Brenda Deer Memorial 5K Guilderland, NY

( September 12, 2009 )

( Four members of the Deer family )
I didn't have my camera so I had to use last year's picture.

On September 12, 2009, I competed in the Brenda Deer Memorial 5K race in Guilderland, Jew York, at the YMCA.

Background:
Brenda Deer was a popular elementary school teacher's aide, and an avid runner, along with her husband, John Deer. She was struck and killed by a car while out running with her husband on July 30, 2000. Her husband recovered from his physical injuries, and lives on to run today.

I don't normally write long posts, but I'll take you through the whole race this time. I awoke around 7 AM to threatening weather, but it never rained throughout the festivities.

The horn sounded just after 9 AM, I started right near the front, stumbled for a second, but quickly regained my balance and hit my stride. We hit the first corner and started down the big hill. I was very content to be just behind the leaders, even though I was panting heavily right from the get-go. "Dammit, forgot to start my stopwatch," I said to myself as I finally pressed the button.

I hit the left turn onto Nott Road at 3:15 elapsed on my stopwatch. Normally I like to hit it there, but I started my watch late so I was worried. I promised myself to run in a totally masochistic fashion, to resist all urges to slow down except every 4 minutes I would take a 30-second water break from my fuel belt. A few people passed me on my first break, including the one and only female to set foot in front of me. It takes a lot to rattle me in a race, so this did not bother me.

I settled in behind a guy setting a good pace, just to my liking. We made the left onto Campus Club Drive, and I followed him right up the hill, giving him some room so as not to invade his personal space.

In the olden days, when the course was 3.25 miles, we used to run the horseshoe shaped Hiawatha Drive, but now that the course has been reduced to a true 5K, they just place a traffic cone near the 2nd leg of Hiawatha, but still on Campus Club Drive, in the middle of the street, you simply run around the cone and head back the way you came.

A funny thing happened here. A Guilderland cop motioned for a car to halt to let the runners circle the cone, but the car stopped almost EXACTLY even with, and almost touching the cone.

The guy in front of me was visibly pissed, as he either had to run around the car, or wait for the cop to do something. The cop yelled "Pull up ten feet and stop!," at which time the driver obeyed. I heard the runner curse the driver, but I laughed because it allowed me to close the short gap between us. Now we were on another downhill, and I rocketed past him and another runner like they were standing still.

We hit the flats, and I took another water break, allowing the two runners to pass me again, one of them was really cooking, he even passed the girl I had my sights on, while the other guy inexplicably chose to run on the opposite side of the road, almost dead even with me.

Then, right before my final water break, I saw him stop and cramp up, rubbing his leg trying to work it out. I had mixed feelings here, I felt bad for him, but knew I could pass him now, if only briefly. I slowed and drank my water as he worked his cramp out and passed me.

But when I resumed running, I got around him again. Now it was balls to the wall, no more breaks and the killer uphill yet to come. The girl was the next runner in front of me, with about a 15-second lead. I tried to close the gap, but we were maintaining about the same distance apart.

We hit the steep uphill, nearing the end of the race, and I gained a few, but only a few, seconds on her. At the top of the hill you turn into the YMCA and then sprint like hell on the flat, toward the back of the parking lot, where the finish line is.

It was here that I turned on the "afterburners," my last chance to catch her. I closed the large gap in an incredibly short time frame, but the finish line was right there, and I got chicked by 1 second! One frigging second!

Oh well, I'll view that as a positive, along with some others:

1) Only one chick beat me, and it was by only one second.
2) Shattered my sanctioned 5K PR by about 2 full minutes.
3) Won my first ever age-group award.
4) Finished in the top 15 overall ( Top 11% )

Back in January, Frayed Laces asked us to post our New Year's goals. I said I wanted to top her ( FL'S ) best 5K time, and to win my first age-group award. Today I believe I did both, although I still have not achieved my short-term dream of a sub-20 minute 5K.

I do know that I ran as fast as I could have under the conditions today though, I gave 100% for sure, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that, so no second guessing, no what-if's, just contentment.

Us European-Americans need to lead by example for our racial kinsman, and I feel I did that today.