Sunday, February 20, 2011

24th Race: GW Birthday Classic 10k February 19, 2011

Location: Alexandra, VA
Registration: $25
Cause: The George Washington Birthday Celebration
Time: 66 minutes


I did this race with Beth and Dan.  It was supposed to be a simple 6.2 miles, up and back on Eisenhower Avenue.  One hill at the beginning and end but other than that a fairly flat course.  But boy did this race end up being anything but simple.  The weather was actually pretty warm for February, mid-40's and sunny.  On the way over to the race, which was a quick five minutes from Beth and Dan's townhouse we heard on the radio that the area was under a severe wind advisory.  Dan and I both commented on the announcers proclamation, but none of us thought too much about it.  There were probably 400 people at the race (rough guess) and we all started out strong.  I love running with Beth but keeping up with her pace is always a challenge for me.  I was doing pretty well for the first ten minutes, but my legs were starting to get tired and it felt like I was fighting the air.  I found myself struggling through my five to one run/walks and finding it harder and harder to breathe.  Then at about mile 2.5 the wind gusts really started to intensify.  It was getting impossible to run and pretty difficult to walk.  Everyone was going sideways in an attempt to dodge the dirt and debris , the paper waters cups were swirling in the air like seagulls and anyone daring enough to wear a baseball cap was now attempting to chase it down.  At one point Beth exclaimed, "Were they calling for a Hurricane!" We both questioned if we could keep going, but we pushed our way through the 50 mile per hour wind gusts and finally made it to the turn around point.  Luckily, because this was an up and back course, all the struggles we had running against the wind were soon quickly forgotten. We must have made up at least ten minutes on the way back.  The wind was like a firm hand on our backs, guiding us back down Eisenhower Avenue, giving us an extra inch or two in our strides.  We actually finished with a pretty decent time considering the elements and definitely now have a great memory of our first "windy" race.
 
"I'm older now but still runnin' against the wind" -Bob Seger

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