This morning was the Shamrock Shuffle. It's probably one of the most fun races I run every year mainly because a bunch of my friends and I end up going out afterwards to get shnockered. This year I was beset with worry the night before the race wondering if I would keep my competitve start. I could bore you with the details that only I really care about, but I ended up running the best race of my life finishing in 31:38 (6:19/mile) and beating my personal best by a minute and a half. Despite comments of sandbagging which I'm sure will appear over here, i was truly concerned that I would not run well today. I still can't figure out why I was so much faster even though I run much less these days. I wonder if the swimming has anything to do with it. Supposedly it has an enormous effect on your VO2 max. Hmmm....

Because I have a huge running ego, I'm going to share one story that makes me feel good. If you don't like it, tough cookies. =)

About 1 kilometer left in the race, my 'hunt and kill' mental state took over. I pick out my first target and start making my move. Passed, done. Next target. Done. We round the final corner and I can see the finish line a little more than a quarter mile away. I start trucking. I start passing lots of people. Every person I pass makes me want another one and I kick a little bit harder each time. Mind you, I'm not passing them in a pretty fashion. My breathing sounds more like gasping. Every breath I take is so hard that spit is flying out of my mouth (gross, but true). I'm loving every second of it. Tenth of a mile to go. I spot a guy 50 yards ahead of me all by himself. "mine." I let the legs go to town.
30 yards to the finish line. He's 15 yards ahead of me. "shit...".
Apparently it was obvious who i was hunting for, because some random guy in the crowd yells out "you can still catch him!!! Go get him!"
"Here i come motherfucker".
I've run hard at the end of a lot of races but I've never had an adrenaline rush with it. Wow did my feet get a case of the nasties in 'em. With no more than a foot remaining in the race, I passed the dude, crossed the finish line, bent over with my hands on my knees, and sucked wind through a stupid grin. I wonder if that random guy has any idea how much power that one comment carried. I'm awfully grateful for it.