Well all I can say is that another weekend came and went very fast, literally!!! Matt and I took off for the Great White north on Friday, September 12 around noon. As typical with teenagers, Matt had all day to get ready, as he skipped school, but what did he do? Slept until about an hour before I got there. At least he had already packed most of his gear. But as we pulled out, I began to ask him about some things that he should have packed such as cold weather clothes. And he said why. Well I just guess that you might want to stay a little warm since the forecast calls for the temp to be around 52 degrees the morning of the race. And also, did you get your race ID card. Ya know you got to have it to get your race pack. Oh, but I can't find it he says. Oh well, I guess you just get to watch me skate!!! LOL But as typical as with most teenagers, he wasn't the least concerned at all.
Anyway, off we go and oh, he has made us a music CD for our enjoyment. He says that he actually put some music on it that I would even like this time. Thank goodness because I wasn't listening to that stuff that he calls music again. Well to my amazement he was right. Some good ole classic rock-n-roll and of course mixed in with a little new rock-n-roll. Not bad, not bad at all. I was highly impressed. So he asks me why we have to leave so early since the race isn't until Saturday. Well I say, we only have to drive for 1.5 hours to the airport in Atlanta, eat, pee, then wait around for our flight, then fly for 2.5 hours to Minnesota, eat again, pee again, then get the rental car and drive for another 2.5 hours to Duluth and then we have to eat again, pee again, and do it all before the civic center closes at 10pm. Because we have to pick up our race packs before they close at 10pm. You know, I am just a stickler for the details. And again all he says is oh. With as little care as he could possibly muster. But it's all ok because I have traveled with Matt before and I know what to expect from a 16 year old by now, not much!
So we get to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and of course Matt is hungry again, just as I thought. So before we go get our luggage and rental car, we search for food. Matt eats as we walk to find the baggage claim. Ok, we got our bags and now where the hell are the rental cars at? We must have looked and walked around for what seemed to be an hour before we finally asked someone and they pointed to where we started our search originally. So we walk back over there and sure enough there is "one" little sign, in all of the entire baggage claim area saying Rental Cars this way. By then I was starting to get my attitude going and was just a little pissed. So we head down the escalator, down, down to the basement of the airport where we find an underground train. The sign says for rental cars and parking garage, get on the train. So we wait just a minute and the train comes and we get on it. I swear to you, but the train went exactly 100 yards and stopped and we got off and preceded to climb up the never ending stairs following all of the rental car signs. This parking garage was quite the maze and just when I thought that we found the rental place, it wasn't there. We looked around the corner and low and behold there is another sign and another set of stairs to climb. Granted I don't really mind climbing stairs as I see them as another form of training, but hell, I have a race in just a few hours and I didn't really plan of training any more before it either! So we are finally at the very top of the parking garage and low and behold, there it is, the car rental place!!! Of course right next to the elevator that we never saw either!!!
Well we finally get our car, a Black Chevy Cobalt. So I ask the rental agent for a map just to make sure that my Google directions are correct and we don't get lost as we are kinda pressed for time. Well guess what, we leave the airport grounds and we immediately get lost as my interpretation of the map sucks! I am looking at the wrong airport and can't find the roads that I am supposed to be getting on. So we turn around and head back the other direction because the way we are going can't be right as I can't find the road to turn on to. When all of a sudden I notice that the sun is on my right side, which in turn means that we are headed south and it dons on me that Duluth is to the north and we are still going the wrong way! Shit! So I get off again to turn around and ask for directions, finally. We pull up to the stop light and a guy pulls up next to me so I ask him where the interstate was and he of course says go back the other direction and keep going until you run in to it. Very simple you see. So I took off again and too my amazement, after about 5 miles there it was, I-94.
So by then I was starving and had to find food, carbs especially. So we seek out anything that is good for you, tasty, and has carbs and a bath room of course. We find a Subway within just a few exits and stop to get a foot long to go. We get it after waiting on a few other customers, pee and we are off again. Eating and driving is not only a talent but in some cases a form of art. Ya know the driving with the knee thing and all. So we get on I-35E North. What the hell the E for? Is it north or east? Well anyway I figured the Yankees knew what they were talking about and didn't let it worry me too much. Well maybe just a little, but who cares as they are a little confused anyway, right?
So we are now finally heading out of town and on our way to Duluth, 149 miles of open road, or so I thought. Well it seems that everyone else in St. Paul had the same idea as we had and was heading to Duluth also. I'm thinking that it must be some sort of vacation town or something. Then it dons on me, again, that it is Friday and it is rush hour and everyone is headed home or out of town too. So ok, no problem, the speed limit is 70 and I just figured that this is a big city so the people here will drive like they do in Atlanta, right? 85-90 in a 70 zone. Nope, not at all. I think that we averaged 65 with my foot on the break pedal for at least the first hour to hour and a half. These people must not know that I am in a rush here! Where is their sense of urgency? It is about to drive me crazy and I am about to drive Matt crazy too. Not a good combination as ya know Matt is a very concerned dude and all. Yea right!!! Anyway it seems that the locals have this highway driving thing all back-ass-wards as they seem to think that the fast lane is on the right side and the slow lane is on the left side. You would think that if you come up to a car that is in the fast lane (left side of the highway in Georgia anyway) and there is no one in the right lane, that they would be courteous and get over for you. Yea right, think again mister. I can count on one finger how many courteous drivers there are in Minnesota. And yes you are correct, it is the middle finger too. LOL
So anyway, about halfway to Duluth the traffic slowly thins and we are actually going the speed limit (75-80 in Georgia). I glance at the clock and we are actually going to get there around 9pm. Yea!!! No problems as we pull into the Duluth area. We actually find the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center) with no problems as it is right off I-35. We park and walk over to the center to get our race packs and go in the wrong door (as there were no signs posted outside for us to follow) and there is a concert of some sort going on. So we ask for directions and they point us in the right direction. We find the Expo and get our race packs. And they actually let Matt get his even though he didn't have his mailed race ID card. Wow, Matt was actually right with the no worries thing after all. We actually have time to look around and find Jimmy Blair and his Pinnacle booth. So we talk to him awhile before we head off to try to find the motel. We actually find the motel with no problems and check in and of course we have to find more carbs one last time.
So we ask the front desk clerk and he tells us how to get to the nearest Italian restaurant where we are sure to find some pasta, right? Well we pull up with 5 minutes to go before they close the kitchen. The waitress looks at us funny like who the hell are we to come in looking for food. But she was pretty friendly as we buttered her up with our southern charm. Matt got his pasta and I just ate some bread sticks as I wasn't that hungry. But I sure was thirsty and must have drank 4 glasses of their "no-sweet ice tea". And then of course I had to go to the rest room again for the 1000th time. As coach Steve aways preaches, we have to stay hydrated!!! Preach on brother Steve as I have heard the word and pissed my way all of the way to Duluth, Minnesota. Hallelujah!!!
Ok, we finally make our way back to the motel to try to get some shut-eye. The beds are pretty comfortable but the room is pretty warm, so we turn on what we thought was the air conditioner. It just blew room temperature air right back at us. Oh well, I just guess they don't have air conditioners in the north because it doesn't get that hot up here anyways, right? So we just suffer through the warm room temperature and attempt to get some sleep. I for one know from experience that sleep is something that probably isn't going to happen as I hardly ever sleep well before a race. So my assumption is right as the alarm clock goes off about the time I finally nod off at around 3am. We have to be at the DECC around 5:30-6am to get on the buses to take us to the start line 26.2 miles away. The race starts at 7:30 sharp and they have to get 3000+ people to the start before then. So we get up after hitting the snooze button about 100 times and get ready and go to the DECC. We easily find a parking spot and get right on a bus. I was really amazed because I just knew that we and 3000 of our closest friends would convene on the DECC at the same time. WOW another no-stress situation!!! YEA.
So off to the start line on the back of the school bus. We strike up a conversation with a couple of ladies sitting behind us and they are both from the local area. One girl has done the race 4 times, but this is her first time in 6 years. She is hoping for a 2:30 time. The other girl was a newby just like us and has no idea what to expect. So we being men and knowledgeable and all try to explain and answer all of her questions and concerns. I just hoped that they could understand Matt and all of his truly southern draw that he was putting on (it was actually pretty funny but I guess you had to be there). I don't know if he actually fooled anyone or not but at least I got a kick out of it (but then again I am easily amused). LOL So we finally get to the drop-off point and head for the start line to see who all is already there. As we are walking we of course pass the port-o-pottys and have to go again. We are an hour early so we have plenty of time talk and warm -up. The temp was supposed to be around 52 but we are informed that it is actually 59, so that makes it much better!!! I have on my jogging pants and a sweat shirt and Matt has on his boots, jeans and a pretty heavy jacket. I told him to get some warm clothes and he did.
So we head up the hill to the starting line and I start to see some of the big names in inline speed skating. Jim Larson, Eddie Matzgar, Bruce Belden, etc... You know all of the big names in my age group that is. And I think they have all come out just to put a little ass whipping on little ole me too. Well thank goodness that I am not skating the Master Men or Veteran division this time as I would get waxed for sure against those guys. I am starting in the Advanced Open group in Wave A. The first group to go right after the Elite groups. So we walk up to the start line to check it out and we find Jimmy Blair and talk to him a bit. The race officials have U-Haul style trucks there for us to put our clothes in to be picked up at the finish line. They even supplied us with bags with our race number on them to put our stuff in. Very nice! So we still have quite some time left before the start so I head back down the hill to find the truck that I am supposed to put my gear in and possibly go to the rest room one more time. I never made it to go pee again as the lines were too long by then and it was getting really close to start time and I had to go get ready.
Ok, the time has come and we are ready to go. The starting/head race official comes on the bull horn and says a few last minute announcements and a prayer and starts the count down for the Pro Men to go, which Matt is in. So I make my way to find Matt one last time and wish good luck and reiterate to him to stay in the draft and conserve energy, and he obliges.I get out of the way
and 3,2,1 and they are off to the races. I go back to my wave and get in on the front row as always. Hoping that I can get a good start and stay in the lead pack. 2 minutes later the next wave is off and skating. And so on it goes until it gets to be our turn. 3,2,1 and we are off. Skating over the timing chip starting pad and running like a bat out of hell and I am in!!! Yea, I am in the lead pack and we are skating really fast. I am probably about 15th position. The road is kind of rough and cracked but not too bad. You just have to pay attention and watch out for the tar patches that fill the cracks in the road. So we are cruising along and we pass the one mile marker in less than 3 minutes. WOW we are really cooking it. I have never skated at this pace for any amount of time. How long can I keep it up? Just stay in the pace line and you will be ok I keep telling myself.
The road doesn't seem to be getting any better as I was hoping but we are still going at about the same pace as we started. It is kind of weird to me as I haven't ever been in such as large pace line. There must be 100 people in the line. I really wish I had my camera and could take some photos along the way. It is quite pretty up here and I would like see what the pace line looks like too. It seems as though every time we come to a hill 3 lines form and then get back together as we start back down the other side. Each time the line rearranges itself and I seem to get pushed back a little every time. I must try to get some of that back I tell myself. If I am going to place in my age I have no other choice. So on the next hill I take off and get out of line and shoot up passing a ton of skaters in the process. Wow it really worked and I probably gained 10 or so positions and it was really easy. So now I have my new strategy. Well my strategy worked fine for the first few attempts but then some people fell, 3 of them and they were not to far ahead of me. Look out and pay attention! That was too close. I hope they are not hurt too bad.
So we are closing in on the half-way point and I am starting to feel the pain of the pace. We pass the 13.1 mile marker in under 40 minutes. That is less than a 1:20 pace that we are going. So I pull out a gel pack and suck it down on the next down hill and attempt to wash it down with some water that I brought with me. This works pretty well but I am really starting to slow. I can't seem to maintain the pace anymore and a gap starts to form in front of me. They are going to get away and there isn't a thing that I can do about it. And just like that they are gone and I am now leading my newly formed pack. Shit! This wasn't in the plans and definitely not what or where I need or want to be. So I pull for a short while and pull out and let some one else lead. I fall back into about 5th position and draft for a while and wait my turn again. Then it is my turn again and I am really feeling the pain by now. I don't remember what mile we were at now but probably around mile 17 or 18. We have a good pack and pace line going with 9 people and we are all working together and pulling. This one guy kind of takes charge and lets us know when we have pulled long enough and tells us when to get off the front. That works really good for me as I tend to over pull and wear myself out early. Ya know being a mule and all. LOL
We are crossing mile 20 and the pavement is now nice and smooth. Boy it really makes a difference and seems like we are going a little faster now. Now there is about 6 miles left to go and I am starting to think about my time in the US10K race (21:41) and wonder if I can skate faster now than I did then. I look at my heart rate monitor and it is showing 193. WOW my heart is really hurting and I don't think that I get continue this pace anymore. I pull out and go to the back of the pace line. My heart slowly recovers and gets back down to a manageble 187. We are right at the 1 hour mark so that would put us coming in around 1:22. That would be a good time, but I would like to do better than that if I am going to place in the top 10. I do not know how many of my age group is in the lead pack but I can't see them any more. We start to loose some people and are now down to 5 of us. As we approach the city, I can see the town buildings down the shore from where we are. We are almost there I think! So we merge onto I-35 and the rough pavement starts over again. The DOT has cut grooves into the cement and it is pretty annoying. The grooves are going perpendicular to the road instead of parallel to it making a humming sound vibrating my skates. I feel that I am starting to slow down again. They have the entire south bound lane blocked off for us. So I am keeping up with the other members of our pack but I am positioned in the back now and am doing everything I can to not get dropped. Plus I want to conserve anything and everything that I possibly have left for the field sprint if there actually is one.
Results
Anyway, off we go and oh, he has made us a music CD for our enjoyment. He says that he actually put some music on it that I would even like this time. Thank goodness because I wasn't listening to that stuff that he calls music again. Well to my amazement he was right. Some good ole classic rock-n-roll and of course mixed in with a little new rock-n-roll. Not bad, not bad at all. I was highly impressed. So he asks me why we have to leave so early since the race isn't until Saturday. Well I say, we only have to drive for 1.5 hours to the airport in Atlanta, eat, pee, then wait around for our flight, then fly for 2.5 hours to Minnesota, eat again, pee again, then get the rental car and drive for another 2.5 hours to Duluth and then we have to eat again, pee again, and do it all before the civic center closes at 10pm. Because we have to pick up our race packs before they close at 10pm. You know, I am just a stickler for the details. And again all he says is oh. With as little care as he could possibly muster. But it's all ok because I have traveled with Matt before and I know what to expect from a 16 year old by now, not much!
So we get to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and of course Matt is hungry again, just as I thought. So before we go get our luggage and rental car, we search for food. Matt eats as we walk to find the baggage claim. Ok, we got our bags and now where the hell are the rental cars at? We must have looked and walked around for what seemed to be an hour before we finally asked someone and they pointed to where we started our search originally. So we walk back over there and sure enough there is "one" little sign, in all of the entire baggage claim area saying Rental Cars this way. By then I was starting to get my attitude going and was just a little pissed. So we head down the escalator, down, down to the basement of the airport where we find an underground train. The sign says for rental cars and parking garage, get on the train. So we wait just a minute and the train comes and we get on it. I swear to you, but the train went exactly 100 yards and stopped and we got off and preceded to climb up the never ending stairs following all of the rental car signs. This parking garage was quite the maze and just when I thought that we found the rental place, it wasn't there. We looked around the corner and low and behold there is another sign and another set of stairs to climb. Granted I don't really mind climbing stairs as I see them as another form of training, but hell, I have a race in just a few hours and I didn't really plan of training any more before it either! So we are finally at the very top of the parking garage and low and behold, there it is, the car rental place!!! Of course right next to the elevator that we never saw either!!!
Well we finally get our car, a Black Chevy Cobalt. So I ask the rental agent for a map just to make sure that my Google directions are correct and we don't get lost as we are kinda pressed for time. Well guess what, we leave the airport grounds and we immediately get lost as my interpretation of the map sucks! I am looking at the wrong airport and can't find the roads that I am supposed to be getting on. So we turn around and head back the other direction because the way we are going can't be right as I can't find the road to turn on to. When all of a sudden I notice that the sun is on my right side, which in turn means that we are headed south and it dons on me that Duluth is to the north and we are still going the wrong way! Shit! So I get off again to turn around and ask for directions, finally. We pull up to the stop light and a guy pulls up next to me so I ask him where the interstate was and he of course says go back the other direction and keep going until you run in to it. Very simple you see. So I took off again and too my amazement, after about 5 miles there it was, I-94.
So by then I was starving and had to find food, carbs especially. So we seek out anything that is good for you, tasty, and has carbs and a bath room of course. We find a Subway within just a few exits and stop to get a foot long to go. We get it after waiting on a few other customers, pee and we are off again. Eating and driving is not only a talent but in some cases a form of art. Ya know the driving with the knee thing and all. So we get on I-35E North. What the hell the E for? Is it north or east? Well anyway I figured the Yankees knew what they were talking about and didn't let it worry me too much. Well maybe just a little, but who cares as they are a little confused anyway, right?
So we are now finally heading out of town and on our way to Duluth, 149 miles of open road, or so I thought. Well it seems that everyone else in St. Paul had the same idea as we had and was heading to Duluth also. I'm thinking that it must be some sort of vacation town or something. Then it dons on me, again, that it is Friday and it is rush hour and everyone is headed home or out of town too. So ok, no problem, the speed limit is 70 and I just figured that this is a big city so the people here will drive like they do in Atlanta, right? 85-90 in a 70 zone. Nope, not at all. I think that we averaged 65 with my foot on the break pedal for at least the first hour to hour and a half. These people must not know that I am in a rush here! Where is their sense of urgency? It is about to drive me crazy and I am about to drive Matt crazy too. Not a good combination as ya know Matt is a very concerned dude and all. Yea right!!! Anyway it seems that the locals have this highway driving thing all back-ass-wards as they seem to think that the fast lane is on the right side and the slow lane is on the left side. You would think that if you come up to a car that is in the fast lane (left side of the highway in Georgia anyway) and there is no one in the right lane, that they would be courteous and get over for you. Yea right, think again mister. I can count on one finger how many courteous drivers there are in Minnesota. And yes you are correct, it is the middle finger too. LOL
So anyway, about halfway to Duluth the traffic slowly thins and we are actually going the speed limit (75-80 in Georgia). I glance at the clock and we are actually going to get there around 9pm. Yea!!! No problems as we pull into the Duluth area. We actually find the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center) with no problems as it is right off I-35. We park and walk over to the center to get our race packs and go in the wrong door (as there were no signs posted outside for us to follow) and there is a concert of some sort going on. So we ask for directions and they point us in the right direction. We find the Expo and get our race packs. And they actually let Matt get his even though he didn't have his mailed race ID card. Wow, Matt was actually right with the no worries thing after all. We actually have time to look around and find Jimmy Blair and his Pinnacle booth. So we talk to him awhile before we head off to try to find the motel. We actually find the motel with no problems and check in and of course we have to find more carbs one last time.
So we ask the front desk clerk and he tells us how to get to the nearest Italian restaurant where we are sure to find some pasta, right? Well we pull up with 5 minutes to go before they close the kitchen. The waitress looks at us funny like who the hell are we to come in looking for food. But she was pretty friendly as we buttered her up with our southern charm. Matt got his pasta and I just ate some bread sticks as I wasn't that hungry. But I sure was thirsty and must have drank 4 glasses of their "no-sweet ice tea". And then of course I had to go to the rest room again for the 1000th time. As coach Steve aways preaches, we have to stay hydrated!!! Preach on brother Steve as I have heard the word and pissed my way all of the way to Duluth, Minnesota. Hallelujah!!!
Ok, we finally make our way back to the motel to try to get some shut-eye. The beds are pretty comfortable but the room is pretty warm, so we turn on what we thought was the air conditioner. It just blew room temperature air right back at us. Oh well, I just guess they don't have air conditioners in the north because it doesn't get that hot up here anyways, right? So we just suffer through the warm room temperature and attempt to get some sleep. I for one know from experience that sleep is something that probably isn't going to happen as I hardly ever sleep well before a race. So my assumption is right as the alarm clock goes off about the time I finally nod off at around 3am. We have to be at the DECC around 5:30-6am to get on the buses to take us to the start line 26.2 miles away. The race starts at 7:30 sharp and they have to get 3000+ people to the start before then. So we get up after hitting the snooze button about 100 times and get ready and go to the DECC. We easily find a parking spot and get right on a bus. I was really amazed because I just knew that we and 3000 of our closest friends would convene on the DECC at the same time. WOW another no-stress situation!!! YEA.
So off to the start line on the back of the school bus. We strike up a conversation with a couple of ladies sitting behind us and they are both from the local area. One girl has done the race 4 times, but this is her first time in 6 years. She is hoping for a 2:30 time. The other girl was a newby just like us and has no idea what to expect. So we being men and knowledgeable and all try to explain and answer all of her questions and concerns. I just hoped that they could understand Matt and all of his truly southern draw that he was putting on (it was actually pretty funny but I guess you had to be there). I don't know if he actually fooled anyone or not but at least I got a kick out of it (but then again I am easily amused). LOL So we finally get to the drop-off point and head for the start line to see who all is already there. As we are walking we of course pass the port-o-pottys and have to go again. We are an hour early so we have plenty of time talk and warm -up. The temp was supposed to be around 52 but we are informed that it is actually 59, so that makes it much better!!! I have on my jogging pants and a sweat shirt and Matt has on his boots, jeans and a pretty heavy jacket. I told him to get some warm clothes and he did.
So we head up the hill to the starting line and I start to see some of the big names in inline speed skating. Jim Larson, Eddie Matzgar, Bruce Belden, etc... You know all of the big names in my age group that is. And I think they have all come out just to put a little ass whipping on little ole me too. Well thank goodness that I am not skating the Master Men or Veteran division this time as I would get waxed for sure against those guys. I am starting in the Advanced Open group in Wave A. The first group to go right after the Elite groups. So we walk up to the start line to check it out and we find Jimmy Blair and talk to him a bit. The race officials have U-Haul style trucks there for us to put our clothes in to be picked up at the finish line. They even supplied us with bags with our race number on them to put our stuff in. Very nice! So we still have quite some time left before the start so I head back down the hill to find the truck that I am supposed to put my gear in and possibly go to the rest room one more time. I never made it to go pee again as the lines were too long by then and it was getting really close to start time and I had to go get ready.
Ok, the time has come and we are ready to go. The starting/head race official comes on the bull horn and says a few last minute announcements and a prayer and starts the count down for the Pro Men to go, which Matt is in. So I make my way to find Matt one last time and wish good luck and reiterate to him to stay in the draft and conserve energy, and he obliges.I get out of the way
and 3,2,1 and they are off to the races. I go back to my wave and get in on the front row as always. Hoping that I can get a good start and stay in the lead pack. 2 minutes later the next wave is off and skating. And so on it goes until it gets to be our turn. 3,2,1 and we are off. Skating over the timing chip starting pad and running like a bat out of hell and I am in!!! Yea, I am in the lead pack and we are skating really fast. I am probably about 15th position. The road is kind of rough and cracked but not too bad. You just have to pay attention and watch out for the tar patches that fill the cracks in the road. So we are cruising along and we pass the one mile marker in less than 3 minutes. WOW we are really cooking it. I have never skated at this pace for any amount of time. How long can I keep it up? Just stay in the pace line and you will be ok I keep telling myself.The road doesn't seem to be getting any better as I was hoping but we are still going at about the same pace as we started. It is kind of weird to me as I haven't ever been in such as large pace line. There must be 100 people in the line. I really wish I had my camera and could take some photos along the way. It is quite pretty up here and I would like see what the pace line looks like too. It seems as though every time we come to a hill 3 lines form and then get back together as we start back down the other side. Each time the line rearranges itself and I seem to get pushed back a little every time. I must try to get some of that back I tell myself. If I am going to place in my age I have no other choice. So on the next hill I take off and get out of line and shoot up passing a ton of skaters in the process. Wow it really worked and I probably gained 10 or so positions and it was really easy. So now I have my new strategy. Well my strategy worked fine for the first few attempts but then some people fell, 3 of them and they were not to far ahead of me. Look out and pay attention! That was too close. I hope they are not hurt too bad.
So we are closing in on the half-way point and I am starting to feel the pain of the pace. We pass the 13.1 mile marker in under 40 minutes. That is less than a 1:20 pace that we are going. So I pull out a gel pack and suck it down on the next down hill and attempt to wash it down with some water that I brought with me. This works pretty well but I am really starting to slow. I can't seem to maintain the pace anymore and a gap starts to form in front of me. They are going to get away and there isn't a thing that I can do about it. And just like that they are gone and I am now leading my newly formed pack. Shit! This wasn't in the plans and definitely not what or where I need or want to be. So I pull for a short while and pull out and let some one else lead. I fall back into about 5th position and draft for a while and wait my turn again. Then it is my turn again and I am really feeling the pain by now. I don't remember what mile we were at now but probably around mile 17 or 18. We have a good pack and pace line going with 9 people and we are all working together and pulling. This one guy kind of takes charge and lets us know when we have pulled long enough and tells us when to get off the front. That works really good for me as I tend to over pull and wear myself out early. Ya know being a mule and all. LOL
We are crossing mile 20 and the pavement is now nice and smooth. Boy it really makes a difference and seems like we are going a little faster now. Now there is about 6 miles left to go and I am starting to think about my time in the US10K race (21:41) and wonder if I can skate faster now than I did then. I look at my heart rate monitor and it is showing 193. WOW my heart is really hurting and I don't think that I get continue this pace anymore. I pull out and go to the back of the pace line. My heart slowly recovers and gets back down to a manageble 187. We are right at the 1 hour mark so that would put us coming in around 1:22. That would be a good time, but I would like to do better than that if I am going to place in the top 10. I do not know how many of my age group is in the lead pack but I can't see them any more. We start to loose some people and are now down to 5 of us. As we approach the city, I can see the town buildings down the shore from where we are. We are almost there I think! So we merge onto I-35 and the rough pavement starts over again. The DOT has cut grooves into the cement and it is pretty annoying. The grooves are going perpendicular to the road instead of parallel to it making a humming sound vibrating my skates. I feel that I am starting to slow down again. They have the entire south bound lane blocked off for us. So I am keeping up with the other members of our pack but I am positioned in the back now and am doing everything I can to not get dropped. Plus I want to conserve anything and everything that I possibly have left for the field sprint if there actually is one.
So here we go. I can see the DECC and it is coming quick. I can see the off ramp now and am thinking about what I am going to do. The off ramp goes slightly down hill and then back up the hill to the stop light. I am going to wait until the bottom of the hill and then when the group starts to slow down, I am going to start my sprint. We are probably only about a half mile from the finish line and I need to beat these guys! So I start my sprint up the hill and pass the group with somewhat ease. I briefly look back as I turn the hard left at the stop light and see that they are not going to be much of a challenge to me. So I continue my sprint over the bridge and down into the DECC parking lot catching a guy on the way down. I catch him and pass him on the next hard left turn that goes around the back of the DECC to the finish line. I see a sign ahead that says 300 meters to the finish line. I start my so-called long stride double-push and am feeling strong! I am all by myself and the crowd is cheering me on screaming and ringing their cow bells. It is quite a thrill even though I am totally spent and don't actually know where I am getting the reserve energy from. I can only guess that it is the adrenaline and rush of the finish. Just one more left hand turn and I see the 100 meter sign and the finish line. I made it!!! My right thigh actually locks up within the last 50 meters of the line, so I just cruise over with my fist in the air screaming YEA!!!
My official time came in at 1:20:23. Overall I placed 118th out of 2281 and 30th out of 208 in my age group. I skated over 9 minutes faster than my previous fastest marathon time (Disney 1:29:40). WOW, what an accomplishment!!! I had written down a guestimate time of 1:25 before I left Columbus for the race.
Matt finished the race with a personal best of 1:05:17 and 8th place overall. Good going Matt!!!
My official time came in at 1:20:23. Overall I placed 118th out of 2281 and 30th out of 208 in my age group. I skated over 9 minutes faster than my previous fastest marathon time (Disney 1:29:40). WOW, what an accomplishment!!! I had written down a guestimate time of 1:25 before I left Columbus for the race.
Matt finished the race with a personal best of 1:05:17 and 8th place overall. Good going Matt!!!
If you do the math, Matt's time calculates out to be 24 miles per hour and my time calculates out to be 19.5 miles per hour. That is pretty incredible as cyclists can barely maintain that kind of speed. Amazingly though, the course record is held by Chad Hedrick (who won a gold medal in the Olympics in ice speed skating), at an astonishing 27.5 miles per hour!!!
If anyone has any photos or video of bib number 542 please let me know as I would love to see them.
If anyone has any photos or video of bib number 542 please let me know as I would love to see them.
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