So got up early and did the Bronx half on Sunday. Saw Chelle around mile four or so as we did one of the out-and-backs … she was already a few minutes ahead of me. I took a deep breath and bellowed, “LET’S GO MICHELLE!!” as loud as I could across the grassy median. She flashed me back a winning smile. As I did the “back” portion myself I spied H. — or actually, she spied me first and gave me a cheer.
Around the midway point, somewhere along the way out of the corner of my eye I saw a white-haired runner pacing with me. Depending on my mood there can be certain runners I feel more competitive with than others: older runners, younger runners, woman runners, runners from other teams, runners from my team, runners wearing bright clothing … anything to stay motivated during a race. So anyway I picked up the pace on a downhill and left him behind.
But the Mosholu Parkway (I almost said Mogadishu) was windy. I felt like I was going to get blown away. It interrupted my stride and concentration. Coming back I glanced at my heart rate monitor: only 163. I must have really slowed down. I tried to pick up the pace for the last 5K. Somewhere around mile 11, I spied the white-haired runner again. We were part of a little pack that was passing some people. But then with three-quarters of a mile to go, he pulled off to the side. What the…?
“C’MON!!” I screamed at him as fiercely as I could.
“Aww, all right,” he said in a thick Irish brogue and got back in it. He musta been about 60 or so.
“Just five minutes to go,” I told him.
“I can’t talk,” he replied.
We ran in silence for a little bit. For a guy who was about to take a break, he really had a good kick going and we passed some more people.
“We’re just going to crank on this straightaway and turn the corner and we’re done,” I told him. (Actually, the finish was at the end of the straightaway. Oops.)
“I owe you for this,” he told me. And he cranked it out with me, running hard to the end. I even managed to pick it up a little more for the final 100 yards and he did too. (I was 1:42:49). It felt good.
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