I honestly lost count of how many times I had to shout that during the second loop of this otherwise hassle-free 10K race, because by the time I was in the fifth mile, the walkers were on their second mile and the relatively narrow walkway did not allow for more than two or three across (and walkers seem to love to walk in great horizontal numbers).
But let us start at the start.
My wife, Gloria, and I had planned an early-December trip to Grand Prairie, Texas, to visit her dad and brother and I figured it would be fun to run a race there. I found out about the Dallas Chocoholic Frolic 5K and 10K (which was actually in Grand Prairie) and decided that after doing five 5Ks in a row, it was time for my first 10K in two years.
With its tremendous amount of speed work, Hal Higdon's difficult Advanced 10K program conditioned my body to be the best it could be on race day, which was a cool, breezy morning at the horse-racing venue, Lone Star Park, in Grand Prairie. I looked around before the start of the race and saw some folks whom I was certain would be in the front of the pack - a couple of track kids, a long-legged lean woman, and a few other competitive-looking folks. So when the race started, I was surprised to find myself in front of the entire field.
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| That is me in the blue-green shirt and black shorts, trying to open up my stride and push to the front at the start of the race when I realized the competition would be pretty soft. (Photo by Gloria Galioto) |
Along the main driveway, up a ramp, and around a corner onto a pedestrian walkway on the outskirts of the park, I remained in first place through the first mile (6:06), following the lead bicycle and waiting for someone to eventually pass me.
That someone never came. I worked my way along the course to the sidewalk of the main road, on a narrow pedestrian walkway over a small bridge and hit mile two (6:26) before turning into the parking lot, heading back to the main building by the race track. Still, no one was coming up from behind me. I heard no footfalls or heavy breathing. Nothing. And I was about to finish the first loop. I was ahead of everybody, including the 5K racers.
Coming into the finish area after mile three (6:22), I saw Gloria, who confirmed that there was no one even close to me, as well as her dad and brother, cheering me on.
Damn, I essentially won the 5K and I was about to run the loop again.
The next mile (6:16) was in complete solitude. No one behind me, no one in front of me.
But then I hit the crowd of walkers in their second mile. They were walking three or four across, as they tend to do, and that is when the constant shouting of "on your left" began. It was tough enough to breathe while trying to keep up my race pace; having to yell at people to move did not help. Surely, these folks knew that some people were doing the loop twice, but I think I startled them with how quickly I had come around. And so...
"On your left!" - and then the person moved left and I almost crashed into him.
"On your left!" - and then people pushing strollers next to each other awkwardly tried to get the strollers out my path, probably in fear of me plowing them right over.
"On your left!" - and no one moved. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Thus it went, over and over, for my fifth mile (6:38) until finally getting to the open parking lot, where some joggers were making their way through the last mile of the 5K. I blew past them, too, hitting mile six (6:20) and pushing with all my might through the last two-tenths of a mile for the finish, where, once again, the family was there to cheer me into the finish line.
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| Rallying to the finish, with no one behind me, to win the 10K. (Photo by Gloria Galioto) |
The course may have ended up a little short - around 6.14 miles according to my GPS watch, which usually calculates most courses to be a bit long, so I knew something had to be up - and I finished with 38:54 on the clock, but I think it should probably be more like 39:34, still very much in line with my past few 10Ks. I was hoping to squeak in under 41 minutes, and I handily came in under 40.
Indeed, I won the whole darn thing, with the next three folks neck-and-neck among each other, but almost a full two minutes behind me. So, you know, this was not exactly the most competitive race. Still, I find it funny that this is the third 10K that I have won overall. I never felt like 10K was my best distance, but I must be doing something right. In addition to lots of chocolatey goodies and a sweet Hershey Kiss-shaped medal, I received a $50 gift card to the local running store, to which we immediately went as soon as it opened. I bought some light-up and reflective gear to bring home for my upcoming early morning in-the-dark training runs.
I went to Grand Prairie for a family visit and won a race. Now, that is a vacation.
However, while "this has all been wonderful, now I'm on my way" to start marathon training again.
