MDCC 5K

Yesterday we had our MDCC Greenwood Center 5K. Now I know what all this food was about. They have been feeding and feeding and feeding us here. Yes, my pants have become tighter. Is not the hand of Katie Jones in this? Like she needs it. 

The Las Vegas oddsmakers had made her, BK (Bad Kate) the prohibitive favorite. Wow, I could have done that. The part that bothered me, however, was the fact that Mary Peyton Rogers was made a three to one favorite to beat me, and she was not even running. The sad part is, I knew she was a threat.

We met at the linear park in front of the world famous Crystal Grill. All five of us.

With the odds stacked against me, I was nervous when we started. I ran shuffled hard, harder than I intended in an effort to get out ahead of MP (as we call Mary Peyton). I was running with Katie, but I knew I had no shot at beating her. My goal was to make it to the next street crossing with her. Then the next. Then the next. 

I was breathing so hard at our 10:05 pace that I am surprised she was not worried that I would die. I am sure if an EMT crew had driven by with the window down, they would have stopped, thrown me to the ground, and slapped an oxygen mask on me. 

I managed to hold on for 1.1 miles before I fell off, and Katie pulled away from me. She was a good .2 of a mile ahead when I turned around at the half way point. On the way back, I was looking for MP, and it did not take long to find her. She was coming hard with her long, swift legs eating up the pavement like Katie Jones eating up a burrito. 

After hanging with Katie for 1.1 miles, I had fallen off to that old-man shuffle that I am so famous for. Now I picked the shuffle up in fear and desperation. If MP beats me, I thought, I will not be able to get out of bed tomorrow. The depression and shame will be overwhelming.

I made it to the park, City Park, where there is a slight angle down of the path for a few feet. I tried to gain a second there. When I crossed the street on the east side of City Park, I looked back and saw that MP was gaining on me. My Garmin watch records my heart rate. It shot up from 145 to 180. I thought I was going to fall over dead.

Desperately I pushed on and prayed. Oh God. Don't let this woman walk me down. About two blocks from the finish, I looked back and she reminded my of an 18-wheeler coming up fast from behind. She is not only going to beat me, she is going to run me over, I thought. So I shuffled even faster probably hitting 12:30 per mile. And then it was over, and MP had not caught me. Thank you, Jesus.

The bottom fell out, and MP and I took shelter under a store awning. Then we were joined by a student, then Katie who had gone back out to run the course again. Finally, we were all together, wet, tired, and for me grateful to God that I had not been beaten by a walker.