Race

On Sunday, I lined up at a starting line for the first time since sophomore year of high school. My last race back then was actually pretty epic, as my 4x400 relay team miraculously qualified for the CCS semis on account of everyone running out of our minds. I think I was actually the slowest at about 52.8s on my leg, and our time was in the 3:31 region.

I got semi-coerced into running the Annual Christmas Relays in SF at Lake Merced by my boss. One of the guys on his team of 4 fell sick during the week, so he asked me on Wednesday if I would fill in. I got the call at about 3:00 PM, set out for 3.5 mile run at about 3:30 and was dying by 3:40. I don't know how much it really paid off, seeing as I was sore right up until the morning of the race, but it felt good to know that I was still capable of running.

So Sunday morning rolled around, and we head off to SF at 7:30 AM for a 9:00 race start time. The course was a lap around the lake itself, 7 KM or 4.6 miles each runner. I took the first leg and finished in about 33 minutes which is about a 7:30 mile pace. And of course, it started raining about 1 mile in. At this point, I would like to thank anonymous old man, who I drafted (running right behind them, which decreases the amount of wind resistance and effort) and paced off of for 4 miles. He looked like he was about 60 years old, and I just kept thinking to myself, "There's no way in hell this guy is going to beat me." I can still see his muscular, veiny calves in my head. The other guys on my team went about 42, 32 and 30 minutes for their legs.

I can barely walk today, but it was definitely worth it and a lot more fun than I expected. The fact that it was a relay incorporated my best memories from high school track, and going with a big group of people from our gym reminded me of cross country, where everyone would cheer each other on as soon as they were done with their own races.

On a funny note, I think my team had to be THE most randomly composed team out there.
-22 year old Chinese personal trainer that's going to law school
-29 year old Indian restauranteur that owns this place: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rangoli-india-restaurant-san-jose
-38 year old Korean gym owner
-52 year old white golf pro at Deep Cliff (also the fastest guy on our team, though maybe my boss wasn't trying super hard)

We must have looked like one of those college advertisements that makes sure to feature someone of every race.