Let's get ready to rumble!!!

Does anyone have one of “those guys” as a running friend? You know the type that are just built for running… the type that retain a level of 10% body fat or less no matter how many times they super size their value meals… the type who can take 6 months off from running, slam a six pack the night before, and then go out and whip you in a 5k? Well, I do and his name is Robbie… and this weekend I’m planning on getting my revenge!

Some back story:

When I got back into running last year it was partly because I had signed up for the Chicago Marathon with my two close friends, Robbie and Symons (we were all ex-high school x-country stars who met during freshman year of college). As we started our training cycles Symons and I struggled to whip our lazy fat asses back into runners… meanwhile Robbie would be would be whipping out 7 min mile paced training runs like it was nothing.

Last July, Symons and I traveled down to Robbie’s hometown of Breese, Illinois to participate in a half-marathon in nearby St. Louis. After the half marathon (in which Robbie beat us with ease) we went back to Robbie’s house to hang out and that’s where we saw Robbie’s Bulldog Dash medals…

The Bulldog Dash is a local 5k that takes place in Robbie’s neighboring town of Germantown, Illinois. Robbie has participated in the Bulldog run for the last 5 years and even won the event once! When Symons and I saw the medals last July we started a long running joke (literally) about how we were going to show up and beat him in the Bulldog Dash someday… and we’ve been joking about beating him in the Bulldog Dash ever since… but this Saturday the joke becomes a reality… and let me warn you: It’ll be no laughing matter!!!

The current story:

Luckily enough for me I have another friend, Von Bokel, who lives in Germantown too. Using Von Bokel as an inside man I determined that Robbie will in fact be participating in the Bulldog Dash this Saturday… Monday I e-mailed Robbie under the guise that it was 5 months exactly till this years Chicago Marathon (we’re both signed up again) and that I wanted to see how his training is going… Robbie replied that he had just started training about a month ago (he’s an accountant so he is usually swamped up until April 15th)… he also relayed that he was “in the worst shape of his life” and the he “sucks”… Bingo!!!

The plan:

Drive down to Germantown, Il (about a 3 hr drive from Peoria) Friday night after work to stay with my friend Von Bokel. Show up to the race at 7:45 when race day registration opens… jog the course… hide out… and then make my way to the starting line 5 minutes before the start of the race… if at all possible I’ll try to maneuver myself so that Robbie doesn’t even know that I’m there until the race has started and he’s eating my dust… Afterwards, I plan on doing a victory dance, hopefully with my very own Bulldog dash medal draped around my neck!!!

Either that or he’s totally going to whip me… after all he has been training for almost a month now and he is one of “those guys”…