Runnin' with the Kenyans

On this beautiful Sunday morning close to 5,000 runners gathered in north Austin for the point-to-point start of the 3M Half Marathon. Having done my first threshold interval session of the season just this past Wednesday with my buddy Pat, I was not quite sure how the legs would respond to a hard 13 mile effort. Awaking at 5:00 am I was excited to get a snap shot of my run fitness as it would provide good insight as to what areas I need to foucs for my upcoming IMAZ prep. Several of my friends would be running and the weather was mild enough to make a go at it with no extra layers. After a decent warm-up I made sure to position myself at the front as this has been a mistake I have made in the past with a slow start. My mind was ready for the suffering and I was ready to roll in my Spira Stingers, Team Sport Beans/NTTC lime green Coolmax tee and Jelly Belly visor. Looking around pre the gun I noticed several Kenyans who were part of Spira's elite running team. It was cool to see each of us sporting our black and yellow kicks. My goal time for the race was sub 1:10, but more importantly I wanted to run hard enough at the start to put myself in a good position. The horn sounded and we were off. A fast group quickly formed at the front as I found myself in a small chase pack. I knew it was going to hurt, but I had to drop back as I could not sustain the pace of these guys. Through the first 5K I ran 15:47...can I hold this pace?? As the race progressed I found some rhythm and settled in a bit. The first part of the course was mostly flat as it twisted through the north Austin neighborhoods. One of my goals was to make tactical decisions as needed. Shortly after the halfway mark, one of the professional men came up on my shoulder and we stayed together for about a mile. He was able to gap me on a downhill going into a turn and I thought, "Okay, time to be tactcial and respond." I shifted my focus to a quicker cadence and over the next couple of miles I noticed I was bridging the gap. By about the 9.5 mile marker I had successfully caught and dropped him. I knew there was a group working hard behind me and continued to press the pace. Approaching a set of small rollers my legs really began to feel the effects as my pace slowed. By the 10 mile mark I was beginning to hear what I already suspected: the lead professional women. I soon found myself running shoulder to shoulder between two Kenyans, both of whom are Spira sponsored athletes. We worked hard as a group of three with one or two just behind us as our Stingers danced along the road. Even though I was running stride for stride with some strong runners my ego flared up a bit as I thought, "Oh no, I don't want to get chicked." I made a little surge and brought one of the ladies with me, Jacquline Nyetipe. We stayed together over the final two miles and she was kind enough to apologize for bumping me on a turn. As we approached the finish line I backed down a bit so she could enjoy a "clean" finish. All said and done I was pleased with my effort of 1:09:40.

The crowd support was great and the race featured quite a bit of entertainment to keep us moving. It has given both me and Zane a good idea of my strengths and weaknesses with respect to my run at the moment.

Keep it smooth...