Run for Boniface, Sweat with the Vets, and Rt. 66

Ok, first of all I have to wonder why it takes some race directors so long to post race results. For me looking at the results and comparing to other people in my age group is part of the fun. I am still waiting for the official results for Sweat with the Vets, and since it was a new PR for me I am anxious to see the times. I absolutely love the system Fleet Feet uses. They attach an RFID tag to the bib numbers, and the results are posted on line very quickly. I'll put it this way I have run at least six races with this system and by the time I drove home I could look up the results. Anyway here is a short run down of my past three races.
Run for Boniface: I decided to run this at the last minute. I was on the fence, the deciding factor was that the start is less than a mile from my house. It was a nice cool morning, and I was glad that I ran the race because I ended up setting a new PR (albeit a very short lived PR), and winning a $20 gift certificate to the Cyclery. My time last year was 23:00, this year 22:28. It always feels good to set a new PR especially when you weren't even sure you wanted to run at all that morning.
After Boniface I realized that my shoes (Asics Gel Kinseis) had too many miles on them, and they took a beating on the second Berryman loop. They were not designed for off road use. After a somewhat disappointing trip to Sport's Authority I ended up with a pair of Saucony Pro Grid 4's. The only reason I bought them was because they felt good, and they were 50% off. I wore them for a very short run (not even worth mentioning), and was not too impressed, but then I wasn't blown away by the Kinsei's at first either.
Sweat with the Vets, is associated with work and benefits the Wheel Chair Games (?). The main reason I wanted to run this race was because last year I didn't see any of the fast people that I normally see at races so I figured it would be a god opportunity to place in my age group. Last year I ran a really bad race (25:37). I don't know why it was so slow, but damn. This year I did decidedly better and finished with a brand spankin' new PR of 21:XX. The XX is anywhere from the low 20's to low 40's. They have yet to post the results.
I knew from last year that the course starts out with a steep down hill followed by an equally bad uphill so I started fast to create some space so I could let it all out down the hill. I ended up really close to the front. I've been close to the front before, and the first wave to pass me wasn't so bad because I expected it, but the second wave was kind of demoralizing. I kept expecting that first wave to come but it never did however, the people that were ahead of me were only gaining ground and there was really nothing I could do to catch them they were just faster. It felt really good to be so close to the front, I finished probably 10th overall. I guess that is what motivated me to keep pushing the pace as much as I could. Three people passed me at the end. I tried to fend them off but I didn't have it in me. Knowing how close I was to the front I told Beth when I came I "that ought to be good for something." Regardless I was psyched about taking almost a minute off the PR I had just set a week prior. They read the results and I came in third in my age group. I think the only two people that mattered in front of me were in my age group (10-top 3 overall-old guy-me-2women=3) what are the odds of that. Oh well I still got a medal, and I ran a really uplifting race.
RT 66 10k: I had been looking forward to this race because I like the distance and I don't get a chance to run many 10k's so it is really nice to have one that starts so close to home. Last year my goal was to run under 50 minutes a goal I barely met with a time of 49:41. This year my goal was to run 45 minutes, I knew this was a little unrealistic going in but I needed something to shoot for, and after running that super fast 5k I thought that anything might be possible. I ended up finishing in 46:24 which I am extremely happy about. I started out with some tightness in my right calf, something I have never experienced before. I don't think it was effecting my pace, but I was concerned that it might develop into something more serious. After a few miles it seemed to go away so I felt some relief. Metro Tri Club had a really awesome water station, they had a ton of club members, music, water, Gatorade. It reminded me of a beer commercial. They sprayed me with water as I went through. It was great I wanted to stay and party with them. Of all the races I've run that was hands down the best atmosphere at an aid station. Immediately after though I was in a weird place my breathing was out of rhythm, and my pace dropped considerably. The odd part was that I didn't realize it until some one passed me, and I kicked it back up into my normal pace and rhythm. That to my knowledge has never happened before. Part of the course (a very short but significant section) is on my training grounds. This part consists of some short steep hills, I figured since I run these in training I would really turn it on for the race and it felt really good to know that at least some of the training is paying off, because even though I was tired I hauled arse through this section without a second thought. The finish was close I paired up with Dave Barr for the last half mile or so, and as we got closer to the finish I kept waiting for him to make a move, it seemed like it would never come and then I look left at Beth taking my picture, and he took off, so I took off and we ended up tying. The chute was so narrow, and jammed with people that we had to stop dead. I wish we would have had about 100 more yards. I'm disappointed that I waited for him to make a move first. I should have put the nail in the coffin myself. Next time I will.
Well it is father's day and I have to get a bike ride in before we go to my dad's so that will be all for now.