Tempe, Arizona
This was a well run 10k put on by Arizona Disabled Sports. This is the first isolated 10k that I have done that wasn’t part of an Olympic distance triathlon. Originally my 11 year old son Christian was signed up for the 5k but after running 5 miles with me this week he decided he wanted to try the 10k. This significantly impacted my performance. This is the confession of a prideful father and what it took to for me to beat my 11 year old son. The last 5k we did together in December, Christian sprinted to the finish line and beat me. He has been very competitive ever since. He seems to have gotten a taste of something he really savors. Christian started out strong running the first 2 miles at just under 8 minutes apiece. That is a fast pace for me. At a few points he was a good 100 yards ahead of me. I couldn’t let him get too far ahead so I had to burn some gas to stay where I could see him. At about three miles his pace began to fade and I caught up to him. I tested him on hills to see if he would stay with me. I hesitate to call these hills, as they are only 200 yard inclines at the most. Real runners would call them elevation anomalies on an otherwise flat course. Whatever you call them, they were opportunities for me. For some unknown reason I run inclines faster than 90 percent of people. I wish I handled hills as well on the bike. Christian would stay right with me on the inclines. I know it was costing him though. I have to applaud the little guy. He has a very competitive spirit. He is only 11 years old and he was matching me stride for stride on those hills where I was pushing hard. I was trying to psychologically break him on the hills where I am strongest. I knew his pace was killing me. I am a fat old dude in my 40’s after all. After a few hills I was able to gain a little ground. Every time we would hit flat ground again he would pull ahead. I was starting to get worried. If I didn’t drop him prior to the finish line I already knew he could out sprint me to the finish line. At a little over 4 miles we hit some ups and downs. I pushed the hills and sped up my cadence significantly on the downs. I kept pulling ahead of him, but he would catch me every time we hit a flat. It was costing him though and I could hear his breathing. Some might question me as a father, but I did not want to hear how I got beat again, and this time on a 10K. I knew the only way I could beat my 11 year old son was by strategy and out smarting him. I have decided I am not a faster runner than he is. This is a difficult acknowledgement for me given that he is only 11years old. When I saw a couple more ups and downs I did the same thing as before but this time when we hit the flat I flipped on a good song on my thumps and hit the gas. Christian struggled to stay but I shortly dropped him. The recent ups and downs had sapped him. His ability to catch up with me on the flats was his psychological cushion. Once I identified that, the evil old man in me knew how to break him. He never faltered physically, only psychologically. I had no intention of keeping that pace for the entire last 2 miles. But poor Christian didn’t know that and he accepted that I would beat him, which is what I needed since he was killing me. What Christian doesn’t know, is that he could have very well beaten me today. He actually ended up with a medal. He was second in the 19 and under age category. That is pretty impressive given the fact he was competing with 19. 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, and 12 year olds.
