[Also, if anyone knows of any medieval weapon/bear events, please leave your email address or a link to the event in the Comments section. Thanks!]
Turns out Google image didn't even really have my back on this one. Still, you should read the Redwall books. If anything, they'll make you want to host a feast.
Despite the fact that we had to make the two-hour drive to the the brewery in Milton, DE, from Wilmington, DE, on the morning of the race (yes, I too was surprised that one could actually drive for two hours and still be in Delaware), we had a great time. Race entry also bought me three post-race beers. And GOOD beers, mind you! None of this Michelob Ultra shit (looking at you, Delaware Marathon! For shame!). There was the 60-Minute IPA (a Dogfish staple), a couple of others, and my go-to Dogfish Head beer, the Indian Brown Ale. Spectators could also purchase bracelets for $5 that got them three beers. All proceeds went to the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and we all lived happily until 2013.
I mean, we're still living happily, I just thought this was a nice photo of me and Jeannine, and wanted to include it.
This year, the race was supposed to sell out within an hour of registration opening, and I had recruited two shiny, new cadets: Meghan (Jeannine's cousin) and Uncle Mike (Jeannine's uncle, whom I also call Uncle Mike).
The race offers 5K and 10K options, so Meghan and Uncle Mike went with the 5K, and I opted to run the 10K again (I won it last year, and I've never won a race two years in a row, so why not give it a shot?). Since the race was supposed to sell out so quickly, we all basically had an agreement along the lines of, "whoever gets in first registers the others." Fortunately, it worked, because we all got in despite the race filling up in 35 minutes.
"Suck it, Falls Church!"
One of Meghan's friends from work happened to have a beach house in Rehoboth Beach that no one was occupying the night before the race, so the four of us were able to stay there (for this, among other reasons, we had to leave our dog, Dr. Peter Venkman, with Jeannine's parents). Our closeness to the brewery (20min) combined with a start time one hour later than last year, meant that we got to sleep until 6:30am, versus 4:00am for me last year. I actually felt like a human being the morning of a race!
We had picked up our race packets the night before at the Dogfish brewpub in Rehoboth, along with having more-or-less race-conducive amounts of food and beer, and thus didn't have to worry about it on race morning. We got to the race with a lot of time to spare. I warmed up (and was berated by Meghan for doing so), and we were off and running at 9:00am sharp. This was my first real solo race since this past August, in which I busted my ass training, so I expected to run pretty well. I was lighter, faster, and more focused, than I was last year, and probably more than I have been before. When I went through the first mile in 5:00 flat, I had over a :30 lead on the next person (according to people yelling on the side of the course), and while it didn't feel slow, it felt plenty manageable. There were two cyclists in front of me, one for the 10K leader and one for the 5K leader. They knew by the color of my bib (10K runners wear green and 5K runners wear white) that I was a 10K runner, so the 10K biker told me to just stick with him. Honestly, until I started overlapping with 5K runners, I didn't really see anyone else for the rest of the race. I settled into a nice rhythm and basically enjoyed being out front in the perfect weather. I went through four miles in 20:48 (5:12 per mile), and my finishing time of 32:13 (1:01 faster than last year) was also 5:12 per mile. I felt really strong at the finish, which is encouraging for this coming Sunday's Delaware Distance Classic 15K, which typically draws some fast competition.
"Beer tent!!!"
Meghan and Uncle Mike both did really well, and Meghan finished 2nd in her age group!
"Suck it, Falls Church!"
Also, for those who are unfamiliar with the story, The Beer Runner himself, Tim Cigelske, is finishing up his streak of drinking at least one beer and running at least one mile every day for the last three years. He and I have communicated online since last year, and we finally got to meet for the first time at this event, his last weekend of the streak. You can find his retelling of the Dogfish Dash, and how his wife, Jess, was kindly enough to not go into labor here. Anyway, he was every bit as nice and genuine as I had expected, and we had a gift exchange of sorts. He gave me a "BEER RUNNER" synthetic running shirt, and I gave him a 1-liter growler from my hometown brewery, Wolf Hills Brewing. He also introduced me to fellow beer runner Lee Movic, who rocked the Vibram Five Fingers hard.
Not pictured: wine runners. Still sleeping probably. [scoffs]
After the awards ceremony, in which I found out that I broke the world record in the 10K (the announcer read my 4-mile split as my finish time), we went back to the beach house, showered, and, sans Meghan (she had to get back to Philly), had lunch at the Dogfish brewpub, wherein we now didn't have to be as cautious as we did the night before about what we consumed (I had three beers and the Indulgence Burger). Also, at the gift shop, we got Dr. Peter Venkman a sweet new collar.
"Yes, but does it come with pork chops?"
Anyway, as for me, I was fortunate enough to be able to take Monday off of work, so I feel like I have recovered famously. I got almost 15 miles in this morning before 6:30, I have one track workout on Thursday, and then I have the Delaware Distance Classic 15K on Sunday morning. The transition into working with Coach Mike has been pretty easy so far. It's basically been, "we're going to take the ass-busting you've done, and someone who know's what they're doing is going to channel it." And so far, I'm feeling really good about it.
My next report will probably be around this time next week, since I have the race on Sunday. Also, for those interested in running the Blue Ridge Marathon next year, stay tuned, because at some point in the near future, this blog will be hosting a giveaway for free entry... and free shit is cool. Anyway, you kids have fun.
Jeff
