My First 'Beer Mile'

So I got bored on Friday and decided to go ahead and do the beer mile. I've always had mixed feelings about this event, so I figured I would go ahead and try it to see what it was all about...

At around 6:30pm, 27 racers gathered at Bill's place along with their support crew (designated drivers) and spectators - so there were about 40-50 people in all. Sena was there to cheer me on.

There were going to be 2 heats, a slow group and a fast group - initially, I was going to be in the slow group, but was moved up to the fast group at the last minute to even the numbers out a bit.

The full moon on this clear night reduced the chance of twisted ankles during the 1 mile trek along suburban streets and through the woods to the local limestone track. Some people drove, but most of the non-injured runners took the warmup jog.

Rob explained the rules: women start running on GO!, men start drinking their first beer on GO!. After the each lap, everyone drinks a beer (except for the final lap). So men drink 4 beers and women drink 3 beers.

The slow group started at around 7:30. Confusion ensued - I couldn't make out who was winning or what lap they were doing. Nervousness about my own pending doom made watching this heat a bit less enjoyable than it could have been.

My heat started around 7:45. I struggled drinking my first beer fast and was the last of a dozen or so to leave the starting line and I didn't catch anyone during the first lap, burping like mad for the first 100 meters or so.

The next 3 beers went down pretty well, but the burping continued. I don't think I passed anyone on the track (most of these guys are pretty fast), but I must have passed a few during the drinking transitions, because there were several people behind me by the end of the heat.

I finished in 9th place, with a time of 8:51 (The winning time was around 7:15, and the losing time was around 14mins). No one puked - a good and somewhat respectable evening ; )

After the race, we cleaned up, and jogged back to Bill's house for the awards ceremony. Overall, a good time.

I got up early on Saturday and rode 40 miles with the WC bike club. I met a triathlete (Francios) from France - nice guy - he was really into the fact that I finished Kona. He invited me to Ironhill for a beer after the ride - I declined ; )

After the ride, Sena and I went for a 5 mile run through Strouds preserve. She wasn't feeling well at the start, but got better after the first mile.