Two-friggin’-twenty-four
October 1, 2006My official gun time was 2:24:00, I believe, while the chip time was 2:23:59. It hardly matters when the goal was 2:22:00. I placed 13th; masters runner Mbarek Hussein successfully defended his overall championship title, running 2:13:52 this year, while Ryan “Ready for a Course Record” Shay placed 3rd in 2:14:58. Marla Runyan clocked 2:32:17 to lead the women.
I may add a long-winded introspective analysis later but wanted to post the bad news now in case anyone was curious.
My Track Record 
Greg, Anytime someone runs a very fast time, a time that I'd kill for, but they themselves were not happy with it, I ask if I can have that time. So, can I have that time? Seriously, I'm sorry that you didn't run your goal time. I'm very confident, that you will do the proper analysis to make a successful sub 2:22 'summit' in short order if you so choose to go for it. Rest with your head held high–that time is very impressive!
Hey Doogster, for what it's worth (and it may not be much, I know), I sincerely wish I was dedicated and talented enough to run that fast. I'm still proud of my 28:44 5-mile in my sophmore year at Wesleyan (my only sub-30!). So if you ever need a little ego boost, come to Calgary and we'll go out to a track and you can kick my ass. 😉
I'm so sorry this was a disappointing race for you. But as others have said and will say, it's an impressive time nevertheless. Of course, I'm ancient and slow, as you know.All the best.
Ok Greg, let's get the juice… crank out the long introspective account so we can know more about this feeling too-shayed…
Greg,Impressive run. Way to get after it. Have a healthy recovery with a few relaxing weeks of getting your legs back under you.Under no circumstances be satisfied. Stay hungry.You can reload for another one this winter/spring and get that qualifier.Record, analyze, refine.
You looked good at 19 miles. I was the mystery person who said "Go Crowther" just before the turn onto the ramp. Hope I pronounced it right.Enjoy the recovery runs.
I hope we get to hear more about the race. You beat a lot of people who were also going for Trials qualifiers…and I imagine most if not all of the people in front of you averaged more than 55 miles per week in their training. I think you should be very, very encouraged that you've gotten so close. I know other things might come up, but I hope you'll get at least one more chance to try again!Recover well…
Greg,Congratulations, at least on the attempt, if you are not satisfied with your final time. I know you competed to the best of your abilities on Sunday, so take pride in your effort. Back to more Squirrel Based Hunting.
Perhaps your training needs more orienteering. But seriously, do you think it's possible that you're a touch burned out? In my experience–admittedly as someone who is not nearly as careful and savvy about my training as you are about yours–it is very hard to be in really good shape for several months on end. On the other hand, it's fairly easy to be in pretty good shape indefinitely, but pretty good shape isn't usually good enough to run PRs.
Eric, I think you're right about the need for more orienteering training. If I hadn't spent that extra 2 minutes looking for the mile 21 marker, I would have made my goal for certain!