Owl's Roost Rumble Saturday April 29, 2006

Owls Roost Rumble 2006
April 29, 2006 8:05 am

Picture perfect spring day, chilly temperatures to start, warming up to about 70 degrees by the end. For me, the vibe this year was more relaxed and friendly than last year. I credit being in better shape and knowing more Trailheads. After a casual walk to the start, we gathered near the front of the line and discussed such important matters as Kerndog’s previous Friday in the hospital (along with advice from both Goofus and Zu that he should NOT run), just how fast Monk was going to run this thing, Fang’s Rocky Mountain Oysters, what pace we were going to run, etc.

My strategy for this year was to stay with Tweak for as long as I could. He had not really run in 4 weeks and made a last minute decision to run when someone else dropped out. I figured if I couldn’t keep up with him I had Glassman and Haggis to push me along. 8:05am and we’re off, after a nice jog down the road, we were directed to the right, a nice departure from last year’s loop around the tennis courts. A short run on the greenway followed, including a view of the 8am starters coming the opposite way. The guy that won the thing in 1:16 was already out in front but not too far behind was a very strong looking Monk, De Logger, and Taz, all would go on to have exceptional races.

By the first mile, Zu, Gilly, Ringo, Kerndog and Glassman were out of sight and Tweak led the 2nd group, followed by me, Haggis, Paradocs, Goofus, Fang and Yellow Dog. Around mile 4 Tweak decides to kick it up a hill and I think to myself, “there goes Tweak” but he held back for another 2 miles, eventually distancing himself. Between mile 6 & 7 Goofus and Fang continue to execute their well thought out strategy and turn it up a notch, passing Haggis and I as we reentered the woods starting mile 7. At this point I am felling pretty darn good, averaging somewhere b/w 8-8.5 minute miles, and realize not only can I keep this pace, I might be able to save a little for the last 2-3 miles. Haggis agrees and the two of us, along with a few other runners, march on. Somewhere between mile 7 & 8 we pass a very discouraged Glassman.

Until we hit the road leading up to mile 10, Haggis and I have maintained a decent pace and both of us are contemplating if and when we should pick it up. I was thinking how much better I felt this year versus last year during this point of the race. Last year Yellow Dog carried me to mile 10 only to pull ahead shortly thereafter, I had blisters on top of blisters and I basically struggled to finish. This year I was feeling strong, was coming up on mile 10 and at this point I made the only mistake I can recall during the race, I turned it up and ran the road section much faster than I should have. As we approached the last aid station, we spot Goofus and Tweak heading into the woods, I’m only thinking of getting Gatorade and catching my breath but Haggis wants to catch Goofus, so as soon we enter the woods he turns it up and I have to let him go, as I’m still recovering from that stupid road run. I hated the road section last year and I hated it this year. It appears unavoidable as it’s the only way to connect all the trails but I do wish the race didn’t include it.

I would say mile 10-11 was the hardest for me as it was at this point that I really started to struggle, my legs started hurting, and I was basically just tired of running. Fortunately I didn’t let myself fall too far behind the group of 4 I was running with and at mile 11 I realized there were only 2 more miles. 2 more miles, I can not only finish this thing, I’ve got something left. I also realized the 4 guys in front of me were all slowing down, especially on any uphill, b/w 11-12 I manage to pick off all 4 of them and spot one more guy b/w 12-13 that I pick off. I kept hoping to see Goofus, Haggis, Tweak, any trailhead would have done, as I came down the last stretch but as usual they were all faster than me. Regardless I finished very strong, beat my stated goal time of 1:50 and shaved 15 minutes off last year’s time.

The weather was perfect, the post race celebration, both the Owl's Roost one and the Trailhead one, were the highlights of the day. You be the judge: Owl's Roost post race party= watery keg beer, oreos, bananas, bagels, pizza and cheap prizes Trailhead's post race party = Gumbi beer, bull testicles, clover salad, homemade salsa, naked meat free cutlets, grilled marinated chicken (thanks Gilly!), sausage, salads (regular and fruit), homemade cookies, brownies, and even a cake (thanks Taz!).