For the Whites! - The Scott White 5 Miler, Of Course

Today's run is for the Whites. They've been great running buddies for a long time and I'm proud that they are helping me raise money to build the Ty Taylor Memorial Campship at YMCA Camp Miller. If you can help too, please click on the link and donate! You'll get a dedicated run write up on this blog along with my deepest thanks.

I was hoping that Scott would join me on this run, but the arrival of old friends to Delhi made my early morning wake up difficult and his nearly impossible.

The decision of a route was easy. The Scott White 5 Miler was an obvious choice. You can read all about the intricate naming process of this run here.

I decided to focus on Scott and the things I love about him as I ran. Here are some musings:

1. Scott is coming to Minnesota this summer to join me for the race! He'll be running the Bjorkund and staying at the house for the post-race celebration. Yay!
2. Scott loves to say things about how tough the runs we do are, but he always does them. He has become an absolutely tough runner!
3. He doesn't love street dogs.
4. He's a great friend, colleague and dad.

As I opened the door, I realized that it's going to be one of those years. There was almost no temperature difference from inside the house and outside. It was 81 degrees at 5am. I turned on my music to the playlist that I made for Sunday's half marathon and when I hit the road, the song "Dog Days are Over" by Florence and the Machine was playing. Smiling, I was reminded of Scott's dislike for street dogs and decided I would count the dogs I encountered on the run. Almost right away, there were three or four. 

The day's second focus became clear as I heard the announcement of my overall pace and the split for mile 2. My pace was a respectable 8:10. The second mile split was 8:11. On the heels of my too fast start on the half, or just about any race for that matter, I was determined to focus on paying as much attention to my pace as possible. I was going to try to hold my pace for the entirety of the run. 

After another four or five street dogs on my counter, I received split 3. It was 8:15. I was off the pace by only five seconds. Trying my best to simultaneously pay 100% attention to my legs, while also ignoring it in an effort to not over-think it, mile four had slipped past me. The over-thinking had caused me to speed up to an 8:00 mile. Aghast with my 15 second discrepancy, I carried on. The funny thing about that mile though, was that I could tell I was running slightly faster. The fifth and final full mile clocked in at 8:18. In an effort to balance my pace and offset the 8:00 minute mile, I ran my slowest mile of the morning.

For the final half mile of the so-called 5 Miler, I decided to replicate Scott's most famous move - The Scott Sprint. He claims he doesn't do it on purpose, but as he's complaining about the pace or the distance (while being fully able to do it, mind you), Scott ALWAYS speeds up for the final stretch home. This is almost always unpopular with those of us that are running with him.

It was also during this last half mile that I realized had counted 12 street dogs. As I was wondering if the unlucky 13th dog was lurking in a bush waiting to attack me, the song "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk came on. I knew I'd be safe.

Thanks for the donation Scott and Melissa! More importantly, thanks for being great friends and dedicated running buddies. You make my training much more bearable. 

RUN STATS

Distance: 5.49 miles

Duration: 44:22

Temperature: 81 degrees at 5:13 am

Soundtrack: An absolutely serendipitous playlist!

For Keir and Bernie!

The last Delhi Dedicated run of the year! This one has to be dedicated to Keir and Bernie, my faithful running buddies. Ted also belongs in this entry, but he got his dedicated run already.

These guys have been my rock during my training for Grandma's Marathon this year. They could easily be running it with me because they've run as many miles as I have. In fact, I usually end up following them, so it's safe to say that they would be ready for race day.

Sadly, Keir and Ted are leaving Delhi this year, so this run is my last with them for now. I'll miss you guys.

This morning's run was a surprising twist in my multi-year training program. Last year, my final Delhi run was in the Ridge, and so it was this morning. I didn't plan to end the year the same way, but since Bernie and I offered Keir the choice of routes the day before and vetoed him, we knew we owed it to him that morning. He looked at us with such disdain when we announced the wrong shoes. But sweet justice! Ted also has a pair of "Ridge shoes." Once congregated at the Gate, Ted ran back to his apartment to change and we set out.

There's not too much that would stand out in a dramatic, exciting blog post about this run. No dead bodies in the woods, no missing pirate ship, no flux capacitor. So instead of an action-packed summary, I'll opt for a mushy love letter to my friends:

Guys, thanks for:

1. Time well-spent. We always spend our runs chatting and laughing. It's pretty amazing how often I'm smiling during a grueling workout.
2. Being a great decompressor. This year has been stressful and having these runs has been a blessing.
3. Challenging me. Bernie created a course in the Ridge, but when we all run together, we don't compete. That said, the competition has been fierce this year on the courses that we run and like good friends should do, these guys push me to my limits.
4. The bonding experience. The shared memories that we have from countless runs has created an incredible number of in-jokes, anecdotes, close-calls and stories that will always connect us, regardless of friends that move away. For years hence, I'm sure I tell tales of Ted's fear of monkeys, and Keir's willingness to run straight into a pack of them. And I get to look forward to more runs with Bernie in August and beyond!
5. Sharing my passion. You guys all think the same way about running that I do. It's a chance to get out and explore, it's a way to stay fit, it's a chance to hang out...You get excited about MapMyRun statistics, crazy routes and talking about it all ad naseum. If it wasn't for you guys, I'm sure my wife would have shut me up long ago. As it is, I know I talk to her about this stuff too much, but she humors me.

Thank for everything.

Love,
jason



Obligatory blog entry pieces below, with one extra.

Did I say we don't compete when we run together? I didn't mean that.

This run belongs to Keir and Bernie!

I'm dedicating runs to raise money for a campship in memory of our friend Ty Taylor at YMCA Camp Miller. Click here or here to donate. Please make sure you choose the Ty Taylor Campship option. And please let me know if you've made a donation so I can thank you!

RUN STATS:

Distance - 4.94 miles

Time - 39:11

Soundtrack - The Band, Greatest Hits. (Nice woods music!)