I ran my first Street Light race in 1995 as I was going into my senior year at Western Carolina. At the time my running consisted of almost exclusively tempo runs somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-6 miles each. I had no watch and most certainly was rocking basketball shorts just below the knee with a backwards hat and a yellow Sony Walkman sport. That less than regimented training plan combined with 4 years of rugby at Western and the tendency to supplement that with a couple hours of day playing basketball seem to work for me. I have no idea how I found out about the race because I didn't know anybody in the running community but as a college kid I'm about 200% sure that the idea of not having to wake up on a Saturday morning to run a 5K was appealing.
I crossed the finish line that evening and was handed a white index card with a 26 on it equal to my placing in the race. And I only remember that because I still have the index card. For a local 5K this race has always fielded a fast group so my 18:26 effort that day landed me absolutely nothing, which was fine because I certainly didn't fancy myself a runner. I was just happy to get in a good sweat and not embarrass myself. A lot has changed since then, the least of which is that if you don't place you won't get an index card as a memoir. Since we're now well into the 20th century you'll be glad to know the race is chip timed and the results can easily be found online within a day or so.
Fast forward to 2016 and I'm not 21 anymore. Funny how that happened and I didn't even realize it. I've traded in my basketball shorts (most of them) for running shorts, replaced the hulking Sony Walkman with an iPod shuffle but I still wear my hat backwards on occasion and frankly don't care if that's age appropriate or not. Currently I'm quasi-training for the Chicago Marathon in October and by quasi I mean that I'm actually enjoying myself now and while I'm logging the miles I'm not chasing a time so hard that I'm a hostage to my training. Simply put, I'm having fun again. That said my Saturday mornings are usually reserved for long runs and the last time I doubled a 5K with a long run it was a disaster. And oddly enough it was almost exactly a year ago that I pulled that feat with the HCA 5K in the morning and 14 miles later that day.
I decided I would run an easy 10 miler that morning then run the Street Light that night. The race is at 9:00pm so that would give me more than 12 hours in between and if I kept the 10 easy and didn't press too hard in the evening I felt confident this was easily doable. In fact, I decided this would be great Blue Ridge Relay training - of course I had a similar mindset a year ago... So I ran 5 that morning before meeting Knox and Ben for 6 more. That put me at 11 miles but I was almost two miles from home so I was squarely 13 miles into a 10 mile run and the idea of running a 5K that evening was fading fast. Plus Julie was out of town doing the volleyball thing so I had all 3 boys that night. Thirteen miles was entirely too close to 15 anyway so I couldn't help but finish the workout pushing the last few miles since I was resigned to bagging the 5K later that night.
As the day went on I felt pretty good and the boys actually seemed interested in going to the race. Sam was sold the minute I told him it was flat and when Luke agreed to run how could I say no to that?! Landon agreed to go watch if I would stop at Chick-Fil-A and since he had been playing ball all day I decided that was fair enough. So we were off to Morganton -- now I just had to regroup and get myself ready to race, hope that these old legs still had a little something left in them, and get out of Morganton with the same good feelings I went there with.
For over 20 years the course has been a down and back from the Rose's parking lot but this year the venue changed to Freedom High School. The new course is still flat and fast but I definitely prefer the pre and post race staging area of the Freedom High School track and stadium stairs as opposed to the Rose's parking lot. The course is laid out perfectly for spectators because you can either sit in the stands and catch the start and finish on the track or you can walk from point to point and easily follow the runner progression throughout the course without covering a lot of ground.
The race starts on the track for about 300 meters before a short grass crossing to a closed drivers ed. course. Think of your typical two lane road without lines but wider, smoother, and flat - almost like a race track. After making the that loop you hit the only incline that's a short 100 meters up to another flat stretch taking you back towards the school entrance before the turn-around where you run it back -- back down the incline, another loop around the drivers ed. course, and into the stadium to run the 300 meters on the track to the finish line.This race always draws a lot of high school runners and generally a few college runners so I settled in behind the wall of 130 lb. runners in the short shorts. I had entertained the thought of running with Sam until I heard him telling the neighbors he would probably beat me today. I can't wait for the day that my kids grow into being better than I am (at any and everything) but I'm not really one to create that false sense of talent by letting them win all the time. Sam was jockeying for position in front of me and behind the front runners which I knew was a disaster but I guess if someone was going to trample my 8 year old it might as well have been me.
My first mile felt surprisingly good and I really felt comfortable - or at least as comfortable as one feels running a 5K. Things started to thin out and the course lays out very well so you've always got a good sense for who's in front of you and how far ahead the leaders are as demoralizing as that might be. I came through the first mile at just below a 6 minute pace which is a little faster than I expected but had found a rhythm behind some other runners so I just went with it. I expected my legs would get heavier from the morning run and my pace would fade but I was running by feel and felt good.
I mentioned how spectator friendly the course was and that was based on first hand experience. I had the pleasure of running most of the race in, or near a small group of high school runners with a dad picking us up at 3, maybe 4 points along the course. He went from 'don't-let-him-catch-you' to 'keep-up-with-him' to 'go-get-him' to just 'get-him'. It wasn't obnoxious (ok, so maybe a little bit but only because I was 'him') but I'm sure all parties involved were motivated to some extent even if it was just to get out of ear shot.
As we headed back towards the driver's ed. course we hit 2 miles any my splits were surprisingly even with a 6:10 that included the only blip of a hill on the course. Runner dad yelled out that we were 30 seconds behind but I wasn't exactly who was behind what. I could see a few runners ahead but they weren't coming back to me so I just tried to keep a steady rhythm. I passed Sam on the way in and gave him a shout to which he just glared at me as if to say you're going to owe me a milkshake after this. I didn't see Luke which was a little concerning because when Sam beats his brothers at anything, which very rarely happens, we never hear the end of it. Ever.
We circled the driver's ed. course again and headed back to the track. I was starting to feel the morning run in my legs but the fact that I was still generally feeling strong was a much needed confidence builder. I've worked hard to get my base built back up over the past year but this summer has been especially challenging because my race times and training paces have been pretty ugly. I get it - it's summer and the heat / humidity makes it tough to run fast but it was really nice to be in the midst of a solid race effort and feel the payoff from having stuck to the plan to build a solid base before speed. And at this point it goes without saying but it was another hot summer night in July.
Once we hit the track there were only 300 meters left. I could feel someone closing the gap and the stars were perfectly aligned for some teenager to blow past me in the last 100 meters. And to make matters worse, Landon was on the stadium steps ready to capture the moment on video. I lengthened my stride to at least minimize the blow by but the move never came so I managed to finish a step ahead with a 19:02 and 9th overall which I was more than happy with.Landon greeted me with a big smile eager to show of his photography work (hence all of the black and white photos) and was already looking for the other two. Both got out entirely too fast before the wheels fell off so we had a little fun at their expense. Luke ran a low 7 first mile before death marching the second mile and Sam ran the first 300 meter around the track in an all-out sprint. Of course he wasn't the only one... Overall they both ran well and finished with personal bests and most importantly, Luke finished comfortably ahead of Sam so the balance of power was safe for another day.
The Street Light 5K is everything I love about local races. It's small enough not to be a logistical headache but it's competitive enough to attract quality runners and it's nice to see the camaraderie of the local cross country teams getting ready for the upcoming season. For me it's been all about family though and the best part was sharing it with my little guys who aren't so little anymore. I've been blessed to stay healthy and continue running for over 20 years now and while I wasn't all that fast when I was a 20 year old, I'm still turning in those same times now which apparently isn't too bad for a 42 year old. I left Morganton as the overall masters winner with a nice plaque but as Sam so eloquently put it, I wouldn't have won if they wouldn't have agreed to go. So 'our' award sits in his room and I wouldn't have it any other way! After a quick stop at Cookout for a milkshake we were on our way home and they were out like a light before we hit the interstate. In my book that's pretty much a perfect Saturday from beginning to end....
For more information on the Athletic Street Light 5K check out Robert's site at the link below. You'll also find messages of hope and encouragement through scripture as well as running tips from a guy that's seen and done it all.
http://www.christianstamina.com/
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