles. Taking pity on inbound Don, to whom he is suddenly feeling much more sympathetic, outbound Don eases through the fourth mile in 9:36 (34:44 out). That’s more like it. You want to run negative splits, you’ve got to run 8:40 pace. Inbound Don takes the baton at the turnaround and cruises mile 5 in 8:44, which sounds fine except that mile 4 is mostly uphill while mile 5 is mostly downhill. And my legs are totally beat. Running in the slush, while easier on the legs, really requires more energy. I feel as if I’ve gone about 10 miles, and I’ve only gone 5. Mile 6 is all uphill, and takes an exhausting 9:41. Mile 7 is mostly downhill, but I’m so tired it feels as if it’s uphill and take 8:28. Thinking back to such classic hill races as Hamilton College 1980, Mount Greylock 1994 and Ocean to Sound relay leg 6 1997 helps the anchor leg come home in a strong, all uphill 8:39. 34:44 out, 35:32 in, total 70:16. No negative split - inbound Don learns to watch his mouth. weight 167 lbs before, 163 lbs after.
All in all, it’s just another brick in the wall.