Mocksville More Mocking Than Most
Mocksville St. Francis Shamrock 10k
Overall time: 55:33ish
That’s all I got so far.
So that was a fun run. First and foremost: the food spread was awesome. Pizza, enchiFREAKINladas (homemade!), brownies (homemade!), salty/sweet party mix, and of course the usual bagel/banana/oranges. If it wasn’t at a church with churchiness everywhere, I’d have thought all the St. Patrick clovers were a wink wink nudge nudge know what I mean stand in for another plant entirely.
I was about a 30 second sprint away from the starting line when the cowbell rang, because I was looking for a place to properly dispose of my water bottle. I know I could have thrown it on the ground because they have cleanup crews for this very purpose, but I started looking for a trash bin and I was not going to start the race until I found one. Why, I don’t know. Sometimes not even I know why I do what I do. That was ok though, because I was planning on starting at the back anyway.
It’s cool to start at the back, because how often in life do you see droves of people running away from you? VERY empowering. RUN, PUNY EARTHLINGS.
Oh right – barefoot blog. What was on my feet? Socks at first. It was chilly. But after about half a mile, I could feel how warm the pavement was, and was that nice smooth new asphalt. So I took them off (the socks, not my feet). I stayed in the back for a mile, running with some fellow MadMayoites. I started to gradually drift ahead, hitting mile 2 at twenty minutes. Time to play.
These were the rules: 1. Be a gentleman. Don’t squeeze or rush past anyone. Every pass had to be considerate and smooth. Don’t tailgate. 2. Don’t let anyone pass. Unless they were obviously a speedy person with a late start. And, of course, any action on my part could not violate rule #1. 3. Don’t work too hard. I’ve had a rather arduous training week. I modified the 10% rule, and ran 43 miles this week. Last week’s total? 24 miles. So, yeah. Imma leetle tired.
#1 was easy, in no small part because of #3. #2 wasn’t an issue. If my math is right, I averaged an 8:20 after mile two, on a mildly hilly course. A little slower than a tempo run, but it was beautiful out and I was feeling all hippy-ish. Keep on truckin. I did pick it up at the last 0.1k, just because I felt the spectators deserved a little show. I’m a giver.
I will say the overall energy from fellow runners was a little more on the derisive side. Not exclusively by any means, but lot’s of “mumble mumble mumble crazy! mumble mumble snarky mumble heard of technology? Ha! mumble mumble mumble weird…” But as I said, I was feeling hippyish, so it didn’t bug me. When I gave the finish line guy my bib tag, he said something to the effect of, “you’d probably be faster if you wore shoes…”
Now, I’m a cocky bastard. Give me an opportunity to brag, and I’ll happily oblige. Especially if I get such an easy lay-up. “Why actually,” said I, “in my first barefoot 5k race, I knocked off 3 minutes from my shod PR that stood for years. With no speedwork training. So, nyagh.”
I ran back and collected my buddies, who were finishing strong. Then, feast. Part One.
Feast Part Two took place at Hillbilly Hideaway for dinner. Are you ready, Jamoosh?
Behold the spread.
Game face ON.
Ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, pinto beans, string beans, baked apples, cole slaw, fried bread, corn bread, and sweet tea. ALL YOU CAN EAT. While I am proud of me digestive effort, our visiting friend for the weekend put me to shame. I may be winless today, but I’m stuffed and sleepy, which is as good as a win in my book.
Don’t know if I’m doing a long run tomorrow. I could totally justify taking it easy, and put it off until the middle of the week. But the weather will be nice again…
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Comments
sweet job on the race and you should warn a tired hungry girl that there will be talk and pictures of tasty food. Must go raid the fridge now.
You were probably tired this week, through no fault of your own, from an 8-minute mile sprint to catch a AAA guy.
The race sounds fun and the food even better. Saw you running this morning with the 3 dogs. Could little Tito BE any cuter??
Very nice, very nice! I am surprised that you get all those comments, actually. There has been so much coverage of the barefoot trend that you would think people wouldn’t be surprised to see it, nor would they make comments. But, folks love to be haters sometimes. And yeah, a little bit more than the 10% rule on this week’s mileage! Do take it easy tomorrow…
I got the impression that the barefoot concept was totally foreign to them; it wasn’t a “look – it’s one of them,” as much as “why would he do that to himself?”
Today and tomorrow, my only runs will be with the hounds.
Nice race, but great spread. Though, I must quibble. I know for a fact there is some tasty local brews in your neck of the woods. There is something distinctly wrong with the second photo, particularly at the 3 o’clock region. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure the sweet tea is tasty, but seriously?
There’s a sign up at the Hillbilly Hideaway:
No Drinkin No Dancin No Cursin
They mean it. And if there were to be an adult beverage, it would be the kind served in a jar.
Creamed corn . . . mmm . . . I’ll keep your rules in mind on the morrow – Shamrock 15k. 10-4 good buddy – keep hippie ‘truckin & all.