Buffalo Stampede
It was time to pay the price for pre-registering for all those races. I’m less than 100%, but I’ve been aggressively treating my leg with ice, rest and, when necessary, Advil. So I got up on Sunday morning for the Buffalo Stampede 10-miler, put on by the Buffalo Chips Running Club. I love this race because it’s a great distance and instead of a generic t-shirt, we got a fleece vest. Cool! Or should I say, Warm!
The race also has an unusual arrangement: If you travel slower than 10 minutes per mile, they start you out an hour earlier. It had little effect on middle-of-the-packers like me, but the front-runners probably ended up dodging a lot of walkers on the way back.
Anyway, it is a well-organized race on a flat course. The weather was breezy but pleasant. My only complaint was I failed to spot – if they existed – mile markers at 4, 5 and 6. I don’t have a Garmin, so there was an extended period where I wasn’t sure how I was doing. As it turned out, it didn’t matter much.
I ran the first mile in 8:57, then ran the remaining nine miles within the 8:26-8:34 range. It’s rare for me to find a pace and hold it so closely for that length of time. I felt pretty good the entire way and the leg wasn’t much of a problem. I would have liked to have been about 20 seconds per mile faster, and I had no extra gear at the end, but considering how I felt just seven days ago, I’m pretty happy with my performance.
I finished in 1:25:17 – more than 7 minutes off my PR, but a decent improvement over a similar distance just two months ago. I should probably give up looking at positioning. We have many, many amazing runners in this area. My time placed me 265th out of the 836 total participants, and 35th of 69 in my age group. Normally it would be a bummer for me to finish so low in my age group, but if I had PR’ed, I would have only moved up to 21st. These old guys are nasty fast.
No rest for the leg weary. I have two more races this week. I’ll explain tomorrow.
We didn’t see mile markers for 4 and 5, but 6 was on the street in chalk. I thought the chalk piles were a bad idea considering the wind.
I am guessing you didn’t stay for the awards. There was a new American record set by one of the female runners for her age group.
I’ve read that the course was a little long, too. Of course, my last 5k was apparently a little short, so I guess it all evens out. They all seem long to me.
Great time for a 10 miles!
You wouldn’t like racing in Eugene, OR. Many events bring out the sub 5 minute milers.
I was passed on the hill by a 66 yr old guy – who said, “follow me – just in case I need CPR.
BTW – It’s kewl – not cool ; )