And then he faded into the distance..

There I was, 2 minutes to the race start, and no Bruno to be found. Finally, as they have everybody lining up, I see the soft arm movement and his technical white t-shirt in the distance. I frantically wave and he comes running over. Before we even get to talk, the gun goes off, and we're off.

Finding a bathroom is sometimes one of the hardest parts about being at a race. I waited on the line for at least 12 minutes before I decided to search elsewhere. After frantically running through the streets of Patchogue for a few minutes, I found a local deli. I went inside, but there was a line even to that bathroom! This time, I waited. After I became closer to my inner bear, I ran off to the starting line with 3 minutes to spare! Bruno eventually found me, and the gun went off a few moments later. We started towards the front of the race and rightly so. For the first quarter mile, we ran hard to establish our position. We came through at 6:51 for the first mile and I felt that was a good effort. Sometimes though when I go out fast, my hamstrings begin to feel tight. This was definitely one of those times. We began to settle in, but nobody was talking. The silence made it clear that this would indeed be a race. After we went through 5k in 21:45, the pace began to take it's toll. Each mile after the third, I began to take the race one mile at a time. If I could make it just one more mile..one more mile..one more mile. Before I knew it, we were passing the 7 mile mark in 47:28. Just then though, for the first time in a race, I saw something in Bruno. Even though I had seen him race, I had never been in a race with him since spring. There was something different about him. As he began to pull away, I realized that he wasn't just physically stronger than he was in spring, he was also mentally tougher. There's a certain ambition and aggressiveness in him now that I didn't know was there. For the first time in my life, I can say I was proud about something outside of myself. I kept up my steady pace, as he ran away from me. The next 3 miles were quiet and I took them one mile at a time. I crossed the line in 68 minutes and there he was. John Bruno had run 9 minutes faster than he did last year with a 66 minute 10 mile.

The post race ceremony was amongst the best I've been to. There was full catering, unlimited beer, bagels, and best of all a band. Immediately after our race we went over the food tent and they were playing Kids by MGMT! Probably one of the best mornings I've had in a while.

Splits:


1 - 6:42
2 - 6:52
3 - 6:50
4 - 6:48
5 - 6:47
6 - 6:43
7 - 6:45
8 - 6:46
9 - 6:58 The "maybe I should just walk" mile
10 - 6:51 The "I don't care enough anymore to kick" milk