The 2008 ACLI Capital Challenge

The Mission assigned to me by the Chairman's representative in 2006: Assemble a team of five for the ACLI Capital Challenge 3-Mile Race, in which teams from the Senate, Congress, Executive Branch, Judiciary and the Media race each other. Each team in our Executive Division had to be captained by a Commissioner, be comprised of agency staffers and contain a female. There were similar team requirements for all the Branches.

The Challenge: Find a Captain. The oldest Commissioner stepped forward. He trained hard and won third in his category of Captains over 59. I already knew a fast woman runner in my agency, A, and our rock star, G, agreed to run.

In 2006, we finished 7/28 in the Executive Division, 15/113 overall. Our individual finishes in the field of 642 were 43, 122, 162, 165 and 424. Our times were G 19:14 (6:25), M 21:22 (7:07), A 22:04 (7:21), me 22:09 (7:23), Commissioner 26:59 (9:00). (Right: The Commissioner accepts his age group medal in 2006.)

We were ebullient over our good showing. For me it was a PR by six seconds of 22:09 (7:23) at the 3-mile distance. But my PR in the longer 5K distance, 21:58 (7:05) set in 2001, was still lower and I really wanted to break 22 minutes in a 3-Miler race, which are few and far between.

In the 2007 race, I had to replace M and his 21:22. The Commissioner was injured but gamely ran anyway because no other Commissioner could or would run (no Captain, no team, no race).

G improved by a full minute in the first slot, and A stepped up into the number two slot and more than replaced M's time. We lost time in the three through five slots, however. I wilted in the heat and felt like I let the team down when I ran 21 seconds slower than the prior year, losing almost half a minute in the third spot. Newcomer C did an excellent job, running sub-8 minute miles, although we lost over a minute in the fourth slot. The Commissioner couldn't overcome his injury, which prevented him from training, and we lost a few minutes in the fifth slot. (Left: The 2007 team, A, G, the Commissioner, me and C.)

In 2007, we finished 14/33 in the Executive Division, 36/124 overall. Our individual finishes in the field of 670 were 29, 145, 217, 280 and 615. Our times were G 18:14 (6:05), A 21:09 (7:03), me 22:30 (7:30), C 23:34 (7:51), Commissioner 32:35 (10:52).

The team slipped by 6:14 last year. C'est la guerre.

In this year's race, I had to find a woman to replace A and her 21:09. The Commissioner was still injured but gamely ran anyway when another Commissioner who stepped forward to run became injured (no Captain, no team, no race).

G improved by seven seconds in the first slot, M came back in the number two slot and we improved there by over a minute and a half, while I took over a minute off the third slot's time. We lost time in the four and five slots, however. Newcomer K did an excellent job, running sub-9 minute miles, although we lost over two minutes in the fourth slot. The Commissioner couldn't overcome his injury, which prevented him from training, and we lost a few seconds in the fifth slot.

In 2008, we finished 12/29 in the Executive Division, 35/108 overall. Our individual finishes in the field of 606 were 21, 58, 145, 354 and 557. Our times were G 18:07 (6:02), M 19:25 (6:28), me 21:25 (7:08), K 25:40 (8:33), Commissioner 32:40 (10:53).

The team improved by 45 seconds this year. We all felt triumphant. Team races, where everyone pulls hard for everyone else, are a blast. This race in Anacostia Park, SE, is a scenic, flat out-and-back along the Anacostia River. It runs under three bridges.

Personally, my splits for the 3 miles were 6:49, 7:19 and 7:15, for a PR by 44 seconds of 21:25 (7:08). I went out fast and held on, even finding a tiny bit of reserve at the end. I nailed the distance. It was just one of those races.

How Dumb Am I

In this new year, I have run two races already. The first one was a New Year's Day 5K in Arlington, on the Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac near Key Bridge. The results aren't posted yet, but I ran the out-and-back course in about 23:28. That's only 66 seconds slower than the last time I ran the race two years ago. I'm being sarcastic here.

There's not much to report on it except I spent the entire race chasing a fellow I know, who is about my age, that normally I am faster than. I never caught him.

I think he's from Texas because when I went by him in a race last summer, about a mile in which is where I usually catch him, he was wearing those thoroughly obnoxious I-am-from-Texas shorts. You know, the red and blue vertically striped ones with a big white lone star on them. He's a prickly guy who is notorious in our running club for arguing with everyone about everything (I think he's a lawyer). When I went by him, I said under my breath, "Texas sucks." Because it does. Texas gave us both LBJ and W, our two worst presidents ever.

Usually I'm supportive of any runner I pass or who passes me in a race, I swear it. But I must not have gotten this unkind statement quite under my breath enough, because he looked at me sharply as I passed. As if he were memorizing my face.

So last Tuesday, at about milepost one I cruised on by this fellow as usual. Only he promptly passed me back. And he kept in front of me the rest of the way, no matter what I did. I hung back and then charged. I rode his shoulder. I gunned for him on the last hill. Nothing worked. He put me away. How dumb am I to have given him that motivation?

Today I ran a ten-mile race, which I'll tell you about in another post. I was only six and a half minutes slower than the last time I ran a 10-mile race, on another course a year ago. I'm being sarcastic here. One good thing came out of the race this morning though. Point apparently proved, this fellow let me pass him today per usual at about milepost one. I went by him very quietly. I also made a point of exchanging a non-descript pleasantry with him after the race.