Let's blame this failure on the socks....

Sunday I ran the Pi-Mile 5k. All you math and science-y geeks like myself should get it :).  Pi = 1 unit = 3.1415...  Therefore pi = a 5k run.  Or thereabouts.  Clever, huh!!  They should have run this race on March 14th which is official pi day but I guess they weren't THAT clever.

Anyway, I happened to find this little 5k race on some local race listing and I had to have the shirt. That shirt ... LOVE IT!  And I needed some speed work so I bribed my old running partner, Dennis, into running it with me.  Very long time readers may remember Dennis.  Dennis and I ran a lot back in the days when I could actually run faster than I presently can.

Dennis and I after a race when I used to be fast

I can't run with Dennis and his friends anymore because they'd pretty much be walking or I'd be sprinting to keep the same pace.  I really miss him and the group sometimes.

Dennis - in red shirt, and some of the other "speedies" I used to run with,
running up Mt. Evans - elevation 14,270' - in 2009

But Dennis was game to run the Pi-mile with me and I couldn't have been more excited.  Maybe it was the memories of fast days gone by or the fact I'd get to hear about the old gang again....but I really was looking forward to this race and honestly, I hoped I'd have a good race ("good" being relative to where my current pathetic pace is).

Well....not so much.

Again!

Bleh!!!

The race started on the Colorado School of Mines track at the base of Lookout Mountain.

That zigzag line is a road, the same road Julie and I went up last year  on our  Century bike ride.
The "M" stands for "Mines" for the Colorado School of Mines and Technology.  See the paraglider? 

We ran a lap on the track and then headed through the neighborhoods to the path along Clear Creek, where the vast majority of the race was run.

Loved this!

The majority of the race runs along the path here along Clear Creek

I wanted to clear 8 min/miles...or slightly better.  I know I can do it, and didn't think it'd be too tough.  I hit the first mile in 7:42 and I knew this was a wee-bit fast so as not to death march the last mile, like I did in the last 5k I ran in March, I slowed the pace some.

Mile 2 I hit at like 8:44.  Really?  Ugh.  I guess I slowed TOO much, indicative by how well I felt for the last mile.  I think it would have been a good race and I could have done better than my 5k in March, but the last half mile of this race was uphill and when I hit it, I was cooked, gave up, and lollygagged in to the finish with a 25:42.

Arghhh.

Seriously, I haven't hit the 25's since I was like 14 on my first year of high school track.

There's a couple factors playing into this super slow speed my body's decided to run, and I could dive into that more but....

....really, none have a more reasonable explanation as when I got home and realized my blunder....

HELLO cause for slow time: Left sock on right foot, right sock on the left foot.

Really, there can be no other explanation than my socks were on the wrong feet!!  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I put those on that morning, but rest assured I won't make that mistake again!!!

Because the race was close to an open space area in the foothills called White Ranch, and because I hadn't suffered enough wearing the wrong socks on each foot, Dennis suggested we go run some trail  miles up there after the race.

YAY!  More sucky miles!!

We drove about 11 miles to about 7800' to start out on a short loop trail.  A nice view of Denver, if you can see it though the smog...

Downtown Denver in the middle right side

But it was another gorgeous blue-sky Colorado day, albeit a tad warm (80 degrees) and I was game to give the legs another run.

The trail really isn't horribly bad, unless you just ran 3.14 tough miles, and just aren't in hill shape, so the uphills were kicking my sorry butt big time.  Dennis constantly was double backing for me to catch up.

Dennis climbing up well.  Me, walking up well.

My calves were killing me.  I was starting to get frustrated by how slow I was and how much my heart rate was skyrocketing on a few steep hills ... but eventually I regained my enthusiasm for this gorgeous day and just decided the mental battles in my head were done; I decided fun is much more memorable when in the company of pain.  I instead resolved to enjoying the scenery and the company (when he came back to find me :)).

How's that for a great dork picture?

Another crap race; a bit over 5 miles on some gorgeous trails; shared nachos and drinks with a long lost friend while watching para-gliders sail down Lookout Mountain.....

Heaven!

How often do I place undue emphasis on my performance and fail to appreciate the pleasure of good company and the ability to just get out and run?  Plenty.  It takes a special day like this one to break that competitive cycle.

Some days it's good to race hard and perform well.

And some days it's even better to share the day with a long lost running pal.

Despite a pace that keeps getting slower and slower, I actually did enjoy this race and I look forward to doing it again next year.  Maybe some of that speed will return and I'll get revenge on that race.  And maybe it won't.

But I'm not giving up: I will keep puttering away at attempting to turn this speed thing around ...  and appreciate my running for being what it is: undeniably real.

At least I'll wear the correct socks on the right feet!!

So until then....

What's next?

Cherry Creek Sneak 5-miler this weekend.  Will my suckfest PW streak continue?  Let's see...

Good luck to all the Eugene Marathoners this weekend....Raina; Tasha; my client and friend Paul; and another long-lost-and-recently-connected-with friend whom I ran Boston 2010 together with - Katie A.

Run Strong!!!