Letsrun contest: How long can I keep up with Arcadia's top runner in a 3 mile race?

Not concerned with how much speed they have done. All I'm saying if one of their top kids takes off the OP won't be able to even get to him let alone stay with him.

The difference in ability and fitness here is huge.

Hank Moody wrote:

Not concerned with how much speed they have done. All I'm saying if one of their top kids takes off the OP won't be able to even get to him let alone stay with him.

The difference in ability and fitness here is huge.

He has a margin of error to cover the rogue lone fast starter:

"I'll...get off the course when I'm no longer within 2 seconds of the top 2 runners."

The OP's probably good for a 57 second 400 if pushed. None of the Arcadia guys will be opening the race with a 55" 400, considering that almost all of their training at this point is LSD work. He's good for at least a minute and may hold on for two.

The Donger wrote:

Is there not a "dead period" in SS?

IIRC, the dead period for XC is in June, right after the school year ends. But for some other sports like football, it's in late July and/or early August.

primeform wrote:

BTW, does anyone near the Arcadia area want to go to this race and provide a live feed or something? It might be interesting to watch.

I'll try and stop by there to see some of the action. Sorry, no live webcams though.

Will you be wearing a distinctive shirt or something so we can identify you?

close by wrote:

Will you be wearing a distinctive shirt or something so we can identify you?

Should be obvious, but this was addressed to the OP.

Are you reading the same training plan? The one I have has them racing or a doing time trial once a week.

the runners probably aren't going to let OP make it very far

u slow but not DAT slow dog wrote:

You're slow for let's run standards.

OP's theme song (sung to the tune of Pharrell's Happy)

"Crappy"

[Verse 1:]

Those runners seem crazy, doing this and that

I always cut corners every chance I've had

My race results and pictures are all on display

But I usually end up last, what else can I say.

[Chorus 1:]

(because I'm crappy)

Six and a half minutes for those three and three quarter laps

(because I'm crappy)

They're running thirteen miles while I'm getting in my naps

(because I'm crappy)

Always avoid tough workouts by saying I have the flu

(because I'm crappy)

If you think that's fine, then you might just be crappy, too

[Verse 2:]

I just met a runner over a couple beers

Equaling his monthly mileage would take twenty years(ouch!)

Well, now I'm gaining weight almost constantly

That's what my bathroom scale keeps telling me, here's why

[Chorus 2:]

(because I'm crappy)

Wearing a large fanny pack in a one and a half mile race

(because I'm crappy)

Trying to beat small kids but never could keep up the pace

(because I'm crappy)

Think it's fun drinking nothing but year old Mountain Dew

(because I'm crappy)

If you just think that's fine, then you must be crappy, too

[Bridge:]

Bring me praise, can't nothing

Bring me praise, you must be high

Bring me praise, can't nothing

Bring me praise, I said

Bring me praise, can't nothing

Bring me praise, don't bother to try

Bring me praise, can't nothing

Bring me praise, I said

[Chorus:]

(repeats chorus 1 & 2).

I doubt he makes it 3min. A little over 2min and he'll be toast

close by wrote:

Will you be wearing a distinctive shirt or something so we can identify you?

I wore a white shirt with dark colored sleeves that said "Seattle" on it.

Race recap (some times are approximate):

5 minutes before start - 1 minute before start:

I hear some chatter about "someone talking sh!t on letsrun who'll try to go to the front." It's followed by "is he running for the alumni?" "Yeah, probably so." They walk off to the side afterward.

~1 minute before start:

Most of the runners take off even though there's no gun or start command. Some think it's the start of the race. The confusion is most likely accidental, but given what I heard earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of a plan to get in my head, make me tired, and/or figure out my identity so they can box me in during the race.

start - 0:10:

Everything's OK so far; no one falls or pushes me (main worry) or goes into an all-out sprint (secondary worry).

0:10 - 0:40:

I'm a few seconds behind the leaders and am approximately at 15th place. My original plan to be 3rd gets changed since I'm waiting to see whether any plan to box in or push the 3rd runner off course materializes.

0:40 - 1:15:

Nothing much happens with everyone else. I run on the street to pass the guys ahead of me. It's a bit more distance, but the only alternatives are staying on the narrow sidewalk or running on the grass that's full of tree roots.

1:15 - 1:30:

I'm in fifth place - 3 seconds behind the front runner, 2 seconds behind the second place guy, and one second behind 3rd and 4th place. I check my watch at 1:29, and I'm still feeling good.

1:30 - 2:00:

Still in fifth and a second behind 3rd place.

2:00 - 2:15:

First place slowly but steadily puts a gap on us and is now ~5 seconds ahead of me. Second place is 8-10 meters ahead, third is 2 meters ahead, and fourth is about a meter and a half in front of me. I'm starting to feel tired, so I check my watch again. It reads 2:04.

2:15 - 2:30:

I'm definitely feeling the pain. Places and distances between runners remain the same.

2:30 - end:

My legs are locking up. I try one last surge to stick with the leaders, but that only lasts a few seconds. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are slowly but surely moving away from me, and I hit the stopwatch and get off the course once I'm about 3" (~50 feet) behind 2nd place. A few seconds after that, I hear someone say "2:38", which is exactly what it says on my stopwatch. To my surprise, I have a tiny bit of energy left. I think I could have death marched another quarter mile at 6 min. mile pace, but it apparently wasn't enough to keep up with the leaders for another few seconds. Or maybe the psychological strain of running a race with no clear finish got to me. In any case, it only took 34 seconds for me to crash hard after the fatigue started setting in.

~20 minutes after start of race:

I drive to a sandy dirt track and run a lap at the pace that I ran earlier. Time was 73.9.

~35 minutes after start of race:

I drive to an all-weather track and run a lap at the pace that I ran earlier. Time was 71.5.

~1 hour after start of race:

I measure the distance I ran on Google Maps. It comes out to 874 meters, which means I averaged 72.3 second laps. That's 4:50 mile pace.

That 238 split you heard was probably 800m

Good "race" tactics and a great recap. You weren't exposed even though they were aware of what's going to happen. And you stayed with the leaders for 2+ minutes. Also you didn't screw up the race for anyone. Well done!

bro, this was hilarious. thank you for some quality entertainment. we all had our own races to worry about, you didn't have to worry about anyone messing with you. thanks for not going out batshit crazy and messing with the race though, hope you had fun.

A light bulb can be used in a lamp or a ceiling light.

Does anyone know who won and what the winning time was?

Well done, OP. This was a really funny thread. Very few have the brains to come back and report what happened.

I run for Arcadia, and this was posted by one of the former Alumni in the Facebook group: http://i.imgur.com/KLgKMTo.jpg The winning time was under 15 flat (I don't remember the exact time) by Phillip Rocha.

So Southern Section can start practicing Aug 1 and hold Aluni meets already?