the first annual REAF 1-2 miler!

August 21, 2010

pre-race report
a few months ago, josh mentioned going to miami to compete in a 2 mile race put on by his high school cross country alumni. now, high school was a long time ago for me — and josh is 6 years (ish) my senior, so you can do the math — his track and XC glory days are pretty far behind him (did you know he ran for duke as a freshman?).

former track star from this miami institution
but first, a step back! what good is a race, anyway, if you don’t use it as an excuse to eat plenty of delicious carbs? we pregamed/glycogen-loaded last night with a fun dinner at tupelo’s in hillsborough.

cornbread was the carb of choice:


and sauvignon blanc was official pre-race hydration.


avocado and shrimp ceviche for the fun of it . . .


lots of carbs for josh:


and a rainbow plate for me!


with locopops for dessert. clearly, i wasn’t very excited about this:


the actual race
. . . introducing the ransom everglades alumni & friends 1-2 miler (REAF for short!).

this morning i rolled out of bed just feeling last night’s wine ever so slightly, but josh was raring to go. while his hours are much worse than mine have ever been (i’m typically going to work out the while he is already halfway through morning rounds), he has dedicated the past month or so to getting back into running so that he could really run this race today. we had actually thought about going to miami for the weekend, but some home inertia/need for down time/financial realities set in, and we decided to put the race on right here! after all, there are tracks abound, and what else do you really need besides a watch and a great running surface?

yes, i suppose the duke stadium is up to our standards
i offered to be official time-keeper and documentary journalist of the race, but then last minute decided to enter in the one mile category. (fine, it was my own category and i was the only competitor — but that’s the beauty of putting on your own race!).

this way i could take pictures AND see how fast i could run a mile. i think the last time i ran ‘the mile’ may have been in middle school and i was proud of my 9:something time.

we began with some stretches.

me, josh, business/med-student/quasi cousin noah, and his classmate emily
you will note that i appear to be halfway into a forward bend. unfortunately, this is my full version of the pose. yeah, i know.

on your marks . . . get set . . . GO!

i enjoyed the slightly springy surface.
sadly, being the official photographer of this event, there are no shots of me tearing up the oval path. but i will say that i enjoyed revving up into a gear higher than i am used to running, and i would call my first mile race a success!

splits & associated mental commentary:
1st 400m: 1:37 (“this is awesome!”)
1st 400m: 1:45 (“yet harder than i thought.”)
1st 400m: 1:41 (“well, might as well go all out. . .”)
1st 400m: 1:39 (“gun it home!”)

total 1600m time = 6:43!!
or, to convert to a true mile, (1609 meters vs 1600) –> multiply seconds x 1.0058 –> 6:45. i actually didn’t think i was capable of sub-7 and was quite happy with my time! obviously, i came in first (and last) in my division.

finished with my laps (and let’s just say i was GLAD to be done . . . ), i went back into photographer mode. my first attempt at capturing josh:


he was just too fast for the camera! trying again . . .

ripping up the asphalt. see the flames in his wake?
he finished in 13:19, a 6:40/mi pace for 2 miles. considering that his current ‘training’ is an average of 8 miles/week (and that is being generous), i was extremely impressed. i think he was also happy with his time.

then, like any high schoolers would, we headed immediately to elmo’s for post-race nourishment:


or josh did, anyway. i didn’t imbibe because we have an exciting lunch date planned (of course, pictures tomorrow).

laptop lunch
i’m off to enjoy the rest of saturday! i had gotten some emails about it, so i just wanted to quickly post a link to the laptop lunchbox that i have and love.


kath talked about quick lunch ideas in her talk, but for me i actually find this the absolute easiest way to pack a lunch. toss in some odds ‘n’ ends and go.

enjoy your saturday! it’s a beautiful day to be in NC. i hope the sun is shining where you live, too!

—————————————————————

8.20.10

workout: 4 miles outside, relaxed pace (~9:30). um, tapering? i guess we could call it that.

board prep: apparently i was too busy drinking wine to get this done. but i’m about to tackle fluids & electrolytes as soon as i publish this post!

4 Comments

  • Reply Melissa March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    What a fast mile!

    I remember running 1 mile when I was in elementary school, timing myself over and over and trying to achieve the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. 🙂

  • Reply Becky March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Your own race – so fun! And you were super speedy! I love the feeling of running fast.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    holy moly! you guys are soooo fast. i love the idea of putting on your own race. very cool 🙂

  • Reply saucony March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Actually the much fun moment is the preparation and before and after the race. Nice pre race report there!!!

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