There are no two ways about it, I got my ass kicked this morning!!! I completed my first mile in 8:12 and was looking to try 7:30 for the rest of the run to see how marathon pace felt when I heard footsteps coming up from behind me...I HATE getting passed.
I looked back and notice a speedster I've seen running around Land Park the last couple of weeks gliding up at slightly sub-sonic speed. Okay, I figured I'd pick it up a little to find out his story...which required him to throttle back to stall speed. <groan> Anyhow, his name is Austin and he just move to Sac (Land Park) six weeks ago from Nashville. He's 25 and fresh off the Notre Dame track and cross country teams. (At this point, the Hamster knew he bit off a little more than he could chew) After a 6:30 mile I decided to cut him free so he could do his thing and I could hail the ambulance coming down 13th Ave. Seriously, I felt like I was doing wind sprints on Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay.
I settled back into a 7:50 mile to recover and then "sped" back up with a 7:40 mile when I heard footsteps...again!!! Crap! I was getting lapped by Austin...did he have a twin out there? There was more to learn so I pour gas on the coals for a final 6:38 mile and got a little more info out of him. Austin's training for his first marathon after two knee reconstructions. He's been running 20 milers on Saturdays by himself to keep his miles up. When asked his pace, he replies with unfeigned modesty, "5:40 per mile." WTF!!! He's running 5:40 per mile for 20...by himself. This kid needs a training partner because he's got to get ready for the US Olympic marathon trials in 2012.
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