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January 8, 2006
you can't keep an old dog on the farm 
That was the line that occurred to me as I was doing the Y2K6 race today. I'm not sure what that means.
Yesterday it poured at points, and we had standing water in the backyard. Yow. So I was a little nervous about the race—like, would it be pouring? We drove the 45 minutes out to Forest Grove, and it rained off and on. I made a joke about staying in the school cafeteria during the race if it rained. Mela made a face that suggested that wasn't a good idea.
But we get there, and while it's overcast and misty, it's not raining. We went inside, saw folks that we knew, and smelled the pancakes being made in the kitchen. Oh! How cruel!
Finally, the race began. It was clear I was going to be the last one, and I had some really mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it's not like I could complain, I haven't trained since August, and I've gained weight. But who likes to be last? I struggled to not speed up.
As we were walking through a neighborhood, I thought about just not doing races any more. Just doing volkswalks and my own longer walks. And then I thought that the races are the motivators for doing the longer walks, and otherwise, I'd be sitting inside watching the rain fall from the safety of my couch.
Once we hit the three mile mark, I looked at my watch. I had guessed I was doing about a 20 minute mile, but in fact, it was more like an 18. Yay!!
It was all foggy, and the landscape was beautiful. At one farm, I watched sheep run with their full shaggy coats, and a calf with its shaggy coat, and some black chickens that seemed sure that these larger animals would scratch up something good to eat.
I was feeling great. It was perfect weather for a walk, and my body just felt right.
At some point between near mile marker 5, it became obvious that I could pass the woman ahead of me if I wanted to. I knew the last .4 miles is straight uphill, and I had some fear that we would do the "I speed up, and then she speeds up" thing, and I didn't want to waste my energy on that. So I thought about waiting until we hit the hill to pass, but I ended up passing her before that. I think for the first time ever, I felt bad—this would make her DFL. I've been DFL so many times now, it just doesn't even matter.
I chatted with her, asked her how she was doing. And then I passed her.
I ended up coming in at 1:48, a 17:29 minute mile. Last year, I came in 5 minutes faster. All things considered, I am very happy. I ran inside, collected some pancakes and OJ, sat down and chatted with friends, and then we took off. Very good!
Posted at January 8, 2006
Comments
It probably means something like...'if I new you were coming I would have put the dog on'...which I have wasted 15 years of my life wondering what THAT means...
congrats on your race..you're awesome
Posted by: brit at January 8, 2006 8:38 PM
You are just SOO competitive, VJ--you animal, you!
Posted by: Clare at January 9, 2006 6:36 AM
you can lead a horticulture
but you cant make her think
who said?
Posted by: marcy at January 9, 2006 6:40 AM
Wow, you have been busy VJ! Congrats on all the walking and races and job applications!
Posted by: Liz at January 9, 2006 6:48 AM
Congratulations on all of that great movement! That race sounds like a nice one.
Posted by: Tricia at January 9, 2006 11:56 AM
I love that image of those shaggy sheep running. What a beautiful route to take. Congrats on the finish and the time.
Posted by: Megan at January 16, 2006 3:46 PM