2009 Country's BBQ Midnight Express 5K Run

It has become a tradition between my brother and I and a few other friends to challenge ourselves to run in the Country's BBQ Midnight Express 5K. It is always the last Saturday of August and it starts at midnight (hence the name). This will be my 3rd time racing it out of the last 4 years (I was out of town last year). It always seems to become a rivalry between me and Kent to see if I can actually beat him in a 5K.

This year he has been boasting that he has been training in the 21-22 minute range. I always kid him in that it doesn't matter because I am going to just draft off of him until the final sprint to the finish. I almost had him in the Celebrity Classic back in April, but he caught me right at the finish line. So Saturday night was to be my redemption (yeah right).

Of course my training schedule contains absolutely no running in it. Running just plain out hurts! And I don't like pain, so I just don't run until it is race time. Whether or not this is a good strategy, I don't really know. My legs are pretty sore right now and I figure that it is only temporary, so that is ok. I am in pretty good shape from all of the other training and events that I do. However, I should probably throw in a little running here and there just for fun. My only real strategy for preparing for the race is to stretch. And I stretch every day on the hour from sun up to sun down. I have my Blackberry programmed to go off every hour to remind me. So far it has worked and I haven't had a cramp in a long time.

So anyway, I somehow coerce my good friend Rob to join us this year. He is the fastest in our group, but of course he has to start the smack/trash talk early. It all starts on the Friday before the race and doesn't end until the start of the race. It is all in good humor because I know that his 20 some-odd minute 5K is going to blister me anyway. But of course I have to smack talk right back at him, but about triathlons instead of 5K's. I'm coming to get ya at Tugaloo baby!!!

So anyway, it is game day and I am stoked. I am so hyped up about the run I decide that I need to go burn off some steam and decide to go swim. I head over to the YMCA around noon and do a short 1.2 mile cruise. I don't usually go there on Saturday, but there are several people there that I know and some are running the race too. So my swim takes me around 44 minutes and I head back home.

When I get home, I am starving but I want to weigh myself before I eat. I always like to get my weight down to a certain level before a race. Lighter weight usually equals faster speed. I weigh-in at exactly 185 pounds. Perfect! So now I can finally eat my first pre-race meal. Hmmmm...what shall it be? I need carbs, but not a lot for such a short race. I decide to eat a large bowl of plain corn flakes with a banana and some raisins. This should last me until Rob gets here because I know that he always wants to out to eat somewhere when he is in town.

A favorite pre-race meal for me is grilled fish with rice and some steamed veggies like broccoli and carrots. Light and fluffy but loaded with the good stuff. I have tried to do the pasta like Rob and Kent in the past but it just sat on my stomach like a lead block. Not be ventured there again. Burp...

So I pretty much goofed-off the rest of the day until Rob is supposed to be here around 7pm. So when he finally does call I am starving again. I am just about to fire up the grill when he calls me to meet him and Anna (his daughter) over at Cheddars. I jump in the car and head right over there. We always know what we want and order it right when the waitress comes to get our drink order. Blackened Salmon over rice, broccoli and carrots with sweat tea for me. I don't like to eat too much before a race but I am starving and order the dinner portion instead of the lunch portion. After eating about half of it I start to wonder if I had made a mistake. I still have 4 hours until the race so I should be fine? I can only hope.

We decide to go over to Barnes & Noble after we eat to burn off some more time and calories. Of course we both get the same triathlon magazines to look at. Before I know it, it is 9:30 and I decide that I need to head home to get ready and Rob needs to take Anna home. I want to get there around 10:00 to get checked in and to socialize with all of my other friends that will be there. So I head home, jump in the shower, get dressed, pack up my gel packs and Gatorade and head over to the race.

When I get there it is already packed with hundreds of people. This is the largest race in Columbus and it is growing every year. They are predicting over 2000 this year. The festivities started earlier in the day and go on until after the race is over. Check out the web site to see what all there is to do and see. Country's BBQ Midnight Express 5K.

So as soon as I get there I start to see many of my friends. Mac and his wife, Matt and Ivy, Nicki, Keith and Charlene, Shelia, Brian, Richard, Terry and Valeni and their son Kydon, Michael, Ricky, Brad, Jimbo, David and Chris, and the list goes on and on. And last but not least Rob and Kent finally decide to show up.
Better late than never. My friend Butch is on his way also but I never see him.

So it is time to start lining up for the start of the race. We always try to get as close to the front as possible to try to get a good start without having to wait to get to the actual start line. We are about 3 rows back form the line. I crank up my IPOD with some AC/DC and wait for the cannon to go off. 3-2-1 BOOM, and we are off to the races.

I am right behind Rob for the first 100 yards or so, but I can't find Kent. He had moved over to the left side of the starting line before the start of the race to try to sike me out, I guess. So I am trying to maintain a good pace by staying with Rob for as long as I can. He starts to pull away from me quick, about the 1/2 mile mark. I am still looking for Kent, hoping that he didn't get a good jump on me. Well about mile 1 here he comes up behind me. His first comment is that he thinks that he needs to stop and take a break. Well I know that it is ploy to get into my head thinking that he is struggling. I give him some encouragement to keep on going. It's all about finishing now!!! So we stay together for about another 1/2 mile or so and then he start pulling away from me too. Shoot!!!

I have to keep him in my sites if I am going to have a chance of getting him. I try to pick it up a notch, but my heart rate monitor (HRM) is going off at about 186 beats per minute by now. Down the hill and under the bypass still cruising. A guy runs up next to me hearing my HRM going crazy and thinks that it is a pace setter and asks me what my pace is. I laughingly tell him that it is HRM monitor freaking out and that I am trying to stay on a 7:30 pace. Not knowing what I really am running at this time. It is too dark in this section of the race to see my HRM.

About this time Kim passes me and a guy from the pool passes me. Now I am starting to get a little mad at myself for not being able to pick it up, but I have to let them go. I can only push so hard in a race and this is about all I have. It is really amazing what you actually think about during a race. I wish someone would invent a device that could record your thoughts so you could replay them later. I am now thinking that I have about 1 more mile left.

I can still see Kent, but he is still slowly pulling away from me. As we turn back onto Sue Mack Dr I loose all site of Kent and the tall guy from the pool. I am now in la la land and only thinking about finishing the race. The crowds that line the street are great and offer tons of encouragement. I give several of them high fives which always is a great pick-me-up! So my next goal to see what I have left for last half mile. As I turn the last corner heading towards the home stretch, I can finally see my HRM again and change it to the race timer. It says 22 minutes. So I know that I am not on a personal record pace now but still want to finish below 24 minutes. As I am running back on Auburn Ave now I finally see Butch and he cheers me on to the finish line.

There are thousands to people cheering you to the finish line. I actually here my name yelled out but have no idea who it was as I am focused on the line. I finally see the official race clock and see that is 23:30 so I put the hammer down. I sprint the last 100 yards or so and finish the race in 23:58. My HRM is still going off and continues for at least another minute until I remember to turn it off. My average HR was 183.

My official placement was 12 out of 62 in my age group. 232 out of 1892 that finished the race. The 23:58 ties me for my 3rd best 5K time. Kent ran a 23:34 and Rob ran a 20:25. Congrats to all of the finishers. Special congrats to Valeni Witbeck for taking home 1st place in her age group and in her first race!!! You go girl.



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