Race Shirt Exchange (and other things)

Race Shirt Exchange--This past spring, I was looking in my closet to pick out a shirt to wear that day. There is a joke in my family (and I'm sure others reading this will relate) I'm lucky that, with all the races I do, I never have to buy another T-shirt again. True. My closet is full of race shirts from the past few years. But, I began to notice the shirts are from races I've run year after year. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the shirts. But, do I need to have the same shirt/different color every year? And, I didn't think I was alone in this thinking. Why not somehow set up a race shirt exchange program where people who have run the same race year after year can swap shirts with someone who has run their own race year after year? Just to be different. But, how do I get the word out?

In June, when I ran with Frayed Laces in Hawaii, I mentioned my idea to see if she what she thought. She loved the idea and wrote about it in her September 24th blog entry. I also mention it in the Phedippidations Discussion Board Forum Thing over the summer. Everyone who wrote in seemed to think it was a great idea. But, how to manage it?

I immediately went into project management mode think. We set up a separate area in the forum and people can post there if they want to exchange a shirt. If you have a taker, find out what shirt size the person wants, exchange e-mail (and mail addresses). The person who sends out is responsible for postage. On and on and on. I stepped back for a moment and told myself, 'you can't manage this. If people think it's a good idea, they will figure out how to exchange shirts on their own. No rules.'

But, from the September 24th blog entry of Frayed Laces, someone stepped forward and said, 'I'll exchange a race shirt with you'. I want to report that the idea I had back in the spring has come to fruition. Big from, Big's Running Blog, sent me a great technical T from the Capital City River Run Half marathon and 5k. And, just this past week, I sent Big my shirt I received in the 'Run for Your Neighbor' 5k I recently did in Harleysville, PA. I want to thank Big for this great shirt.

Of course, as usually happens in my life, my timing isn't the greatest. Because here I would say, 'and if anyone else wants to exchange shirts, please let me know.' Which I would like to do. Except I only have one more race this year. The Harrisburg marathon. And, no one is touching that one. (If you really want a shirt from there, I will purchase one on your behalf and can send to you. Send me the money after you've received the shirt.) So, when the spring comes, I will re-visit this idea and see if there are any takers then. In the meantime, don't let me stop you from finding others to swap with you. Use SteveRunner's forum if you would like to find someone to swap a shirt with you.

My 20 miler. In my line of work, we have things called 'pilots' before we send things into production. Pilots are tests meant to see what could go wrong with an idea before you start producing it for real. Well, my 20 miler that I run before a marathon is my pilot. To me, it simulates my marathon and I use it to test things out first. I have to say, it is a good thing I do this. Because my 20 miler yesterday didn't go exactly as planned.

First, in looking at my marathon schedule, I should have done my 20 miler LAST week. (I was wondering why Kelly and Melissa weren't running theirs this week). Normally, I dread the 20 miler. But, this year, I had the mindset of just going out there and doing it. I had packed the Friday before. Charge the garmin. Gels. Powerbars. Drinks. Change of shirts. Race wear. Everything set.

I get to the lake around 9a. (The Phillies game was rain delayed and I stayed up until midnight though the game ended around 2a). I see Melissa, and we exchange hellos, as she is finishing up her 12 miler. (Sigh. Still, it was worth staying up as the Phillies did eventually win). I'm all set to go as I turn on my Garmin. I have one hour of battery life. WHAT THE ##$%? You see, I do the Galloway run/walk method for marathons. 5 minutes running, 1 minute walking. Kind of critical to have a working watch. OK. No big deal. I approximately know where the miles are around Lake Galena so I'll just do a walk break after each mile. (Secretly, I blame Frayed Laces as I believe she owns an 'evil' Garmin. See her October 13th posting. Somehow, her Garmin is the 'mother' Garmin which controls some of the other Garmins in the world. Because, since her problems, my watch has just been 'obeying orders' to breakdown as well. Just a theory, mind you.) Pacing will be difficult but I can manage.

So, I start. And, my left ankle hurts. With every step. OK. I just need to warm up. And, now my Achilles is hurting. It feels like it needs to be stretched a bit. So, I stretch. Nothing. I run a half mile and the pain is not going away. At this point, I'm at one of those crossroads moments in life, 'do I stop and rest it or do the 20 miler and risk injury?' I HAVE to do this 20 miles. So, I press on.

The 'run a mile, walk a bit' thing isn't working out right. I have to stop more often because of my ankle. And, I forgot to put on body glide. And, I'm feeling the affects of that decision. I wished there was someone to take a video. I want to show the world how NOT to train for a marathon. I can only imagine what I looked like adjusting my shorts and favoring my right leg as I run.

I made it a point to wear my race-ready shorts. With the pockets. For my gels. You know, the gels I left in my car. Luckily, the loops I do around the lake, take me back to the car to re-fuel. Except I won't have that convenience during the marathon.

I do manage to finish the 20 miler. Chafing. Ankle swollen. Hungry. Thirsty. Yep, I'm ready for that ol' marathon in two weeks. There is going to be approximately 800 runners in this marathon. Usually, I like to be in the top 50% of the finishers in any race. I'll take top 90% for this race.

A little late with this joke--Back in August, I posted a blog entry talking about a race I ran against Police chief White. As I was running this weekend, I realized the Clash did a song in which the lyrics would have been perfect for that entry. As mentioned previously, my timing could use a little work. Anyway, here are the lyrics:

Yes, Im running down the railway track

Could you help me? police on my back

They will catch me if I dare drop back

Wont you give me all the speed I lack

Mom, make it stop!!!--I will not get all political on you. But, I will say, the process of electing a president in this country goes way TOO LONG!!! It should not take a year and a half to elect a president. Billions of dollars should not be spent electing a president. I used to be more involved politically. No more. I will vote. But, no matter how much I back a candidate, I refuse to send money for elections. I would rather see my dollars fighting diseases than electing a candidate. In truth, I wish there were viable third and fourth parties in America. They have it in the UK and Canada. Where politics are more local. I hope your candidate(s) win. For me, I just want it to be over.

October 28, 2008 update--I had to add this picture. It is from my backyard this morning. Yes, it is snowing here. Just north where they are trying to finish the World Series. Wasn't it just summer a few hours ago? (Sigh). Hope it's not an indication of what winter is going to be like around here.

Running against my 'Chief' rival

Last week, I received an e-mail from Steve White about a 5k race, (Dead Harriers 5k) on Wednesday. Steve White is the chief of police in Doylestown, so, as it may come as no surprise, is also known as 'Chief'. The race was at Central Park in Doylestown and was not the usual 5k course that they run in the spring and fall. The course layout was a bit of cross-country.

I had just run two races in about a week's time, so, I was very doubtful that I would be running this race as well. But, the week I had at work, I had to do something about my stress. I had to run as fast as I could. Or punch a wall. I opted to run instead. I could have run by myself but I was afraid I was going to burn out too early and not have a good workout. So, I decided to run the race.

When I got there, I said hello to Steve. Steve is the kind of guy that I have never heard anyone say a bad word about him. (Of course, I've never been pulled over for speeding in Doylestown, either). Everyone knows Chief. Everyone comes over to say hello to Chief. And, Steve always has a smile on his face at these races.

For the past few years, I've always 'used' Steve as my measuring stick in 5ks. I will keep my eye on him when he lines up at the start and try to keep pace with him throughout the race. What generally happens is I will go out too fast and Steve will eventually pass me with his steady pace. It doesn't happen that often, but, the times when I do beat him (even if he is running injured), there is a sense of accomplihsment for me.

At 7p, the race starts. I'm lined up next to the Chief as we head out. I sense that I am going out too fast (again) so I slow myself down a bit and try to run a steadier pace race. I pull ahead of Chief but expect him to catch me any minute.

At 3/4 mile, we have to climb a good hill (for these parts anyway). Chief pulls up beside me and says, 'Let's run this hill together.' I started the climb and noticed I was pulling ahead again. 'I thought you said we were going to run this hill together?', I, jokingly, said to Chief, as he falls behind.

We started our descent and headed for the mile 1 marker. A woman and I started to run together for a few strides. We were about an arm's length apart from each other when Chief cuts in between us and starts to move ahead. But, he is only a few strides ahead of me, so I make a move to get ahead of him again and I stay there.

Now, this is the part where being well-liked can be used against you. For the next mile and a half of the race, I was ahead of Steve. But, I had a way to gauge just how far ahead without ever having to look back. The spectators on the side of the course would be yelling, 'Go Chief!' or 'Hang in there, Chief'! I would look at the spectators and see where their eyes were and try to calculate the imaginary triangle from me to spectator to Chief. If I felt they were looking at me, I knew he was close behind me. If I had already passed them and they were looking behind me, then I knew he was further back.

The last half mile, the spectators thinned out. I lost track of where he was. With a quarter mile to go, Chief pulls up beside me and then passes me. 'This is it!'. I thought. But, he only pulls pass me by about three strides. If he had gone faster for the next five strides, I would have given in. But, he stays there. I pull beside him, look at him and say, 'Oh no!' as I begin to pass. Now, two strides ahead of him, I hear, 'I'm cooked. You win!' but I think he is toying with me. If I start to relax, he will come up behind me and steal the race. So, I sprint with whatever I have left to the finish. Crossing the finish, I turn around and see Chief right behind me. We congratulated each other on our efforts and for help pushing us through to the end.

I stick around for the award ceremony after the race. There was less than 100 people in the race so I thought, maybe, just maybe, I might get a third place finish or something. The first awards was for the Hawaiian shirts award for the best finishing times for runners wearing Hawaiian shirts. Didn't know about this. (Note to self to send Frayed Laces an e-mail asking if she'll send me a cheap XL Hawaiian shirt for next year's race.)

The awards are handed out from oldest group to youngest. As it turns out, Chief wins his age group! He thanks me for being his rabbit! I ask for custody of the award for every other weekend visitations. My age group is announced. Bumpkis. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch for me. (Sigh).

Still, I'm glad I ran the race. It helped the stress. I had a lot of fun running it. I had a lot of fun competing against Chief in it. Plus, I helped a friend in winning his age category. Just remember, Chief--it's my turn to have the award over the Labor Day weekend!