R and J in the USA

June 16, 2024

Since we couldn’t be with our dads on Father’s Day, we made sure they were with us by running the Father’s Day 5K in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The glistening ocean, soft waves, and early morning quiet were a nice Sunday morning breakfast table at which to sit with our dads before we started our run.

The Father’s Day 5K was organized by the Seashore Striders, a running club based in the Rehoboth Beach and Lewes areas of Delaware, and benefitted the Seashore Strider Youth Cross Country Team.

The Seashore Striders know how to put together a runner’s course. From the starting line on Wilmington Avenue just off the boardwalk, through the neighborhoods of Rehoboth Beach, and back to the Wilmington Avenue finish line, this route was designed for speed. The race was flat and fast, which doesn’t necessarily mean we were.

The overall winner had some serious zip, clocking in at 15:01 – a 4:51 per mile pace. Our times were a bit more modest, but that didn’t stop Julie from medaling yet again. She ran her fastest time to date and finished 3^rd of 17 in her age group and 96^th out of 346 overall. Ryan finished 10^th of 21 in his age group and 135^th overall. For those of you paying attention to such things, that means Julie beat Ryan yet again. The score is now 3-1 in her favor.

One of the nice things about running a race at the ocean is that you are at the ocean, and that is where we stayed for the rest of the morning. We had a post-race breakfast on the beach, dessert on the boardwalk, and lots of sunshine.

Detailed Race Report for Running Nerds

At our first 5K just over two weeks prior, Julie had surprised herself holding an 8 minute per mile pace for the duration. Our second race the week prior had been a quick reminder at how hard she had actually been pushing herself and that running so hard has its costs in sustainability. So when the Delaware race gun went off, Julie had no idea what her legs and heart rate had in store. She found herself in a groove early in Mile 1 and was hopeful that she might be able to do a repeat of her first race’s lap paces. After feeling strong on Mile 1, Mile 2 started to hit with one of those slow and very gradual uphills, costing Julie an extra 20 seconds on the climb. Once the flat course returned on Mile 3, she easily found the strength to slide back to the 8ish minutes per mile pace she had been hoping to be able to achieve. Her heart rate was still telling the story that while her legs could easily hit this 8 minutes per mile pace, her conditioning was letting her know that the clock was on, and there was only so long she’d be able to keep this up. For better or worse, driven by the competitive hunger to go after it, Julie ran, heart rate be damned, clocking in at an average heart rate of 177 and a max heart rate of 184. Too high. Unfortunately, Julie got the positive reinforcement for the push. According to Julie’s watch, the course clocked in at 3.15 miles and she ran it in 25:28. (25:31 according to the chip timer) Technically, this is faster than her first race by her watch, though her first race showed up on her watch as 3.18 miles and an 8:01 pace and the final time for that one was 25:30 by Julie’s watch and 25:25 by the chip time. So, depending on which time you go by and how long each course really was, this is either Julie’s fastest or second fastest race. Either way, she was psyched. This was also a course sponsored by a running club, and, as such, was filled with great runners. There were plenty of sub-20 times on the roster and a huge percentage of runners clocking in in the mid to low 20s. While future races would bring Julie first place prizes for much slower times, in this field she just managed to make it on the age group podium with a 3rd place medal. This medal was perhaps the most satisfying one of all on this fast, flat, competitive course, especially since Julie was looking forward to sending the trophy home to her Dad after running in his honor.

Ryan came into the race continuing to do as Ryan does – play it smart. Still not trying to be a hero, he heads into each race letting his body set the tone and keeping any competitive instincts in check. Pay attention, Julie. This is how it’s really done. A smart move for Ryan. Now having loosened up after two races, he was starting to feel the juices flow. He took it fairly easy in the first mile and a half, feeling the speed start to naturally flow in as the second mile came to a close. With a little more grease on the wheels, he decided to push himself just a bit. This would be the first race on the trip that he decided not to stop at the water station for a mid-race rest. With Julie in his sites not TOO far in the distance, though he wasn’t quite ready to pick up the pace fast enough to catch her, on Mile 3 he decided to run rather than jog, easily dropping below an 8 minute mile. He made up a lot of time in that last mile and turned in a 27:24. Even though he hadn’t beaten Julie yet, it was clear, Ryan Gallivan has now entered the room and is ready to do this thing. Enjoy your little trophy, Julie. The hunt is on.