Bruce lied. He told me I'd win.

Mon--8/13.  Running and lifting at YMCA: 6:59 16-laps-to-the-mile track, lift, 6:53 treadmill, lift, 6:30 track.  Dropped off car 2.75M run home.  19:30.

Sun--Runner's Pentathlon--After I cleaned up the crappy mess our dog made this morning (I did hear him squeeling at 3AM), I headed to Germantown Academy for the Runner's Pentathlon.  I got there at about 7:20 or so, knowing that it started at 8.  As it turned out, the heats were such that I had plenty of time to warm up.  The first event was the 3000.  Team competitors would go in the first heat, followed by individual competitors.  Nick took the first heat in about 9:06!  Kevin, Phil, Chuck, Craig, Bruce, and our newcomer, a Duke grad, et al. were in my heat.  My goal was to run 80s per lap.  Fat chance.  I started out okay, but fell way off pace by the mile mark.  78, 2:39, 4:03, 5:30, 6:58, 8:23, 9:53, 10:35.  Kevin was ahead of me, and Phil was even farther ahead.  And Chuck passed me with two laps to go.  I was supposed to run close to 10:00.  Not a great start at 70-something points.  I had to keep myself motivated after this mess.  I found myself in 15th place.

It was time for the 200; my heat was "laned" up 30 minutes after the 3000.  I was in lane 3; Kevin, Phil and Duke-guy were in lanes 6, 5, and 4.  I was happy to borrow starting blocks from some kind fellow.  The ones provided through GA was just awful.  The gun went off.  I caught the guys on the stagger and had a commanding lead coming into the straightaway.  I could feel Duke guy surging back.  He caught me in the last 10 meters, which is when I started to lean.  I got him, 25.41 to 25.42.  Not a great time, but I knew the points would be better than they were in the 3K.

Time for the 1500.  Argghh.  My goal was to run 75s per lap.  I couldn't even manage that.  Shame on me!  I think I hit 74, 2:32, 3:50, 4:51.  I was supposed to run 4:40.  Fewer points than expected.  High 70s.

And then the 100 reared its head.  I was happy to use the good, heaving starting blocks again.  After some technical difficulties, we were able to commence.  My 100 heat composition was the same as the 200.  I was in lane 3 again.  My start was sluggish, but the reat of the race felt smooth.  I accidentally kept my head down for most of the race, sort of just looking at my shadow.  "Stop marveling, Dinkins!' I lifted my head (and my knees) with 25m to go and i was home...in 12.84.  Again, not great, but points are points afterall.

Finally, the 400 awaited me.  I was in lane 4, with Craig and Phil in lanes 2 and 3 and another two guys on my outside.  I figured Phil would catch me at the 200 and that I would just hang on and sling-shot off the last turn and into the straightaway.  And that's exactly what happened.  He caught me just before the 200.  I kept pace with him as we bent around the turn, the 3rd 100.  Coming out of the turn, I just lifted and I was home free in 56.02.  Yuck, a far cry from my season's best of 53.71.

And there--I had done it--the Runner's Pent.  I earned 4th place behind lorraine Jasper, Chuck Shields, and Duke grad guy. Duncan was 5th.  $75 in my pocket.  What is that, $1.25 for every meter raced?  And what did I do with the $, you say?  Allowance across the board: son, daughter, wife, dog, cat! I'm a giving runner.

Bruce lied.  He told me I'd win.  I guess he must've assumed I had more gas than I did.

Fri and Sat--8/10 and 8/11--took off.  Whew!

Thurs--8/9--Went to meet up with the crew after quite a hiatus.  The run was the usual 7.9M through town with pick-ups of 1 minute on/1 minute off beginning at Rosedale (tennis courts).  The pick-ups were a bit challenging, and I fell behind after the 5th one.  I wa conserving energy, thinking that we were doing 12.  As it turned out, only 10 were on the docket.  Perhaps that is why I didn't feel as dead over the last 2-3 miles.  The guys came to a near stop after the pick-ups.  I wanted to push the pace slightly, but the sense was that a more pedestrian place was in order. When all was said and done, we finished in about 58:30.