So the day finally was here. I look forward to running in the Old Reliable 10K Baby Jogger Race every year. It is a very well run race on a fun course through downtown Raleigh NC.

They have both a 5k and a 10K race. In each race they let the runners with baby joggers start about 3 minutes before the regular field. That really gives us a chance to get a good start and not have to worry about any other runners.

I decided to run this race with my 20 month old daughter instead of my 4 year old son. My son had a friend?s birthday party and my wife?s violin concert to go to so I decided to just take my daughter for the run.

I got to the race and met up with a few of my friends from our NCRC running club. Everyone was excited to finally see what they could do for the 10K(This was the only 10K in the area this season). We watched the end of the 5K race where the winner came in at 15:20 but he couldn?t catch the first baby jogger who came in the low 17?s!

We all lined up for the 10K and I ran into the guy who had clipped me by 6 seconds in the stroller race last year. I had lead for the first 4 miles until this runner caught me with a double jogger. He drafted off of me(Drafting with a stroller makes a huge difference) for the last 2 miles and then powered past me with a quarter mile to go.

I was shooting for a sub 40:00 for the 10K but when I saw the competition start to line up I started to change my mind. I really wanted the sub 40:00 but I knew that if I started out at an even pace the double jogger guy would just draft off of me again and then pass me near the end. I decided that I was just going to have to go out very strong and never let him get a chance to catch me. I knew that was suicide in terms of the sub 40:00 but in this case the win meant more to me.

The gun went off and I did just that. I hammered the first mile. The only person that passed me was the sub 30:00 wheel chair guy. I was running very hard but I still could hear his kids saying ?Daddy when are we going to pass him??. I had the pedal to metal but he was still right there behind me. Everything was going as I planned though.

There was no way he could maintain that speed with a double jogger with a 5 year old and a 4 year old. The thing probably weighed 130 pounds! I have run with a double jogger before and I know how much harder the extra width and extra weight are.

I passed the first mile at a near suicidal 5:55 and I cleared the two mile mark in 12:09. As soon as I saw my pace at two miles I realized I had blown my chance for the sub 40:00. I had gone out too fast in an effort to win the race. It was working though. I was starting to pull away from him but I could see he was still back there.

The third mile was all uphill so I really started to slow there. However, I wasn?t caught by the lead runner until about 2.5 miles. That was the furthest I had gone while leading the race.

At the 3 mile mark I heard them call out 16:16 and my Garmin read 18:58. Therefore, we had started about 2:42 ahead of the rest of the runners. I started to slow considerably after that. I dropped back to a 6:49 and 6:50 for the uphill miles 4 and 5. However, when I reached the top of the hill I could not see the second place stroller. I had dropped him but the pace had already done its damage.

I was caught in no man?s land. There were only about 10 runners that had made up the 2:42 difference. And all of those runner?s were running closer to a 6:00 pace than my 6:50. I just could not latch onto any of them. I was out of gas.

At one point I remember thinking. If the second place stroller passes me I will not go after him. I just didn?t have the energy. My legs were jello.

With about ½ mile to go a friend of mine passed me. He said good job and passed me. I tried to pick up the pace but I just could not hang with him. I made the final turn and I realized that the second place stroller was not going to catch me. I gave everything I had on the last downhill and I collapsed after the line. My legs were BURNING!

I glanced at my watch and saw 40:18 but I lacked the energy to even hit stop on it. I had missed the sub 40:00 but I had finished first in the stroller division. I had never won it in the previous 3 years that I had tried.

I was a little bummed that I had not held back in the beginning and gone for the 40:00 but it felt really good to have outlasted a guy who runs ?Ultra Marathons? even if he had twice the weight to push.

I waited around for the awards and I was really glad I did. I went up to get the 1st place prize with my daughter. I was expecting a cheesy little ribbon or something. However, they had planned the awards for this division well.

My daughter nearly jumped out of my arms when she saw the large stuffed animals that she was allowed to choose from. She is only 20 months old but she LOVES baby dolls and stuffed animals. You should have seen the beaming smile on her face when she picked out a big pink stuffed pig. I felt really proud at that moment. I had given up a long time goal of mine just to see a smile on my daughters face! It was a moment I will never forget!

Overall it was a perfect day. I really enjoyed the race and I was really excited to be able to share it with my daughter. Here are my splits and the run report from my Garmin. The Garmin showed a total time of 40:58 because I "forgot/Couldn't move" to stop it.

Split Time Distance
1 5:55 1.00
2 6:14 1.00
3 6:46 1.00
4 6:49 1.00
5 6:50 1.00
6 6:31 1.00
7 1:08 0.24

1 5:55
2 12:10
3 18:57
4 25:46
5 32:37
6 39:08
6.2 40:13

Max Pace 4:25/mile down the home stretch!

Official GunTime 40:13. A 43 second PR from the same race last year although the course last year was much easier.

Garmin 205 report

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http://This message has been edited by JasonsDrivingForce (edited Nov-12-2007).