I almost skipped this race. When I signed up for it, I didn't know it would happen during the Seahawk's play-off game against Green Bay. Since I was sorely out of shape AND I wanted to see the game, running the race seemed like a bad idea. I went anyway, for two basic reasons: the weather was decent, and I would have kicked myself if I stayed home only to watch the Seahawks get blown out. I set my DVR and headed to Kirkland.

There were a variety of races to be run, including a 50k and a 10-miler. I was signed up for the 5-miler. The race started late in the day—three o'clock—so runners on the longer courses would be finishing in the dark. Barring disaster, I would finish while it was still light.

I warmed up and made my way to the start. I saw a couple of runners I knew would beat me, but I lined up on the front row. We started and I charged to the front, trailing four other runners, including the two guys who beat me at every race at which I see them. I followed them for quite some distance, until I realized I was keeping up with them, which meant I was running too fast. I decided I would slow down while it was still my choice to go slower.

I found myself running alone. The trails were twisty enough that the runners ahead of me were soon out of sight, and I couldn't hear any runners behind me. Luckily, the course was very well marked, so I had no trouble finding my way.

After some time, I heard runners approaching me from behind. Two guys passed me on a long uphill stretch, and they were really moving. I realized they were the lead runners from the 10-mile race that had started five minutes after my race. (The race course is 5.2-mile loops. My race was one loop, their race was two loops, and so on.) I checked my watch. Judging my pace against theirs, I determined they were running about a 6-minute mile pace. Not bad on the trail.

I ran another half-mile or so solo, then I heard another runner coming up behind me. He wasn't moving quite as quickly, so I assumed (correctly) that he was another runner in my race. He passed me, made a comment about all the horse shit on the trail, and then slowly pulled away. I tried to pick up my pace and close down the gap, but I didn't have enough left to go faster.

Then the other runner was out of sight, and I was by myself again. I didn't have far left to go, though. Soon enough, I came across the finish line. Somehow, I managed to finish sixth overall, with a time of 36:52. For 5.2 miles that makes 7:05 per mile. Not bad for two months without training.

Oh yeah, the Seahawks got blown out.  ¶ 10:02 PM