The Beer Mile; my first win

My First Win

It's good to be home and running again.

Pullman Parks and Rec were putting on a Saturday morning 10k/5k, the Care-to-Share Fun Run, to raise money for low-income families.  I was in the mood for hitting the trails on Moscow Mt., but because there are so few local running events, I thought it would be a good idea to stop by and show my support.

A couple others had dogs, and we all had to start at the  back of the pack.  Once we started, though, Sadie and I moved up pretty fast (there were maybe 25 people running the 10k) and I quickly realized that unless someone was playing possum, I happened to be the fastest person who showed up.

Sadie pulling me to victory

We took the lead just before mile one while cruising at a comfortable pace into a bit of a headwind (I wasn't wearing a watch so didn't know what my splits were, but I figured I was running around a 7:45 pace). At the turnaround point, I saw that my lead was a couple minutes.  I was feeling good and and Sadie was looking strong, so we picked up the pace quite a bit during the second half.  We cruised in to the finish line at 43:44, a few minutes ahead of second place.  It was a little anti-climactic for a victory, but it still a nice feeling crossing the finish line first.  Sadie's been the fastest dog at every race we've done that's allowed dogs, so this was nothing new to her.  We celebrated by going out for a few more miles. (Fun Run results)


The Beer Mile

The main event for the weekend was our running/drinking club's Beer Mile.  The Beer Mile is an unofficial national event.  The idea is simple: run 1 mile on a 1/4 mile track, and drink an entire 12oz, non-lite beer before each lap. Yes, four beers in a single mile.  (Puking = a penalty lap.)

Since none of the schools in town would allow us to do the event on their track, we found a nice big park and GPS'd a 1/4 mile loop.

It was a load of fun.   I had no idea what to expect in terms of time, so I just tried to chug as fast as I could (which wasn't very fast when you're breathing hard from running) and run at a speed just below the puke line.  I finished in 9:41.  With more practice I think I can go a lot faster.   Here are the results.

And here are a few photos:

This is my new racing suit.

Finishers and our empty beers.  

(Sadie was a little confused by the point of a Beer Mile.)

Afterward, we grilled up some steaks and had a nice lunch.  And then after lunch, Joe, the defending champion from a few hours before, thought it would be a good idea to defend his title against anyone who dared try a second beer mile.

Only I took the challenge.

Pre-Beer Mile #2

(I'm already at a disadvantage because I don't 

have my official Beer Mile racing suit on anymore.)

Shaking loose the nervousness of the epic showdown.

My form has room for improvement.

This is what you look like after two Beer Miles in an afternoon.

If you've never done a Beer Mile before, you should - it's a blast.  (Though I don't recommend a second immediately after.)

I have a few weeks of training before I head down to Utah to join many members of my family for the Goblin Valley Ultra.  That will be a blast too.

Keep running!

-Scott