2003 Pearl Street Mile

July 24, 2003

Figure 1: The family before the race.

The Pearl Street mile is the second of three downtown Boulder races. These are all run on Thursday nights, are short, and very entertaining. For the PSM there were six separate races: a mass race for less competitive runners, a high school race, Beauty and the Beast (women over 40, men over 50), Masters Men (over 40), Open Women, and Open Men. Sheri and I ran with the boys in the mass race and then ran in our respective categories.

Photo 1: Daniel at the starting line.

These races are really popular and there was probably 200-300 people in the mass wave. Both boys did very well in the race. Derek ran the entire way and Daniel would have if it wasn’t for a shoelace problem. This occurred around the quarter mile mark and Derek got a good gap on Daniel here. Daniel worked hard and made up the deficit by the half-mile mark, which both reached in five minutes flat.

Photo 2: Apparently I'm giving Derek a little push to send him on his way.

Photo 3: Derek kicks to break ten minutes!

Daniel started to stretch out a lead after the half-mile mark, but Derek stayed tough. Derek passed the three quarter mile in 7:30 and I urged him to maintain his pace. When we made the final turn, Daniel unleashed his trademark kick. Derek did well also and both passed a number of other runners.

Daniel was 7^th of the 8-year-olds with a time of 9:29. Derek was 1^st of the 5-year-olds. Two six-year-olds beat him and five seven-year-olds. Derek ran a 9:52. Both boys ran negative splits, while their parents ran positive splits. Perhaps Sheri and I can learn a bit about pacing from these little guys. They can learn a bit about suffering from us. Kids don’t like to suffer too much and that’s the right approach, I think. Full results for the race can be found at the Boulder Road Runners site.

Photo 4: Daniel and Derek just after finishing.

I hadn’t been doing much running and didn’t expect much. I ran 5:29 the year before, but I had just turned my ankle the day before the race. I went out in 83 seconds for the first quarter mile and then passed through the half in 2:45. I was on track for 5:30, but I was in no man’s land. There was a pack 10 seconds in front of me and a pack 10 seconds behind me. I was left all alone to fight a strong headwind. I finished in 5:41 and in 25^th place out of 54 in the Male Masters race. I was the 2^nd 41-year-old… J

Sheri ran a good race, pacing herself much better than in the 2K a month before. As she made the final turn, Liza, one of Sheri’s rivals, had a significant gap on her. I strenuously told her to “Kick, Sheri! Go get her!” She did, too, just passing Liza before the finish line. Sheri finished in exactly the same time with exactly the same splits. Do you think her coaching of me has affected my running style? I think it is so cool that we are so evenly matched. In 5K’s and 10K’s it generally the same story if we are both in shape. Sheri finished 15^th out of 40 in the Women’s Open race. Constantina Tomescu, a Romanian Olympian, who broke her own course record and got the $500 bonus by posting a 4:46, won this race. One second back was another Romanian and three women broke five minutes and nine broke 5:30.

Photo 5: Liza leads Sheri with 200 meters to go.

Photo 6: And Sheri gets her!! What a kick!

Bryan Berryhill won the Men’s Open by a huge margin, posting a time of 4:11 – just one second off the course record. Berryhill has a mile PR of 3:54! You think these races attract just a touch of talent? My friend Jon Sargent ran 5:20 and placed 46^th out of 103 in the race. King Kreighton ran great, besting his time of last year. He finished in 5:29, good enough for 55^th place.

Figure 2: My heart rate and elevation profile for the Pearl Street Mile.