I've got nuttin

On May 21 (yes, I'm a bit behind in my race blogs) I ran the DC Road Runners Monthly Tidal Basin 3K for about the 30th time. I didn't expect it to be my worst 3K ever before the start but it didn't take long for that to become apparent. I started with everyone else but after only about 100 yards (when we move from the street to the sidewalk) I was already exhausted. I had to slow down and walk. At that point Kirk Gordon, who is suffering from a groin pull, ran along side me and then quickly passed.

Anyway, back to me. I mixed running and walking almost equally in this race. After running for a minute or two I would feel winded and after about 1 mile I also started to get a stitch in my side. It was truly a struggle to finish. I usually beat a fellow frequent runner, Joe Broderick, but today he left me in the dust. I tried to keep him within reach but I gave up on that after about 1 1/4 miles. Joe, who is 70, finished in 20:22. I finished well behind him at 23:50. Certainly a race to forget.

Notable finishers included:
Ted Poulos (winner) 9:56
Emily Gousen (winner) 10:27 (you go girl!)
Jim Moreland 11:58
Jay Jacob Wind 12:56
Peter Blank 13:15
Dee Nelson 14:42
Shirley Sameshima 14:47 (that must have been an exciting finish)
Kirk Gordon 16:34
Ray Campbell 27:35 (hey, he's 76!)

It was a big turnout with 66 finishers. I, of course, came in 65th. My first goal is to get back to 18 minutes. That would move me ahead of 3 finishers. My next goal would be get back to my best times from just a couple of years ago of around 16 minutes. That would move me in front of 5 more finishers, which I think would be a respectable finish for me.

Finally, per a special request, (I'll let you guess from who)...
Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima, Shirley Sameshima.