Twin Sizzler 2022

Dan arrives in Medina early enough to pick up his packet and hopefully get a few warmup miles in. But then he starts talking with new and not-so-new friends, and before he knows it, there's only time for a mile or two. Jogging a little with Ladd Clifford, he does manage to get about that far. Now it's time to line up for the 5K.

It's still fairly cool, and the shadows are still fairly long. This is all good, since it will get hot later on. The downhill start is nice, but as the course levels out and begins going uphill, it all quickly becomes real. Dan is talking with friends, and it's all a lot of fun. When he reaches mile 2, it's time to unleash the beast. He passes a few people on the downhill portion of this final mile. It's fine. Until it isn't. The last hill heading up to the Square is a killer, and it pretty much slays Old Dan. He manages to do a sub-nine-minute mile, only just manages to get his final 5K time under 28. It's still a better time and effort than other recent races.

The cooldown/warmup between the races isn't much. Dan spends too much time catching up with everyone. Again. With some, like Tom Bieniosek, it's been literally years. So it's understandable that he isn't running as much as he'd like.

The 10K promises to be tougher. Yes, it's longer, but it's also hillier and much hotter. Even in his faster days, Dan has never run this race all that well. The third mile is the most difficult and the slowest. After that, Dan somehow manages to pull himself back together enough to pick the pace back up. The shady areas and downhills help. When he reaches mile 5, it's time to unleash the beast. He passes a few people on the downhill portion of this final mile. It's fine. Until it isn't. The last hill heading up to the Square is a killer, and it pretty much slays Old Dan. (Those last five sentences may sound a little familiar. Sorry.) Dan finishes the race in around 58 and a half minutes. Once again, Dan considers this not too awful.

Later, after a cooldown mile that actually heated him up more, Dan learns that he finished third in his age group in each race. He's got a way to go. But today was fun.