MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S 3-MILE

How’s that saying go – a goal unwritten is just a wish - something like that? Well whether it was a goal or just a wish, I accomplished something last night that I thought was achievable this year. Yes, I met Olympian Carrie Tollefson. Okay, maybe it’s silly to have a goal, er, wish, that you can’t really control. However, I have a few connections throughout the running community and she’s visible enough that it seemed like a likely goal, er, wish. Whatever! Anyway, she was at last night’s Midsummer Night’s 3-mile, along with her husband. Although I’ve interviewed him, I had never met him in person. And the Lehm-kuhles were there too. Unfortunately, Katie wasn’t there. Apparently, running the World Championship 10,000m is more important.

I hyped this race pretty good after last year’s 1st annual event – more so because of the post-race gathering, than the race itself. If it’s possible, this year even topped last year with its hot dogs, Vitamin Water, popsicles, Great Harvest bread nuggets, and 2 beer tickets. Combine that with a microfiber shirt and I had no problem paying the $30 entry fee. More races should take note!

My only gripe – and it’s a big one – is that this year they replaced Surly and Flat Earth with Michelob Ultra. Not to be a beer snob, but give me 1 Surly over 2 (or 6) Michelob Ultras.

Anyway, this was my second race as a Master and it’s the second time my chip has screwed up. Both times my results were corrected, but last night it kept me from winning the men’s Master title and some great swag. I spoke with the race staff afterwards and they assured me they’ll get everything straightened out, so I’m not worried.

Going into the race I figured I’d break 19-minutes and thought 18:30 might be possible. I ended up running 18:19 (6:01, 6:07, 6:11) and finished 9th overall. For comparison, last year I was 3rd overall in 17:50. Complete results can be found HERE.

Quote of the Day;

“Every marathon I ran, I knew I had a faster one in me. Even though I’d be spent, even though I’d be cramped up, I knew with a little more training, a little more preparation, a little more experience, I could run faster.” – Dick Beardsley