Run For the Money 5K Race Report

The Run For the Money event in Gaston County is definitely not your typical Saturday 5K. This event, started in 2003, is focused on the community first. For anyone that shows up that morning to downtown Gastonia they are greeted by lots of energy, booths featuring all the non-profits in the area, karaoke singing, and even aggressive women dressed up as cats trying to distribute raffle tickets.

The main focus for the event is help non-profits in the county raise money. The foundation does this by matching funds raised. My employer is only one of nearly 100 non-profits that leverage the generous match (usually around 70% for the first $10,000 raised). There are also other ways for these groups to raise money, such as the karaoke contest and having an outstanding booth.

The Foundation also sets aside $11,000 in prize money for the 5K event. My first time running this 5K was back in 2004. Back then it was located off Garrison Blvd and I ran a 21:30 (6:55 minute mile pace), a PR for me at the time. However, it was also clear that I would never win any prize money. The prize structure awards $1000 for the male and female overall finishers, then $500 for age group first place (ten year increments), and $250 for second place. So as I continued to participate it and made more running friends in Charlotte it dawned on me the way to do this was to recruit top talent to come out and race.

Each year the event has drawn more and tougher competitors. Last year there were 570 finishers, and this year that number grew 32% to 750. The 2008 race was probably the best edition for the Conservancy, with Paul and Rebecca taking overall awards. This edition I knew would be more of a struggle, as Paul was very clear to me early on that he was not going to be in the shape necessary to win overall. I lost quite a bit of talent, including our most consistent money winner, who also happens to our site steward at the Eastover Ridge property. Thankfully I did happen to find replacement talent in the M50-59 category with Pete. The weekend also coincides with the Boston Marathon, which definitely hurt the shaping of the team. That Saturday also coincided with RaceFest, the big spring half marathon in Charlotte.

The weather for 2009's edition was just gorgeous, sunny and 58 degrees, with a gentle 4 mph wind. Upon our arrival I sought to gather intelligence on the new course. Paul was out here at 8AM to check it out. His comments were that it was tougher than the old "industrial" course to the east. Some rollers for the first two miles, then a tough hard hill, followed by a gradual ascent up to the finish line.

The race experience here always seems to be the same for me. I have always had the expectation of being able to break 20 minutes, but I never specifically train for these distances. So I suffer each year and pull back. I just seem to be more into the endurance aspect of longer events. Anyone who has ran a 5K in under 22 minutes, or even longer, can tell you how painful they are!

It was the general consensus that the 2009 course was much nicer, winding through nice shaded residential areas. My role was similar to last year. My main concern on the female side was closely watching Allison (our "competition," but still an awesome person), most noteably her spacing with Rebecca and Melinda. There was no question in my mind, unless one of the non-profits recruited Megan Hepp, that Jocelyn would once again take the overall female win (she won it all in 2007 under the pseudonym "Jacelyn"). At the Mile 1 marker I paced in at 6:20, technically under what I needed for miracle 5K, but I knew that was not going to last. At Mile 2 I came in at 6:47, losing steam in steady motion. It was there that we hit the toughest hill of the course - it was rather steep but not all that long. I was still in the game to see that Melinda was doing well enough, especially since the only female I spotted anywhere near behind her looked to be in the F20-29 category. The rest of the race was just pain pain pain for me. I happily embraced my central belief that was you reap is what you sow. And I didn't sow any beans for this race. My efforts were much more concentrated on getting the best talent on our team. During this time Bruce came up alongside and eventually moved up. I had slid over a minute back at Mile 3 to a 7:26 pace, finishing the last tenth at the same pace. I finished 52nd at 21:42, a 7 minute mile pace. Blah.

How fast could you make it to this line? If you try hard, it'll hurt!

Of course after finishing and getting over "so I'm not going to die after all" hump I obviously wanted to know how everyone did! After seeing Cody Angell at the start line, I was not surprised to hear Paul did have to settle for second place this year. Cody did take 13 seconds off Paul's winning last time last year, winning $1000 for Belmont Abbey with an incredible 5:09 pace. Paul did manage to stay in the 16 minute window (but barely) so kudos for him! It seems almost certain that would be good enough to at least take $500 and first place in the M30-39. A newly married Stan the man was also found on the pavement. For claiming to be fat and out of shape, his time around 19 minutes that very respectable. The word around the campfire was that Jocelyn did in fact win easy. Outstanding.

Most of the crew went for a cool down run while I ambled around the booths, enjoying the sunshine and whatnot. It was especially awesome to see such a large presence this year with Girls on the Run. Thankfully they started the awards ceremony earlier than last year. I was a little worried as some of the CLC runners did not get back in time, but it really wasn't big of a deal. They started with the age group awards young and worked their way up. I was really impressed with some of the young talent. I've never found anyone to run those categories though. With Ma Bell at Boston this year, our team did not feature an age group finisher under 30.

Stan, Melinda, Bruce, Chris, and Pete milling about. Check out those other butts! ;-)

Perhaps the great amount of competition this year was in the M30-39 category. With his second place finish Paul took the $500. Unfortunately with the stout performances of Keith, Stan, and myself (yeah, right!) none of those were good enough for second, as the placer was only 10 seconds behind Paul!

I wish I could be as "out of shape" as Paul!

As for the females in the same age groupers, my congrats go out to Allison, who apparently slipped past Rebecca for the top age group prize. Allison was very consistent with regards to her performance last year. Rebecca was obviously disappointed, but she still won $250 for the Conservancy! Rebecca, if you're out there I love ya kid - you know you're awesome and you'll quickly learn badminton blows - you will bounce back!!!

Rebecca showing off the litt'l puker to the presenters

The Conservancy's real strength this year was the 40-49 category! In the male category Chris hammered out a near six minute mile performance, besting his competition by over 30 seconds (which is a lot of time for a race like this). On the female side, last year Melinda was bested and had to settle for second place. This year she ran 21:15 and actually won big. Melinda and I were musing what happened to the woman from last year. Turns out she both graduated to F60-69 and ran slower. That was very exciting for Melinda!

Melinda receiving her well-deserved award for first place!

Over the years that the Conservancy has fielded a team, the safest win has always been in the M50-59 category with Mike's amazing performances. Unfortunately he is working through some hip issues now. An equalizing amazing athlete, especially for his age is Mr. Pete. It's very rare to find talent in that age group, so I feel especially fortunate. Pete's time for 2009 was even a few seconds faster than Mike.

Pete going over the litany of races he won over the years

The biggest surprise, hands down, was the Conservancy's rough kick from the throne. A man named Bryan Allf came in and ran a 17:58 - UNREAL! We were all shocked, a real indication of the kind of talent that now comes into this race. The last prizes to come out were for overall. And of course Jocelyn had her own cheering section! One of these years the race organization might even spell her name right or even better yet, pronounce her name correctly. I know the feeling (they spelled my name wrong- d'oh)

Who on earth is JACELYN SAKORA?!? Two time RFTM winner, that's who!

I feel so blessed to have so many friends come out and run for our cause. I want to give very special thanks to the one volunteer who has, in my opinion, made the largest impact. That of course is Nancy Pierce, who has tirelessly volunteered her photography (and running!) skills to advance our mission of land protection in the Charlotte area. Kudos to Nancy!!

So overall, many thanks to Team CLC, who volunteered to come out on their Saturday and race hard for a good cause. Our team raised $3,000 dollars to help advance land protection efforts in the Charlotte region - great work!!!

Scott, Stan, Chris, Paul, Jocelyn, Melinda, Bruce, Rebecca
Keith and Pete (Nancy not shown)-- all part of the Team CLC machine!

Complete Race Results

Double Down and the Return to Duke Camp

Unlike the previous year, my Ironman for 2009 is much earlier in the season. My main hope in doing this, apart from the separate destination, is to avoid much of the hot summer weather needed for training. That means the training needs to come earlier, and that meant lots of biking in February and March. To help facilitate this, I noted that several of my friends who raced in Idaho last year participated in Double Down, which is the brainchild of Bicycle Sport owner Ilan Paltrow. This exercise is stupidity involves biking from Charlotte to Charleston the day before the massive Cooper River Bridge Run 10K, then participating in that run the following Saturday.

The extent of my long rides have of course been the two 112 mile Ironman flavors in California and Wisconsin. Finishing this endeavor, and well enough to keep up with the group and then run the following day, would take a lot of preparation. I had hoped to get at least three century rides in, and maybe do two of them back to back one weekend. That was my hope. Reality did not work that way, but I did get three quality weekends of riding in.

The weekend of March 7th and 8th I began with a 50 mile ride from the Conservancy's Wildflower Glen after a forestry talk I gave to some Scouts. Then the following day I rode the 60 mile Spamerton route with a group and has some serious issues with my right knee. The following weekend I wasn't able to ride at all. That was obviously a cause for concern, so on the 22nd I came out with my first century of the year, a CW solo loop from the Wexford compound into Gaston, York, Lancaster, Union, and back into Mecklenburg. I definitely misfired on my nutrition plan and entered Waxhaw starving and massively hurt. I wolfed down a Triple Whopper there, and the 2000+ calorie meal was enough to get me back home!

For the following Sunday I went out again, trying a route with a lot of unfamiliar roads. It was basically a CW loop heading east out through Mint Hill, along Brief Road, then down to Marshville, swinging SW through to Waxhaw and back in. Since it had rained hard the previous night, the first few hours featured some wet roads. My trusty steed Holman quickly became caked with earthworm guts. It was so bad I had to stop and spend ten minutes removing the guts from the critical components. From there the sun came out and dried the rest of 'em! But it wasn't the sun that killed me; immediately upon heading SW towards Marshville I fought some of the nastiest headwinds of my life for the next 60 miles. Even worse was with the new territory (and a basic cue sheet) I was at the mercy of street signs. At first a twisted street sign sent me down Russell Pope. Then after mile 62 the sign for Tom Williams road was missing, so I plummeted southbound all the way to Landsford Road before the little directional man inside me told me I was in big trouble. Running off the sun, I continued until it crossed into South Carolina. Along the way pitch after pitch tacked into my reserves. Thankfully there I recognized a route # that I could hit further north. So instead of doing 100 miles for the ride, 100 miles put me in Waxhaw. Thankfully I hit my nutrition well this time, anything less would have been a big disaster. The actual route put me in at 123 miles. One final note about the ride to other Charlotte cyclists out there - never ride from Mineral Springs to Waxhaw on Highway 75. Big mistake. The Old Waxhaw Monroe Road is your friend!!!

So for the week leading up to Double Down I did not exercise at all, no running into work, swimming on Tuesdays, lunch running on Wednesday, or group run Thursday night. The anxiety crept into my throat and slowly throttled me. Naturally I watched the forecast like a hawk, and once again winds, and some early rain, were threatening. I made myself a huge pot of spaghetti and fretted how to get all the gear I would need for the trip on me. In the end I decided to wear my CamelBak. I believe I was in bed shortly after 9PM.

Then came 3:33 AM. I rise for the work of man. I had an exact detail of how to prep during the time, including having a big plate of biscuits and gravy. The rain and wind were apparent and perhaps the strongest moment of the day was when I forced myself out the door. Shortly after 4AM my journey had begun. I headed in an easterly direction through my Madison Park neighborhood towards Bicycle Sport, which added a couple of extra miles. At the end of the day, I surmised it would be some serious pocket change!! The thoughts of big disaster were on my mind as I climbed up Brandywine.

Since the email sent out by Ilan in March was BCC'ed, I had no idea who would be participating in this foolish adventure. There were some guys in the shop when I arrived. Apart from Ilan, I did not know the other seven guys who had followed through. It was apparent most of them did know each other, so that was definitely going to be a struggling thing for me, although it is always great to meet new people out on rides. Unfortunately when cyclists ride side to side and chat, they tend to partner with someone they know so they can talk. And of course the odd number meant I was going to be that ninth wheel.

Even though I had technically started, I should now unveil the actual route that I took that Friday. From the shop we coasted down Selwyn and picked up Park Road and headed south. We did have two cars pass us northbound who felt like sharing with us. The first was a guy who yelled out "FREAKS!!!" What, us? Pedaling to Charleston in the dark, at 4AM, with the rain? What's so abnormal about that?!? Another must have been someone known to the group as they said something of the cheering variety. Slowly as we passed Ballantyne the drops ceased, but it was still wet roads. Several of the guys had put on fenders to stop the rooster tails. Off the bat I did not shirk in my duty get my fair share of pulling (leading). For those non-cyclists out there, riding in a group is much more efficient when looking at wind resistance. The hardest job is to be out front and break the wind (not that type of breaking the wind, although several members did not hesitate to break that other type of wind later on). When done, the rider pulling swings off, usually to the left, and lets the train pass. The second hardest job is being in the rear. That's usually when you are the most tired and most likely to be dropped. Naturally that was the HUGE fear of mine for this ride, the weather was just another annoyance.

Since it was still dark, we all took a group pee break on the side of the road around Mile 20 (the mileage I reference here is my mileage, so to get mileages from Bicycle Sport subtract about 2). Look at all of us, pretending like we're a part of the Tour de France!! Ilan was merciless about his short breaks strategy, so it was then back on to Highway 521. My least favorite section of Hwy 521 (that I had known about) is the tough pitch right after the Highway 75 (to Waxhaw) intersection. It was only about three miles following that I was truly venturing into new territory. As we came into Lancaster there was definitely enough light, and shortly after we made our first stop at a "Quick Mart." There we took off most our lights and raingear, and had some nice conversations with a delivery guy. I personally didn't need to get anything in the store. Shortly after our re-committment to the cause we veered off 521 and apart from jumping back on near Heath Springs stayed on local roads until Camden, SC around Mile 70. It was clear by this point we would be blessed with a nice, mostly sunny and just warm enough day. The winds were noticeable, but they were mainly coming out of the WSW so for the journey mostly due south it was more of a soft help than hindrance.

Outside Camden we made another stop at a more "cookie cutter" Quick Mart, all nice and polished like you see around any urban area. There I was able to phone home to the support crew and let her know things were going well. A few days before I had reached enough of a panic that I had planned to quite the ride at Mile 133. I excitedly told Julie that my little man was telling me to go for it, this was my special shot and doing something incredible. After crossing I-20 we veered off on Route 261 and encountered some crap pavement. There were some cool swamps.

I think we passed this swamp around this point
Photo totally stolen from Ilan

Around this time I started to feel quite depleted, which caused some concern, but thankfully I was able to get back into my groove and continue the journey. My gears were starting to mildly squeak, and I was called out on this. That was indeed a gross mistake on my part, as when I last washed Holman off I forgot to relube the chain. Our rag-tag band continued our plunge south, biking through areas becoming more and more rural. The piedmont rollers slowly fell away, although there was one gorgeous climb with Spanish moss hanging off the oaks. After crossing 378 we came closer and closer to hitting the first century mark. Relatively speaking, I did not feel all that bad. The group was keeping a solid pace. Coming out of 521 I noticed my average speed of 15 mph had to be wrong. I guessed there might be something wrong with my bike computer as the cadence was not picking up. It turned out this had to do with the rain, because the cadence did jump back in and the average speed did make more sense. Instead of my standard bike ride where after getting out of town (slower speeds) I ramp up my average then it slowly declines. This ride was nearly the opposite, the group generally increased the speeds the entire way down to Isle of Palms. After that century mark, right before the railroad tracks, we stopped at a very rural Quick Mart. Once again we helped the delivery people get their wares in. We had a discussion about all the beer going in, then it was remarked it was Friday after all. They have to be stocked and ready!

At this point it was clear that my shoulders and arms were beginning to ache and hurt at a much more accelerated rate than my legs. About ten miles down the road we veered off 261 and headed down a very barren stretch showcasing a rural America very few people get to see. I personally knew we were riding alongside of Lake Marion, but we obviously could not see it. Like my comrades in legs, my thoughts were pretty focused on the lunch break in Santee. We then swung around to the NW. Here at Mile 125 Ilan set us out on a packed sand road that was miserable to cycle on. I was worried about Holman's components and the endless fish-tailing in sections that weren't exactly meant to be ridden on a road bike! I did have to get off the bike once, but then I got my groove back and arrived at pavement exhausted! That was about 1.5 miles off road and it really sapped me.

The absolute toughest part of the ride was next, facing stout headwinds for about four miles and then an absolute nightmare crossing Lake Marion straight into the wind. We road adjacent to I-95 on an abandoned bridge/road that was obviously there way before the big interstate. Especially with the climb at the end, I was down into single digits hanging on to threads, dreaming of lunch and rest. Finally we hit downtown Santee, SC and Old Highway 6. There immediately off to the left was the designated lunch location, Wendy's. Oh Wendy, how I LOVE YOU!!!

As massive as the effort was, I tried hard not to quite emulate the massive face-stuffing that was the super large Triple Whopper combo meal at the Waxhaw Burger King several weeks ago. That actually hurt me for the next half hour! With what I felt was some of my last bit of energies I opted for a large chicken club combo. I was then lambasted for my excessive number of small ketchup containers, most of which were indeed wasted. The lunch and rest definitely hit the spot and almost made me feel like a real person again. I did have time to call in with Julie and then send a quick Facebook status update. There were two riders, Paul and Riley, who were apparently over 60 years old, on this ride. Folks were mentioning how Paul definitely danced to his own drum, for some reason he was sitting outside not taking part in lunch. I then was doled out some drugs from the ride doctor. Oh yeah, and before leaving lent out some udder cream and used a fair amount myself. Things weren't exactly super great down there, but hardly in miserable pain either.

Our little band then continued the death march in a general SE direction. We cruised along Old Highway 6 for a little bit then veered off onto Camden Road. Only because we passed an old farmer on his rig going 10 mph down the road was Ilan able to subject us to a second sand road (there was no sign - sound familiar?). This one, Gemini, was not quite as bad, but definitely longer, almost 3 miles. If I may subject my gentle readers to a little more TMI, I was quite concerned at this point, that I had not been able to go #2. I almost thought about stopping on this rural stretch and trying (line was too long at Wendy's for one stall). But I did not. Once again I arrived at pavement (Branchdale Highway) exhausted for all the work that entailed. We then continued on the part of Gemini Road that was paved! From Couch Road we eventually worked our way down to Highway 176.

This is a highway that is deeply ingrained in my soul. During the summer of 2001 I lived several miles down the road while I interned with a GIS group that had spun off from MeadWestvaco. More important than the work, this is when/where I adopted Winston. I will detail my return to Duke Camp later on in this post. Unfortunately we did not stay on Highway 176 long enough to pass the intersection. About 2-3 miles down the road we turned on Highway 311. Ilan was quick to note we made the turn at 3:11PM - how eerie is that?!?

This section was the most maddening part of the experience. There was some serious tailwind action. I quickly lept to the front and was pushing out speeds close to 30MPH. The section turned out to be about 9 miles long though. Not long I was doing 26MPH and realized this wasn't going to cut it. The group then dropped me. I was able to sustain 22-23MPH and keep them in sight. Near the intersection of Old Highway 6 they dropped down so I could rejoin. I was asked if everything was okay. I won't lie, I was kind of pissed off. Here I was putting out the ride of my life, way past 150 miles and 22-26MPH wasn't cutting it?!? I refused to acknowledge there was something "wrong" with me. The next section to Monck's Corner was by far the most depressing. The road was riddled with potholes, the volumes were high, and everyone must have been hurting from that hammer fest. The view was the same and it just kept going on and on. Around Mile 173 and Cooper River Store Rd, the group pleaded to stop. So there we laid next to all the other dead people in the cemetery. Even with my two bottles and CamelBak, I was virtually out of water. About a mile down the way we stopped at the El Cheapo Quick Mart. This was the most lively stop of the bunch, tons of people loitering around. I bought a huge thing of water. It was really rushed though, I still didn't have time to use the bathroom or call in to Julie.

The last 45 miles was the silent death march of Double Down. It wasn't necessarily hard though. I was in the back most of the way. After passing the Huddle House in Monck's Corner that I had made famous in 2001 (for no reason at all), we hopped on 402 and then 41. It was mostly easy riding through/near Francis Marion National Forest. Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox... Keep pedaling. Just keep pedaling. My arms and shoulders hurt like hell. Around Mile 195 or Mile 200 (didn't matter at that point) we stopped somewhere deemed "the middle of nowhere" by AT&T (that is, not worth covering with a cell tower). Route 41 then slowly became more and more urban, especially after crossing the bridge. I momentarily felt like I was in Rhode Island. But thankfully I was much closer to Isle of Palms.

When we got on to the super busy Highway 17, I remarked to Ilan the headwinds we had feared were not coming to pass. That of course, was the kiss of death. Damn you! I had originally thought about just going straight on Highway 17 to Greg's apartment in Mt. Pleasant, but instead I hung a left on the IOP. Riley appeared to be the most hurt of the group, or maybe others were better at lying. I was in a state of "I don't care" at that point. The rise in the bridge was no laughing matter, but the utter sweet smell of the finish line was so close. We made the ceremonial pass by the Windjammer on Ocean Blvd, which would no doubt later play in the week before turning right onto 10th street. There at 10 tenth a small crowd had unrolled some toilet paper as the official finish line. I didn't really know anyone except Colleen and Chris. It was nice to see them and rid myself of this event! Chris had done the ride last year and asked if it was an easy as he thought it was. Really, it was. I believe our local arrival time was 7:15PM'ish, so about fifteen hours total. My computer distance was 217 miles at 12 hours, 42 minutes of cycling. We had finished with a 17.1 MPH average. As Darth Vader would say - "Impressive. Most impressive." The hell with Darth Vader, I wanted a beer. Boy that tasted good!

For some odd reason I thought we would arrive around 9:30, so Julie was in downtown Charleston having dinner with her sister and Will. While I waited I got to meet Redmond's little bundle joy. During the wait I could not seem to locate a copy of the book "Everybody Poops." I then went out to flag down my beautiful driver! We stopped at a Burger King where I wolfed down some more food. We then drove down into Mt. Pleasant the Hibben Ferry Apartments. There we met my friend Greg who was going to host the two of us for the weekend. I first met Greg when we drove down for the Cooper River Bridge run I think in 2005. He is a retired firefighter living in Concord. A couple of years ago he and his wife got this apartment since they enjoy it down here so much!

I definitely felt better than I imagined I would be at this point, but I also knew most of that feeling might indeed be temporary. Did I mention my shoulders and arms were in a lot of pain?!? Ouch. After a good rub that was enough for me to aid in losing consciousness. Ah, soft bed...

Of course, there is no Double Down without the other "half!" On Saturday the alarm clock went off a whole two hours later! I didn't exactly need a lot of time to prep for this one! I was very excited about "finishing the deal." I was feeling okay, but still unsure whether my legs would be able to turn. I was thinking it would probably be acceptable to take an hour for this 10K. Normally a 9:39 pace for this distance would be wholly unacceptable, but c'mon give me a break! Right? We get those? The three of us then drove around Shem Creek and found a nice sidestreet quite close to the Piggly Wiggly on Coleman Blvd. This is about where we waited during the downpour of 2005. At least it stopped around the start...

This is a BIG run. About 40,000 sign up and I would guess about 33,000 start with about 31,000 finishing. Most walk. It has been dominated by the Kenyans of late who have been putting in 28 and change to finish (4:30 pace!!!). In 2005 I ran the last Run on the old bridge, then in 2006 the first edition of the stunning new Cooper River Bridge. My PR for this 10K is 46:43 set in 2006. We made our way to the Starbucks, which was throbbing with thousands of customers. That was our spot to meet up with Will and Emily. After a little waiting that happened. We got some shots, then Greg and I left to find our way to our respective corrals. I'm sorry, but this race is the biggest clusterf&%k. Unless you are toeing the line it's impossible to run well, even for someone like me who chooses the fastest corral that doesn't require proof that you're a dynamo runner. My anger is totally directed at the thousands of people in my corral who have no business being there. I stood in my respective 1'x1' square waiting about twenty minutes. Damn, let's get this business over with!

It apparently took me 2:49 to cross the plane of the start line, and from there it was the usual zig-zagging, literally past thousands of people. I'm sure 200 later came back to pass me, but I never notice that... The most amusing thing I saw were two older guys dressed in red dresses, one of which specifically chose underwear that showed off as much cheek as possible. Two young ladies behind them were giggling and in my only audible phrase of the race told them to take a good look. The nice warm sunshine (race temp was probably 53 degrees) was near ridiculously perfect. I had my hat on but no sunglasses. I was churning nicely before I hit the big incline of the Arthur "Don't mistake me for my son the state treasurer and cocaine distributor" Ravenel, Jr Bridge. Actually, if I may digress that tool of a scion is nothing compared to the raving lunatic who now serves as SC governor, Mark Sanford. That self-serving deluded moron thinks he's making a name for his 2012 Presidential bid by screwing a state that desperately needs stimulus money. Well, I guess he is.

Okay, back to a nice day on a bridge. What a wondrous site to slowly crest up so high on the coast and see Charleston off to the left! The second mile pace on the climb was about 8:20, and then on the crest down I pulled out a 8:11. Once I was around the bend and down on Meeting Street I could feel the burn and my body starting to cry out to slow down. The ride yesterday had not stopped the legs from churning and so it went. Glanced frequently at my pace, I suddenly realized I had a shot at getting an 8:00 minute pace. For the last several miles I pushed around a 7:30 pace. I hung on for dear life and crossed at 49:41, a nearly perfect 8:00 minute mile pace. I couldn't believe I had broken 50 minutes!! More importantly, I was now officially a Double Downer. YEAH!!!! I also barely made the cutoff for not being a hypocrite, since my corral's upper bounds was 49:59.

I then slowly made my way to our next meeting spot, which was the tall statue of John C. Calhoun. Okay, here is another South Carolina politician that I completely dislike. This guy honestly believed slavery was a positive thing, elevating himself about the somewhat apologetic "necessary evil" crowd. He is more better known as the advocate of state's rights who had no regard for the federal government. He totally was a major instigator to the secession that led to the Civil War (he didn't live to the actual war though). Although Jackson himself was not perfect, his forceful handling of this 19th century tool in the Nullification Crisis (and the fight against the Second Bank of the United States) are the reasons Jackson rates one of my "Fave Five" Presidents. Does that lingo make me sound hip enough?

As I laid down on the grass and rested, these things floated across my mind. Slowly more and more people showed up, this obviously being the most un-original meetup place in Charleston following the race. I did meet and chat with a guy Jay from Beaufort who is also doing Couer d'Alene this June! I then started to circle around. The first face I recognized was Lat's. He congratulated me on finishing Double Down (he participated last year). Shortly after I was stunned to see Julie and Emily. They had said they were going to walk the 10K, but instead ran almost the whole way. How awesome was that!?!? I circled around to find Greg, then we found Will at the corner talking with some of Emily and Julie's other friends. Eventually the three of us got to relive Elementary School by taking a school bus back over the bridge to Mt. Pleasant. I had to keep Julie from pulling the hair of the girl in front of her (just kidding!). Greg was behind us, being his usual friendly self and striking up a conversation with a young man from Asheville.

Post race with Julie the surprise runner in Mt. Pleasant

Back at the casa I wolfed down my lunch purchased from the Pig then had a nap, shower, etc. That afternoon we drove down to where Will and Emily were staying. We picked them up and then headed to the Charlotte-away-from-Charlotte post CRBR party at the Windjammer. Just like previous years, it was jammed with hard drinking runners trying to relive their college days. I have to admit, it was a blast hanging out with my Charlotte running peeps - Chris, Colleen, Rebecca, Corbett, Lamperski, Darren S, Kathy, etc.. Looked like Chris was well on his way to repeating his 2005 performance. I did want to take a moment to give a big THUMBS DOWN to Lori H. She may not know me, but I know her (she is a fantastic masters runner in Charlotte) who constantly and viciously attacked me for the shirt I was wearing (light checkered grey dress shirt). WTF?!? I guess I should be happy she referred to me as a nerd (I am) but she thought I was some sad pathetic loaner because of it. Thankfully at one point later on my totally hot girlfriend Julie sat down next to me and shut her up (at least for a minute). The other equally fun part was hanging out downstairs with Julie, Emily, Greg, Will, and their friends Brian and Karen. Later on we hung out near the beach.

How cool is this shot!?! On the IOP beach outside the Windjammer

Emily and Greg in the background. Note my awesome shirt!

I think the band was starting up when our merry band of five left in search of some good food. Although in reality I've been to relatively few Charleston-area seafood restaurants, we landed at my current favorite, The Wreck. It's located in a old seafood processing facility off Shem Creek.

The Wreck - the best dump with the best seafood!

No direction signs, not located on any major street. It's a hole-in-the-wall that serves awesome seafood. We did have to wait quite some time. And I do need to give a shout-out to the weird dude in the pith helmet who was also waiting. When we finally got our table, I went for the same full order of friend shrimp that I got back in 2001. It was tres-stupendous and Will wholeheartedly agreed! After dinner Greg showed us the old part of Mt. Pleasant which I would have never known existed. It was quite an impressive show! From there the Ballantyners were dropped off and we went back to Hibben Ferry. Greg was obviously the most interested in watching the UNC basketball game. Obviously my interest was totally waning, as it wasn't even a good game. I was way more excited about the prospect of that soft bed once again!!

We didn't sleep in all that late, maybe as compared to Friday morning, but still that was a nice break. Before the brunch at the apartment, the three of us went to Sullivan's Island for a lovely morning walk. We then came back and ate poolside. I definitely had my fill of food. I would later estimate I burnt upwards to 14,000 calories on Friday and another 1,000 yesterday running, so it would probably help the cause. We then said farewell to our gracious host, who was headed directly back to Concord. We then drove into town and found a parking spot near the Expo. From there we walked along East Bay down to the Noisy Oyster, where Will and Emily were having brunch/lunch. From there we picked up some chewing gum then walked up the Historic Market.

Normally I don't chew gum but this was too good to pass up!

I found a flag shop and leafed through some potential adds for my house. After doing that we came back down N. Market. Our first stop was the Life is Good store. I looked around, then sat in a chair and randomly decided to impress a bunch of ladies about my feat.

Four very impressed women leaving the Life is Good store

From there we had dessert at Kaminsky's. I just could not finish my Butterfinger cake - way too rich for my blood! The chai tea was nice though!!! From there we got back on East Bay and walked down to Rainbow Row, a row of very colorful homes from the 1700s. I understand the coloring was of the 20th century, but it was still nice. We then swung through White Point Gardens, where the no-see-ums were out in full force. The route then took us up Meeting Street. Very lovely houses, a hiding/sleeping cat, the big house where Mr. "slavery is awesome" used to live, then a jaunt through St. Michael's Churchyard Cemetery. Two of the Pinckneys were buried there, along with Rutledge. Back at the market we parted ways, only to meet again so the wonder twins could stock up on their favorite drinks.

It was around 4PM when we got back the car. Thankfully Holman was safe and sound inside. I was excited about this next leg. I got on I-26 and started telling Julie about my summer here in 2001. Part of the "tour" was to get off at Jedburg Road and head up 176 to where Duke Camp (technically called Duke's Camp, not affiliated with the University) was located. Let me say it's in the middle of nowhere, although since 2001 there is a cell tower not too far south, so if I lived there today then I would actually get cell phone reception.

This is a very special place for me, mainly because this is where I was brought together with Winston in July 2001. I should at this juncture thank the Kelly, the woman who was also living at the camp then, as without her this wonderful union would not have been possible.

2001 - A very young Winston chewing a corn cob at Duke Camp

2001 - Kelly holding Winston's sister Kaya, and of course a young Winston
The other dog is Vega, Kelly's dog

2001- My living quarters after a typical Winston tear

It was a super rush to see the place again. It's still out there, with nothing more than electricity coming in. It used to be a prisoner of war camp during WWII for German and Italian officers. They apparently were made to cut wood. If you live out here during the summer you may actually believe that fate would be worse than Guantanamo. Nowadays MeadWestvaco just tortures their interns there. At least it was free.

2009- Scott outside his old #6 quarters at Duke Camp

Once out of the camp we continued up 176 and onto I-26. The advance scout party (Emily and Will) reported some heavy traffic, so we took an interesting side route on Highway 2 through Orangeburg. We were able to get back on I-26 and then I-77 with little trouble after that, arriving home in Charlotte shortly before 9PM. What a long and amazing weekend!

Is this what John and Thomas envisioned?

Normally I am not an obsessively patriotic person. By total coincidence, I recently watched the HBO miniseries on John Adams. It was well done, and gave me a very particular insight into our "founding fathers," especially who they were as human beings. Let's cut out the romantic crap that Trumball's paintings depict. So this time around I have given much more thought than usual regarding this holiday and what it means.

For me the festivities began on Thursday. Julie and I went back to Symphony Park at Southpark for the Fourth of July celebration concert. Her twin sister Emily and her fiance Will joined us. Unlike the other times we went this year, there were about 2-3 times more people than usual! Since we arrived so late, we found a grassy knoll on the corner of Barclay Downs and Morrison. We couldn't see the performers, but the sound was not lost on us. Of course there were more memories of the high school band experience, this time with Shostakovich's "Festive Overture." Our spot did not end up being all that bad for the fireworks though. The show was much larger than I expected, so I did the honorable thing and enjoyed what had been presented to me. Often though I wonder about what a waste of money they are - these big public showings cost ten of thousands, and often hundreds, of dollars. You could certain feed a lot of homeless people or save a lot of land. Just don't give it to Gloria Pace King.

On the actual day, I rose early and prepared for a bike ride. On Tuesday I dropped Holman off for his yearly tuneup. I was really surprised that I would have to wait over the weekend and lose my companion, but given my cirumstances I had to chose Bicycle Sport and this needed to be done before my Half Ironman, the many centuries to follow, and then of course the big event. I left the house around 6:45AM on my green steel beast, a 1987 LeMans Centurion. This is the bike my dad bought me in high school. Recently I use it weekly for my rides to work. My destination was the city of Matthews, which is south and east of my humble dwelling. My route took me down (and then up - whew! - what a stink!) Tyvola, which then has a schizophrenic moment and changes to Fairview. I furiously peddled up to where Sardis heads south. I remember driving down this road with my old housemate Cesare to pick up the TV hutch I have now. Otherwise I've never spent any time down there. And really, I've never been to downtown Matthews either!

I arrived somewhere around 7:40, just in time to change into my spectator gear and find my friends. I was there for the 4th of July Matthews 5K race, there was a nice community crowd gathering. I knew Jocelyn would be here to race, along local legend Stan, and last year's winner Paul (2007 results). The ultimate irony is that Paul is British! I also spotted fellow Madison Park resident and fellow Scott with his speedy girlfriend May (or Marguerite, depending on who you talk to), who have must have been in town from Louisiana.

The course allowed for me to get some good starting shots and then walk down to Sadie Drive and prepare for runners looping back in. Sure enough Paul was in the lead group with Woodbury right behind the four leaders. With regard to the friendly ongoing duel between Stan "The Man" and Jocelyn "I eat large lunches!" Stan was the next to pick out, with Jocelyn not far behind. After shooting a photo of May that unfortunately did not turn out, I rounded out and took some general shots. Being a spectator now and then definitely gives me a new perspective on the races as a whole, and not just my ultimate 5K suffer-fest experience.

Following that it was a few minutes before the first runner shot back out on to Trade Street, and I could tell right away it was not Paul. This was not a surprise if you had read his blog, as he predicted being at least 40 seconds of his 2007 time. I didn't recognize the dude - apparently he came from Illinois. The Rotarians must have shipped him in to avoid further embarrassment of some British guy winning their American race! Paul was next, needing another 46 seconds to cross the line. Woodbury had held to fifth place spot, then Stan took the lucrative Matthews local award. He bested his mortal enemy (really though, good friend) Jocelyn, although her time was easily enough to win overall female. May was the final person I knew to cross the line, going under twenty minutes and taking third overall. All of them finished faster than I could ever hope to accomplish. At one point I had some strong runs with May, so that leads me to believe if someone like that took me out on a 5K I could very well realize my goal of finishing under twenty minutes.

As everyone else came in I wandered around snapping various pictures of humanity at its best, such as Paul bringing around drinks and Stan doing such a gentlemanly job of introducing me to his friend Jinnie. I watched the begin of the fun run as I waited for the awards ceremony, which took HOURS. Okay, maybe a little less than that. The Rotarian who started the part-tay had to give a diatribe on the signers of the Declaration, but I thought it was a nice touch and gave the event its meaning. He didn't exactly brag about how the good old corn-feed midwest talent beat the crap out of a fish and chips eatin' Brit, but I would hope all of us are beyond that point!

My photo album of the 4th of July Matthews 5K Race

Complete 2008 Results

For the ride home I took a different route, following a not-too-busy Highway 51 east. I had hoped to come up on Rea Road, but neglected to confirm (although I should know this!) that Alexander would have been the correct road to turn on. No big deal - I cruised all the way to the Rea Road I am familiar with. It was certainly starting to get hot! While I was waiting for the light at Runnyemede and Colony another biker stopped and started talking to me because he also had a Centurion! Imagine that.

I did not have too much time to rest. Shortly after my return Julie picked me up and we headed to Ballantyne for Emily and Will's house. From there all four of took the backroads west through Fort Mill and up to Shopton Road. Naturally I had to gab about all the roads I bike so much on! Thankfully we did stop at Sonic for some lunch. We all had a philosophical discussion on how much we would have to get paid to pick up a piece of used chewing gum near the window. I suppose everyone has their price... We then headed down to Terry's Landing via Pine Harbor Road. This road evokes two memories - first our beloved Stewardship czar Jean Woods used to live down this way, but alas, she has moved up to Brevard. And back on April 11, 2004 Winston and I started near here and ran our first 13.1 miles! It wasn't a race or anything special. Why I came out here I can't remember, but we did cover the distance in 2 hours and 3 minutes. Not bad for a first!

This was a fun afternoon! Here is my rough guess where the boat traveled. We first went north to find a quiet spot to eat our lunches. Now my Bacon Toaster Whatever sure didn't look like the one advertised, but if I was paid minimum wage to throw it out the gum-encased window as fast as possible for the benefit of the rich owners, that's probably quite close to what I would prepare... Thankfully it was tasty to eat, and I was starving. My tots were nice, and much better than the fries I got to sample. We then headed south crossing under the Highway 49 bridge. Given the number of times I've biked one way or the other, this was about the newest perspective out there! After getting chided for driving too fast in the "no wake" zone we sped off again and turned into the North Carolina side of Lake Wylie to this "party."

"Low Key" was the key phrase here. It was about 6-7 other folks, no one I had ever met before. They were out on the simple dock drinking and talking. Will no doubt was excited to get the Miller Lite festivities underway! After an hour or so I decided to put on a lifejacket "diaper" like Will and just hang out in the water. Arm with my shades and Grand Columbian hat, I went with the flow. We naturally had to push Emily around on the "Warp Speed" tube. Very different world. It was interesting talking to the three brothers that lived there. It was not one of the many "I have way more money than you" mansions on the lake either - it reminded me a lot of Lake Shoecraft and the times we would go there with the Kents. Except the beer drinking part. I think we were there 4-5 hours. And I drank way more beer than I usually do. Obviously this is what John Adams intended for American citizens to be doing 232 years later!

As nice as that was, I was very excited to get the tubing underway. I volunteered first. I'm quite certain the last time I went tubing was at Camp Parsons at least 20 years ago. I definitely had not drunk heavily beforehand, but thankfully I did have enough arm strength (and sobriety?) to hang out for the duration. Julie's run was almost cut short when the line got tangled in the motor, but I hopped in to unwork that. She also had an excellent run. By then there were some dark clouds gathering so we made our way to back to ugly white and red pinstripe building. By then it was somewhere close to 7PM.

Upon our return I was saddened to learn their home air conditioning had broken! It may be my curse - not too sure on that. I did get the impression their tolerance was much lower than mine in terms of getting it fixed. So we grilled out - had a very taste cheeseburger and a braut. During the course I started to ask if anyone remembered their Fourth of July last year. At the start I couldn't recall for the life of me what I was doing.

It took some time before the whole fireworks close to home mentality reminded me that 2007 had even more action! I left the house at 6:40AM to attempt my third 100+ mile bike ride. I rode with a group of six others in Union County (route) and ended up averaging 17.1 miles per hour, which was not bad! Upon my return, I hopped off the bike and ran 3.1 miles. I have two 5K loops from my house identified. This one was the II version counterclockwise. This meant the finish was up the White Oak Steps. I believe I have mentioned these before. It's a series of hills that for most of my routes, whether biking or running, I have to deal with most every time.

Behold- A sight I get to dread several times a week

Anyway, I ran relatively strong after 100 miles on the bike, finishing in 26:22, which is not far from the average of this iteration (which is mostly done on its own): 25:42. Not too long after I went a few doors down to a very memorable Fourth of July party at Brooke's house. It was out back, and I was amazed I was able to hold on for about four hours and enjoy all the company, food, bocce, and drink. I do vividly recall going home to crash in a big way. They were shooting off fireworks for the event.

Back to 2008, we did catch a few moments of the show from Ballantyne. But not before I entertained stunned audiences on my bottle blowing music! Apart from that we watched some of the US Olympic Swimming Trials on their big fancy TV. Good times. On our way out I thanked them for the hospitality and wished them the best on getting their air conditioner situation rectified sooner rather than later.

Thomas St Revisionist

Tonight instead of the usual Dilworth run (no Bruce, the other run is technically not in the Dilworth neighborhood) or the "new" run I tried last week, I returned to very hallowed Sharksbite ground to participate in Meetup.com's Thursday Run.

While I understand it wasn't the absolutely first route, Sharksbite really began and became popular in 2004 with the Thursday Night Thomas Street Run. I first showed up on July 1, 2004 and ran the 4 mile course in 32:38. I vividly recall being too shy to stay for dinner. I then returned September 23rd to cut out a few minutes. It was that night I stayed for dinner at Thomas Street Tavern with the group, and it was also the night I meet Mona Baset and Mary Jo Arrington. My life would never be the same! The run then became an institution - I completed fifteen more iterations through February 10, 2005. My average time was 29:47.

Some of my most notable memories were the long hard climbs up McClintock "back in the day" when "the projects" were there. On more than one ocassion I would hear the heavy breathing of my great friend Tyler Leach as he would labor up and eventually pass me. Man, I miss that dude - he moved to St. Louis a few years ago. Funny thing, we had his going away party at Moosehead Grill (wonder if Chris, Ben, and Monica remember that event...), so when I went back there for the Ultimate group last week I couldn't help but think of him! I also remember one woman who ran with us (???) who thought she was lost so she asked for a ride from someone on that street! Wow, now that took guts. But now McClintock is gone! There is a huge development going in there.

The reincarnation of this particular run began when Tim briefly re-instituted the Thursday night run upon return of one of his many abortive attempts to be live elsewhere. Somehow it became a Meetup.com group led by Sharksbite veteran Bevin Jett, as if there was some hostile takeover! There were some notables (people I know) such as Sean, Audra, Fred, Carissa, Donna also present. But many more new faces. Bevin had a big "pre 4th of July" run event; most were decked out in costumes - she also gave out flags to all. It was also a handicapped start, with about five groups going out based on estimated pace. I was in the fourth wave. I started out with Sean and a cruise down Commonwealth around a 7:06 minute pace, which was too fast.

This course began in the same vein, going down Commonwealth and then up Morningside. The one thing I HATED about the original run and will continue to dislike on this run is the fact you have to cross Central TWICE! There is pressure with the timed run to do stupid things. It then began the reverse of the old run. From there it chartered new ground up Winter, Mecklenburg, and then the long Nassau back towards Commonwealth Market. I finished a different four miles in 30:32, or a 7:43 pace.

Afterwards there was a lot of refreshment, both inside and out. I had never been inside; it was quite a cool pace. Sean and I ended up grabbing dinner at the Penguin, so of course I had to get the fried pickles! I also ordered "the hemi" burger - three huge patties of meat. I ate it all, but won't get it again.

Stop Laughing at Me!

Those in the Wexford compound were afforded another nice night of cool air. And now Winston's flea problem seems to be on the mend. When it became an issue the house was obviously nuked (cleaned and sprayed) along with the dog himself. His scar under his eye also continues to heal nicely.

When I woke up this morning my left arch was in quite in tizzy. It was quite tender and swollen. However, the show did have to go on and I made plans, despite being totally exhausted after yesterday, to run into work. I prepared my usual egg breakfast - three eggs cooked sunny side up. I toast some English muffins and melt cheese, along with preparing two strips of crispy bacon for my little McScott sandwiches. And depending how I feel each alternating day it is prepared, Winston gets some of the scraps some of the time. (It's a Fact: I love consuming large numbers of eggs and my cholesterol is abnormally low!) Winston and I did get some playtime out front with his version of the Frisbee - a tough red Kong flyer that he likes to shake and kill almost every day!

It was very painful to start the run, especially with the little incline up to Seneca. And to worsen the situation, I was mocked in short order. Before turning on to South Boulevard, I was embarrassed to be spotted by fellow Madison Park resident Scott Woodbury, who mocked the fact that I was running about as fast as a Frenchman runs from a brothel (this is an obscure Blackadder reference). As if Trevor laughing at my fashion sense last night was injury enough, this was hard! I was thankful though that Scott apparently passed the Home Depot down the street safely and did not fall prey to the horrible scam that our resident Officer Friendly (Chris Page) alerted us all to the other day.

Thankfully I was able to fall into remotely respectful 8:30ish pace for the remainder of the journey. It wasn't my worse jaunt north to work, but I guess good given the circumstances.

In the Charlotte Observer this morning I read a report that made my stomach sick. The article detailed the excessive compensation of United Way of Central Carolinas President Gloria Pace King, which now tops 1.2 MILLION dollars due to a bump of $800,000 in benefits (versus ~$100,000 the previous year). The newspaper cited similar cities comparing salaries and money raised, clearing demonstrating the absurdity of her compensation package. As someone who has worked for several years in the non-profit work and gets a meager salary, this boils my blood, even more than reading about corporate pigs like Ken Lewis (who is on United Way's board of directors) who earned more than $100 million last year. I don't care how many dollars she raises, that's disgusting and she should be ashamed of herself. It's also clear she is grabbing as much money as possible to set her up for her retirement.

This is not the first time the paper has questioned her salary. And recently we at work became aware of United Way bullying another non-profit to which we're affiliated about their event because it interrupts their fundraising schedule. It's hard for me to say this as someone from a Scouting background who has benefited from the United Way, especially with all the other valid smaller meaningful charities out there, but I now refuse to give them a dime, ever again.

Before you give to any charity, I highly recommend you start at a service like Charity Navigator or Guidestar. Why not give directly to the charity in need instead of the behemoth company? All these organizations are required to put together certain documents for public consumption, the most important being the Form 990. The 990 requires charities to list a certain number of the highest paid employees (who make over $50,000). If you pull up some for the bigger charities, you will start to wonder why the $50 you give makes any difference, except for a one-way limo charge for the executive director to the airport.

Sometimes things just snowball on you - right? At a meeting this morning I could not help but be somewhat incensed that work I had done two weeks ago had gone completely unnoticed. And I did it within three hours; doing further analysis, producing 18 maps, and updating some spreadsheets. No doubt Wally is shaking his head at me.

I also was faced with the prospect of grading exams from the class I'm teaching (along with dealing with everyone's personal situations!) and just a HUGE slew of map requests. Ridiculously busy. When I left at 17:30 to run home, I was really burnt out. The 93 degree heat didn't help much with that! As I started down Morehead, I actually passed the same Officer Friendly I mentioned earlier in this post. I was burnt both physically and mentally, and I just started giving up on this run. The lack of running water at the Freedom Park parking lot fountain didn't help either... Where is Jim Garges when you need him? It was rather amazing how slow I ran along the flat section of Westfield. Naturally the climb up Montford just about wrung the life out of me. As I passed Angry Ale's I saw Ironman finisher Lat Purser out with some friends or co-workers obviously celebrating! Good for him!

Once home I immediately opened my last installment of the John Adams series. Before leaving to teach, I watched the penultimate episode. What could be more eye-opening than the scenes of the new "President's House" in 1800 - filth and muck everywhere, slaves working, utter disorganization inside. Wow. Tonight the bunnies must have been organized, because Winston didn't have much of a chase. Thankfully I had a quick commute back home and started the last episode shortly after 11PM. It was obviously sad, but got to the heart of what I knew best, delving on the multitude of letters sent between Jefferson and Adams before their eerily coincidental deaths. How bizarre is that that two of the last signers died fifty years later on the day, within hours of each other?!?

A Summer Swim Stunner!

As I was rudely interrupted yesterday from my run to work and home, that evening I waited until twilight to head out for a route I dub the "Madison Park Long Run." Not really long, but following most of the bounds of South, Tyvola, Park, and Woodlawn that make up this neighborhood. My GPS had excellent reception and put me at 5.78 miles, which after looking at other data believe to be in the correct distance neighborhood.

Since I last ran clockwise, I opted for the more popular counterclockwise version. It would seem to be easier with the long drop along Tyvola before jumping into the woods, but if you look at the elevation profile from there it's basically a long climb before the Willow Oak steps and home. My PR for this run (and direction) was 44:39 in March of last year. It was pleasant running for the most part. I had neglected to turn of the 9:15 pace warning, but thankfully it beeped at me only a few times. I felt much stronger and huffed out a 46:31, which is about a 8:03 minute mile pace. This was my second best effort on this particular course - not too bad!

I mention the run because I came into today feeling like I had to hold off on today's swim, mainly because I was worn down from the run and that I would be playing Ultimate tonight. While I was in the "mini gym" Cliff asked me why I spent so little time there. Before leaving I weighed in at 181 pounds, which represents a slow drop since my high with the months following my Ironman Vineman.



There was a little hurry to jump in the water, but not much. I felt very comfortable with the strides and hoped I wasn't lulled into another monster session. That "fear" slowly began to rear it's "ugly" head at 700 meters when for the third time I broke 15 minutes, clocking in at 14:58. About five minutes later I became to think about the fact this could be the day I made it to 15 lap (1500 meters or 0.932 miles) territory! Of course I had not dared to take a real "halfway" mark at 750 meters! During that I was driven on by my wild fantasies. No my friends, not of beautiful women, but winning an Ironman with a world-record time. I can't see how the first fantasy would improve over my already questionable aerodynamic shape.

Sure enough I came thundering through at 29:22 for 14 laps; representing a monumental drop of 27 seconds! I finished the fifteenth lap for a total time of 31:26. If my estimate of 16:02 is correct for 750 meters, than means the second half improved to 15:24, or a 4% increase in speed. Each 50 meter leg averaged out to 1:03, obviously also a Publius best.

Not that I was too high on my horse. Most of the swim coaches hanging around probably think I'm some sort of flailing fool. No doubt my technique sucks, I've never really had any sort of teacher. But I tell you what. If I can consistently swim better at short distances than someone like Mona Baset who swims regularly and spends hundreds on classes and instructors, why shouldn't I feel good? Same thing for a naturally amazing athlete like Chris Cummins, who obviously works 8 hours a week and trains like crazy. I swam my 2.4 mile leg of my Ironman faster than him and probably put in 1/3 the effort. Damn I'm lazy. But the swimming is so relatively unimportant. Somewhere in the 75 minute range for 2.4 miles is solid. It'll never win you a race, but why spend all the extra effort and money? After yesterday it's clear I don't have any money, so that's a no-brainer.

I was thinking about all this as I drove out of the parking lot. As I went down McDowell I saw a man running that looked very familiar. Oh my &$% - was that DAVID HOGEBOOM?!?!? A later discreet inquiry to the my spy network revealed it was in fact the man who had vanished into the mists of Bank of America.

When it came time to change into my Ultimate gear, I realized I had forgotten my sandals. So I had to leave the office and come on the field in my ultra fancy brown suede shoes.


I had hoped nobody would notice but Trevor was right on me - "Hey Scott, nice fashion statement!" D'oh!

Anyway, temperatures were in the mid 80s with lots of direct sunshine. Definitely not as hot as last week. This past week our default captain had quit the team because of an injury. I am quite certain that given all the teams I've been on since 2001, not a single captain has ever "quit." Well, as far as I'm concerned, good riddance - she was very unfriendly to me and was not adding much. The replacement she promised never showed. Our other captain JB had an anti-cheer approach. For our first game we were pitted against Jeff's team. Jeff is VERY tall, at least six to eight inches on me! I used to be one of the few that could have any sort of chance against him. I have lots of memories from Pearl Street years ago of him beating me again and again in the endzone.

In the very first point I had to defend on him and he just beat me again and again. The difference of course was that Jeff has continued to play and continued to become quite good. I like the guy a lot, but it was humiliating, especially for one of the few that wasn't overly mismatched on height. It was a tough start, but then the weirdest thing began to happen - we were winning! I have a ton of respect for our woman Rebecca and Lisa. Rebecca seems to have to play savage for the first half hour until Lisa gets there. And then Lisa was not just a scoring machine, but handling extremely well. We ended up winning our first game 13 to 9!! Way to go Seven Minute Abs!!

We remained on our field and went white for our next game. This was the team with Nick Vincent, one of other few guys on the circuit taller than myself. The competition was much more stiff but we managed to hold 3-3 to half. During the evening I had several breakout plays. I took down one score on a short play thanks to some quick thinking to break my man. Then in the second game I broke long to chase down a long floater down the line. Unfortunately I didn't catch at the endzone, but I dumped back and then watched us score - yes! Later on I was running down the same corridor and had a chance for the score and a nice stretch move. I went up with my best Air Jordan using only one hand and ended up looking like Lisa Jacobellis at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Later on I had a few more frustrating plays. They made a series of questionable calls and the game slipped from our grasp. Thankfully I didn't leave the field in a bad mood. Our team continues to improve and I survived a tough swim today and an even tougher evening of Ultimate.

I'll leave you with some photos of my favorite league team so far.

TFDA Winter League 2002-2003 - the Kumquats (15-2!)

Here we are!

The Great Kwat Huddle - co-captain Mel/Momkwat/Melkwat looking back, I'm on the far left


Christoph going under to deny with co-captain JP watching


Herndon handling wih style!

Josh leaping for the catch!


JP flicking clear of "his greatness" Chris Hinkle

JP going low to get the job done

Mel with the stellar D!

Fellow Dukie Jon Remucal denying Hinkle

Fellow Dukie Megan Wargo with "Spaz" watching the action

Fellow Dukie and Ultimate instigator Dan Olstein (with hat) talking up his competition