Gate River Run 15K

March 14th, 2009, the day of the nation's largest 15K (13,000 finishers this year) and the National 15K Championships -- the Gate River Run. The race features a large number of elite runners from throughout the U.S. who are attracted to the race's large prize purse and challenging course. The race also boasts a very tough 13 & under age group and it was my goal to at least place top 5 and receive a plaque for my efforts. Race morning started with the usual, except I had to wake up an hour earlier since the race required everyone to be there at 7:45 AM due to traffic. So Dad and I were on the roads at 6:15 AM, the traffic slowly building up the closer we got to downtown Jacksonville. Luckily, we only had to endure about 15 minutes of stop-n-go before we quickly snatched a parking spot located near the start. After doing a couple stretches, we ventured out on a 1 mile warm-up, returning to the car after about 10 minutes. I stripped my outer layers off, revealing my green Nike singlet and shorts. I carefully slipped my shades on then headed to the start. We entered the roped off section for the seeded runners, and waited around for a little while. We had about 20 minutes until the 8:30 AM start, so I continued stretching while watching the seeded area slowly fill up and recognizing many familiar faces from the Jacksonville running scene. With less than a minute to the start, everyone moved up then took off once the cannon fired. I took note of the 30 some seconds it took me to get to the start, then filed right next to Dad for the first mile. I approached mile 1 at a good clip, passing it in the mid 7:20s, my desired pace that I planned to hold for the duration of the race. After taking a few turns we headed up the Main Street Bridge, the first and smaller of the two bridges that the course offers. By now I could hear Dad's labored breathing and heavy footfalls, about 10 meters behind me. Going up the bridge my teammate, Steven, came up to my side and greeted me, then took off with a "Beep Beep." I passed mile 2 in reasonable time, my split being in the low 7:20s. Over the next mile I passed some familiar faces, trying to stick with them only to realize they were going too slow. The course was now winding through the neighborhoods of San Marco, taking us to the 5K mark, which I passed in 23:02. Just before the 5K mark, I declined a homemade waffle from a friendly sidewalk supporter (what's up with that?) I was comfortably hitting my goal pace for the next 3 miles, holding 7:25s consistently. Many spectators lined the course during the second 5K, many reading my personalized bib number and yelling "Go Alek!" Miles 4 through 6 were a painless blur, and I passed 10K in 46:09, keeping an almost identical pace from the first 5K. The rest of mile 6 featured some rolling hills that slowed my pace to the mid-7:30s. At the beginning of mile 7, the course ventured onto a major road as we began the death march towards the Hart Bridge. About half way through mile 7, we ran up the ramp and began the half mile incline up the Hart Bridge (a.k.a. the Green Monster). My stride dimished to a shuffle as I pumped my arms going up the bridge with "Eye of the Tiger" and "Gonna Fly Now" blasting through speakers during the ascent. But once I reached the apex, I turned on the after burners and flailed on the downhill, passing a couple runners here and there. Once we hit the ramp, there was only a third of a mile left as I continued to surge, racing to break 1:10. I finally had the finish in sight and I watched second after second tick off the clock. I crossed the line in 1:10:28, quickly being filed out of the finish chute. As I exited I was handed the coveted top 10% cap, along with a medal and towel. It took about 3 minutes until I was able to meet up with Dad then another 10 minutes until my mom found us both. By my guess, I was almost sure that I broke 70 minutes and also cracked top 5 in my highly competitive age group. We got some refreshments at the post race party and marveled as the top 10 men and women recieved their awards. Once all was said and done, we made our way back to the car, finishing a sucessful day for both of us. A few days later when the results were posted, my guesses were confirmed -- I finished 4th in my age group and ran a 1:09:56 chip time, giving me an overall place of 859th (top 7%). My plaque is in the mail. Dad finished with a chip time of 1:12:47 (top 9%). He was exceptionally bitter for not receiving a top 10% cap for his efforts (he still doesn't understand why and has been coveting my cap ever since). I realize that now is my time to excel in the shorter distances, since I just recently ran a 5:39 mile at a major middle school track meet in Jacksonville. March and April is the heart of track season, a time where I undergo regimented training for my ultimate goal of running in the Middle School State T & F Championships. Sprinkle in a few 5Ks along the way and you've got yourself a season bound for success. So long runners and feel free to comment!