Millet Mile and 5k at Bob Woodruff Park

The pre-race ritual of watching some Without Limits on youtube and laying out the running gear the night before went without a snag. The day of, I woke up with a semi-sore core from working out Friday. After eating a couple banana and pb sandwiches, I added on some good luck charms by wearing the team-made Coach Tang shirt to keep myself warm (even though I would be the only one sporting a long sleeve shirt--the Cox black one) and the Rhody athletic bag donated by Nikki so I could carry my shoes to the race.

We were running a bit late to get to East Plano and got in just in time to get the new "chip" timing for our right hip aka laminated paper with bar code to keep track of our splits and finish. The mile race was actually a half a mile away from where the usual start was and I had 10 minutes to get to the start before it started. This was a blessing in disguise as I got to warm up for half a mile. I got to the start and looked around.

Either people older than me talking about their families or there were little kids. Easy PR/ medaling.

Then the truck with the timer in the back shows up. 3 minutes to go as the director explains that the Millet Mile is named after the founder of Plano Pacers.

The race was a straight mile line downhill then flat. The first quarter was all downhill and felt weird since I usually walk that when training. After every one ungrouped, I was running with a shirtless dude, an older indian guy, and a girl who probably was 9 or under in the flat part of the race.

Midway through, I saw my split:

3:03

Woah, I was hoping for 3:30-4:00 split. (Also, pretty sick that a monthly race has splits on a computer screen for us). That really perked me up but I obviously didn't leave a negative split as an option so I was hoping to keep sub 7. As the finish line was closing, it was a weird feeling knowing I have enough juice for another 2.1 miles. The little girl and I were neck to neck (or little head to hip) and of course, I had to sprint the last 100 meters. As soon as I saw 6:19, I was elated.

Then, the bad news. Apparently, this girl was crying the whole race. But I thought that because I passed her at the end, I had upset her.

Correction: I beat a 10 year old girl.

Then the 5k started. Knowing I just put up a decent (but not a 10/10 effort) on the mile, there's no way I could've done well. So I jogged back to meet up Heather and my Mom. I wanted to pace for them but my mom told me to run at my pace. Due to inclement weather, I knew a new PR was not possible so after passing a nice bridge over a creek, I waited at mile 1.3 with water for Heather and Mom and ran with them. Heather had a bad cough and when you are in an activity that requires oxygen badly, finishing was purely guts.

Check out how deep the field is that Heather ran in:

http://planopacers.org/race_results/?m=06&y=10

Best legit Texas sign on the race course:

No horses beyond this point.

Also seen:

ReeZigs and baby Nike Frees along with Brian's almost purple Nike Free 5.0 v 4s

So after finishing, the organizers were still fiddling over their new "chip" system so it took over an hour before awards were given out.

I finished the race with my sister at the same finishing kick time (awww) so I knew I wouldn't medal for the 5k. Of course my name got called up for 3rd place. 5 minutes later "uhh, can everyone from the age group 20-24 males return their medals?" and I had to hand over my medal because I knew there was no way I put in race effort for the 5k.

Due to the lackluster runners not clapping, I began a slow clap after my mom got a 2nd place medal and clapped more since everyone else was NOT clapping.

Then the sick mile trophies were handed out. There are two Legacy trophies that have past winners' names etched on it.

The good news is while I was returning my non-medal, I took a quick peak at the mile finishers and 20-24 males:

Aaron Tang, fastest (and also slowest) in the group being the only runner. Two trophies in 4 races, not too shabby. Maybe next time I'll actually race someone in my age group.

Sweet 1st and last place trophy.

After the race, I got called out by another newbie, Joe, for stopping in the middle of the 5k race since I out kicked him by a couple seconds in the earlier mile race.

And I got to meet some local runners Steve, Ray, Debbie along with the girl's state runner who's being recruited/is Heather's teammate. Steve sounds like an experienced runner whom I should hit up for some decent running stories: running in Italy, Alaska, Albuquerque, and Plano and getting caked in mud and blood while running up the same slant under Custer (the same thing that I do under that bridge).

Procrastinators DO win: thanks to running later in the day, I was acclimated to the Texas heat whereas those early birds suffered through the heat.

Positives: I still don't get nervous for races; I'm more nervous for presentations than racing

Negatives: I still haven't negative split a race.

Aaron Tang

1 mile: 6:19 (best VO2 max of 45.9, good enough for 'good' VO2 max for my age group, almost 'excellent' VO2 max)

5k pacing: 27:49

Non-running related good luck to the kids doing the MS 150 this weekend.

Earned this week:

• sore quads from downhill running
• a new self-deprecating story for the bar