Thirsty Thursdays

I got to work today and had a voice mail from Adam Goucher. Ok, it was broadcast out to everyone's voice mail on campus but it was still pretty cool. I totally forgot that today was the "Annual Nike Mile" running event at the Michael Johnson Track. Goucher was part of the elite race that was shooting for a sub-4 minute mile and he was reminding everyone to head out to the track to join in the festivities. Pretty nice that they worked it in to the first "Thirsty Thursday" of the summer. Every Thursday, during the summer, the beers are flowing and the music is rocking for different afternoon events on campus. It couldn't have coincided with a more beautiful day - warm, sunny, and beautiful. I took the picture above as I was walking to the track at 4pm. I was concerned that the wind would be an issue but the track is hidden a bit behind the berm so it protected the guys from the brunt of it.

Random pics so I'll comment below *click on pics for better image*.

First of all, I am disappointed that I didn't get any good pics of the kids racing. They had an 8-10 yr old division & a 11-13 yr old division. It was great!! Those kids were working it. Especially the 8-10 yr olds...alot of them didn't have any sense of pace. They would redline until they ran out of steam, then slow down and go again.....cheeks flushed....huffing and puffing...I loved it! Amazing too that the winner of the 8-10yr olds came flying in at around a 6:15 finish. The 11-13 yr old winner came in at around 5:17 finish...amazing stuff. Of course, don't hold me to the finish times...I think I am in the ballpark but with the beers.....hmmm...my memory goes...I am such a lightweight with the drinking.

The pic below is from the "Competitive Mile" for employees racing in the 4 - 6 minute range. You had to love the guy who toed the line, shirtless, in brown dress pants and a different shoe on each foot. He was yucking it up for the crowds and finished in a respectable 5:07. Post race, he walked around the perimeter taking bows, etc. Hilarious stuff...maybe you had to be there...but he had the crowd going.



These two guys ran in front for the whole race (competitive employee mile). The guy in blue ran a smart race. He hung on the other leaders shoulder, just a few paces behind, until the final two hundred then dropped the hammer to win by a pretty good margin. Again, a bit hazy but I think his finish time was just under 4:30. Now you see why I was sitting on the sidelines taking pics and drinking beers while the real runners were out there pushing it!;-)


The pic below is from the start of the elite mile. That is Goucher on the far left. As these guys warmed up on the track, you couldn't help but marvel at their technique....a few of them looked like they were just floating across the track...beautiful stuff.


BLAST OFF!!!!



The MJ track is pretty cool. There is a large grove of trees in the center of the track so the guys would disappear behind the trees for a bit before emerging on the other end. This is the end of the first lap with one guy off the front- I think he came thru right at 59 seconds...the rest all came charging across at 1 minute. They were FLYING!! See the tents in the background...Beer!!:-)


This is the finish of the race. I was pulling for Goucher but Alex Kipchirchir had a pretty amazing kick in the tail end of the race. He finished in 3:57 with Goucher right behind. They were followed by 2-3 more guys who finished under the 4 minute window.


The thrill of victory....check out Kipchirchir's physique...built for running FAST or what?!


Goucher post race....I wonder what he was thinking...whatever, he was pretty amazing out there today.


Elite results
Men 1 Mile Run==================================
1 Kipchirchir, Alex 3:57.35
2 Goucher, Adam 3:58.21
3 Achon, Julius 3:58.93
4 Jabault, Jason 3:59.07
5 Birmingham, Collis 3:59.84
6 Sorenson, James 4:02.66
7 Chirchir, Cornelius 4:02.99
8 Hatch, James 4:04.56
9 Kelaly, Mitch 4:06.54
10 Symmonds, Nick 4:07.34
11 Schwabe, Clay 4:08.61
Yego, Alfred DNF
Hoffman, Paul DNF

Overall, I would have to give the first Thirsty Thursday a big thumbs up. Great weather, Beers, and running....and Beers. ;-) Yes, I tried going back to work for a bit but it wasn't happening. Hard to get back in work mode after the festivities.

I ended up going for a run...definitely felt motivated after watching the elites.

Run Stats
5 miles Rolling Course
37:10
168 HR Ave

Unfortunately my pace was pretty pedestrian. What the hell though, I was out there. That's all that matters!

*Peace*