Sunday, October 31, 2010

Hell-o-ween Race Recap

I had a goal of racing a 10K this year and trying to get a sub 40min time. Typically I run the Turkey Trot 10K down in Detroit. Often I run with a family member or more, but I was thinking of racing it this year. Unfortunately, the Redhead and I will be out of town and therefore I'm unable to race the TT 10K.

Now the Redhead had been planning on running the one-time-only Run Thru Hell on Halloween 5K & 10K for a month or so. And she, Sun Runner, and the Engineer made a plan to do this race in Halloween get-up. Meanwhile I had been looking around for a local 10K sometime after Grand Rapids. It was only earlier on this week that I decided to join them for this particular 10K; that is, I had originally wanted to avoid this race because of the many vicious hills.

Now, because everyone in the group would be dressing up, I needed a costume. Fortunately for me, the Universe conspired and I found the greatest shirt in the world.

Aptly named "The Duel." This shirt represents everything that is awesome in this world. I mean, it has two dueling dragons and two heroic warriors riding said dragons...all engaged in a fantastic battle of good and evil. I saw that shirt, and I knew I had to have it.



My costume was set; I was a poorly adjusted adult male living in his mother's basement and who spends all of his time playing WoW. Aside from his extreme social awkwardness, he has an estimated Second Life worth of about $2,000. He is only running because his mother insisted he get some fresh air and make friend IRL. If he didn't finish the 10K, he would have to start paying for the family Internet. (It is important to note that once in character, I maintained said character for the duration of the event.)

With just over 3,000 runners, I left the crew and made my way up near the starting line. The first mile was a crazy jumble of running around a crowded dirt country road. I noticed my watch beeped before I had crossed the first mile marker. At that point I thought, best to just not look at my Garmin this race.

After the 5K and 10K split, I just focused on trying to pick off as many runners as I could. I dug deep and surged on the up-hills while pushing on the down-hills. After the turn-around, I began to look for the Redhead. Not long afterwards I saw the lovely Daphne running towards me.

After mile 4 I realized I hated my glasses, and they weren't even real. However, I was glad I was close to done, and I simply tried to focus on finishing the race. When I finished, I was surprised--but quite happy--to notice I had managed a sub 40min race.

Most importantly, my mom won't force me to pay for my basement internet.

16 comments:

Jen Feeny said...

Never have I been more impressed with how wholly someone has taken on a role like you did today. Congrats on the riding the system a little longer slacker... ya think maybe your mom will make us some snacks before we start the next level?

Dork.

Love you.

Steel Springs said...

Congrats on the sub-40! Did you have to answer any complicated WoW questions while in character? That shirt reminds me a lot of elementary school and those fancy folders that used to be popular. (Maybe they still are?)

Harold said...

Grats on the awesome time!
And wow....posting a recap the day after a race. Impressive!

Sun Runner said...

Not only did you actually meet a real girl IRL, she even went home with you! Heh heh heh.

Unknown said...

Haha.... love the character! Great time too!

Amy said...

Congrats!!!!

and congrats on the race time, too.

Nitmos said...

I sit in my basement...working on a computer. Is this a potshot?

Nice race!

Katie A. said...

ROFLMAO! Wow, is it said that I knew what WoW was and IRL? DON'T ASK!
Congrats on the fasty-fast race through Hell! Sounds like you were on fire! Hahahaha! Okay, I'm done. ;)
Have a good week!

Running and living said...

Great race! COngrats! No wonder you ran fast:)

Ironman By Thirty said...

Great costume! But come one... running a sub-40 10k should give you much higher Second Life value.

Anonymous said...

LOL!! Great costume and way to stay in character! :o) Congrats on the sub-40!! Wow!

gba_gf said...

Hmm. If that's what it takes to get a time goal, then maybe I need to knock off all this ridiculous training nonsense and just get a new running shirt... that is a seriously AWESOME shirt.

B.o.B. said...

I don't think you play WoW, I think you play DND. Much nerdier.

Good race though Eugene.

Unknown said...

Great post, I think you guys would enjoy the Spartan Race http://www.spartanrace.com I am doing on in LA in a few weeks

The Boring Runner said...

I LOVE IT!!!!!!! I can only imagine the running jokes that you guys were able to have with that.

"MOM!!! Why isn't dinner ready!!! MOM!!! Now!!!!"

Now, I need to go play some more WoW. We've got a group dual in a few min...

Kevin said...

Why is everyone's number but Redhead Runner's blurred? I figured you would have blurred her also.

Kevin
http://halftriing.blogspot.com/