Now I know

The training has gone well over the last few weeks since my last 5K. I made it to 22 miles last week, capping it with a Saturday trip to the track for 6x800 repeats that were about 3:50 per half. It was a solid effort, but I left some effort out there. 400 repeats are on the agenda for this weekend. Sure is nice when the long run is also speed day and two birds can be killed with one stone.

Speaking of the Chilly Dawg 5K, I figured out who the gentleman is who has beaten me the last two years. The guy lives in the neighborhood and he runs past the store often with one of his dogs (he has four). He'll run with one and then with another. The dogs might be Labradors, not sure on that, but they're definitely good running dogs. I think he said the other two aren't really leash-trained. The store has a metal Saucony water bowl out front which his pups take advantage of, especially when the weather heats up. He's a regular at the running store, and I spoke to him for a moment and it suddenly dawned on me. I don't think he knows who I am-- it's possible he knows me from the race or from the store, but likely not both.

It's funny how knowing who a rival is definitely makes it harder to talk smack.