Native Sun Mandarin 10K

Ah, the feeling of victory. To clear things up, yes I beat my dad. But let's rewind to the beginning of the eventful morning. Of course I overestimated the driving time and suggested we leave at 6:40 AM. Once we were on Mandarin Road, we looked around for the park at which the race was held. After about a quarter mile on the road we saw a church parking lot filled with runners. We turned in and found a parking space. Turns out that there was no parking near the race start so they bussed us from the church to the race. In about 15 minutes the bus came and we all got on it safely. And then the unthinkable happened. The bus was going out the exit and made a very wide turn. There was a series of screeches and then a lot of people yelling "Stop!" The bus stopped and everyone poked their heads out the window to see what happened. The back bumper of the bus had rammed into the side of a parked Acura SUV. The SUV's window was shattered and the door was severely dented. Everyone was then unloaded off the bus while the driver and the owner of the car assesed the damage. And to top it all off, it started to rain, which added more challenge to the unbearable humidity. After about 20 mintues of waiting in the rain, another bus came. We barely made it on but some people (including the owner of the totaled car) could not make it on and would miss the race. With about 10 minutes to spare, we arrived at the site of the race. The rain was coming down hard but the race was still going to be held on time. I stripped my outer layers and got ready for the race. Right before the race, the rain started coming down in a full downpour, but it didn't seem to phase anyone (except perhaps my dad who was hating life all morning long). Everyone was off in a matter of seconds and I was right behind my dad covering his every move. We passed the first mile in 7:00 and it made me think if I would pull off one of my usual acts - crashing and burning. My dad started to slow down a bit by the second mile. By then his breathing became labored while I was just cruising along, waiting for the perfect time to leave him in the dust. We passed through mile 3 in 22:20, which is what I expected. My dad muttered a few curse words at that point (general audience translation: "This pace is too slow"). He proceeded to try to pick up the pace and shake me loose. It didn't work. By mile 4, my legs were cramping up a little bit but I knew that I had the edge over dad, who was really suffering by that point. He is always more affected by the humidity because of his massive body mass and today was no exception. At mile 5 we were right on pace. The time was 37:40 and that's when I made my move to lose dad and kicked it in towards the finish. I tried moving my cramped legs and water-logged shoes faster, opening up a bigger gap, but I could hear Dad close behind. I dashed towards the finish in a sprint and came in with a time of 46:49, finishing 7 seconds in front of my dad. I shattered my previous PR of 47:53 and figured it could have been even faster if the conditions were better. I finished 1st in my age group and racked up another 100 Grand Prix points for my efforts. I rewarded myself with a healthy, organic, post-race brunch brought to us by Native Sun. All in all it was a sucessful day. I expect to improve more in my next races. I'm going to be doing a lot less racing this winter and get some more crucial training. The next time I will toe the line will be at the Outback Steakhouse Distance Classic on Thanksgiving Day where I am doing the 6K. My sister, Tania, will also do the 6K, while Dad will seek a PR in the Outback Half Marathon held that same morning. So long and keep avoiding this humidity!