The 3 R's: "Rick's Renamed Races!"

My left hamstring was fried for several months after this 2018 race. But considering that exquisite Pinot I'm savoring, it's almost worth it.

Time to delve once again into the "Three R's!"

I typically compete in around a dozen races each year. Although each is a unique event, determined by factors such as competition and conditions, there are ones that stand out for completely unique reasons.  These are races that earn a different and distinct title.

Today's post is a brief tour of several such events.  Enjoy!

It's Not My Fault! 8K (Hot Chocolate Run - November 2017)

Hey! This was only my second race after returning to competitive running. I was just following the people in front of me. Don’t blame me that they took a wrong turn because some volunteer wasn’t there. How was I to know that I’d end up coming in fifth overall? If it makes anyone feel better, my wife had driven to a place to watch me in the race. Only she found the wrong location as well, waiting for a long time with my warm clothes on a very cold November morning. I don’t know what I was happier to eventually see - my soon-to-be fiancé or my hoodie and sweatpants!

Do I pop the question before or after the main course tonight?

Pop the Question 8K (Loop the Lake - April 2018)

Why does this one stand out?  It’s not because it's my first go at this event - complete with minimal sleep and Arctic windchills.  What make this stand out is that it was the morning of the day I proposed to Amy.  My typical meticulous attention to detail went not into this race at Gray’s Lake Park outside Des Moines, but instead into the ring, the restaurant, the stealth required not to give the game away, and most certainly into the words I planned to utter to Amy in the fervent hopes of securing an affirmative response.  Forget the icy winds numbing my face as I ran along the bridge spanning a frozen section of Gray’s Lake.  I didn’t feel them as I went over that speech time and time again.  After the race, it was hurrying back to a work event with barely enough time afterwards to make our dinner reservation where a truly surprised Amy did indeed accept my offer!

Hamstring Half (Fueled By Fine Wine Half Marathon - July 2018)

Way, way back in those innocent days of early 2018, I thought a sore butt meant that I was getting into really good shape.  As a result, I thought me and my backside were primed for this half marathon not far from my alma mater.  It certainly barked time and again as I navigated some wicked hills along those rows of Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.  It kept on growling during our two-hour drive to my hometown afterwards.  Being incredibly naïve, I pushed that poor left hamstring through not one, but two more races before realizing this wasn’t a good thing and sought out medical help.  It was hot enough by that point that the physical therapists had to use welder’s gloves to even touch it.

Puppy Daphne and I warming up after the insanity of 2020's Red Flannel Run.

"What the 'F' Else Can Go Wrong?" 5K (Red Flannel 5k - February 2020)

Suffering from delusions of competence, I had high hopes going into this one. Several weeks of solid speedwork following an excellent fall racing season had prompted visions of a nice little PR for this 5K.  It was chilly, but not bad for mid-February.  All signs were pointing upward!  Until the race started.  First off, the songs on my carefully crafted playlist were shuffled - with “cool down” music when I needed to ramp it up.  Then dreams of that PR vanished as I discovered that they hadn’t plowed about a third of a mile of the course, leaving me to make the best time I could plowing through about six inches of frozen snow.  When I asked myself what could go wrong next, my internal alarms blasted a “Red Alert” with GI issues now threatening to … let’s just say “mess up everything!”  Somehow, with teeth clenched and eyes watering, I made a hurried finish, sprinting through the finish, making a true mad dash into the YMCA for the men’s restroom.  As luck would have it, with an impending pandemic, this would be my last in person race for over a year!

The COVID Run (Jingle Bell Run - December 2022)

Speaking of that pandemic...this one had been scheduled as an afterthought.  Something fun while Amy and I were in Eugene, Oregon. Although I felt what I thought was a cold coming on a couple days before the race, I went ahead with it, talking with people and all that.  However, I felt worse the next day when we had to return to Iowa. the low point occurring as our plane sat, delayed on the runway in Phoenix at 2 am.  Turned out - once we were home and used our testing kits - I had my first (and so far, only) case of COVID. And had given it to my lovely wife.  On the day before Christmas.  Equally troubling is wondering how many other people ended up with COVID because of me.  It really felt like a bad cold to me.  (And yes, we were masked at the airports and during our flights.)

Swearing Seven  (Bix 7 - July 2024)

“Oh, I’m in a slower bracket.  Guess I’ll just have fun instead of competing” is not how I’m wired.  Learning that I’d been placed in a slower bracket morning of the race - one that I’d trained for and one where we had a number of friends attending - did not set well with me.  Wrong or right, I channeled my anger into passing as many people as I could with a decent outcome.  However, what I also recall is uttering words throughout the first five miles that could make Marine blush.  They were under my breath so I doubt anyone heard them, but that I could maintain such colorful verbiage for so long surprised even me. 

That's six races that stand out for distinct reasons. What about you? Any races you've renamed? Feel free to share them below or in the comments!

Blissfully unaware that I was exposing every individual around me to COVID, I listened intently to see if I was or wasn't on the "Naughty List."