Three Seconds

Happier Times for New Rivals Skud and Sapp

Ali and Frazier...

Jimmy Conners and John McEnroe...

Dave Scott and Mark Allen...

Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar...

Norman Stadler and Chris Macca...

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert...

Tiger and anyone who thinks they can play golf...

Red Sox and the Yankees...

Texas and Oklahoma...

Ohio State and Michigan...

The Greatest Sports Rivalries of all time

We can now add one to the list

"SAPP AND SKUD"

No one was looking forward to the 4-Mile Gazelle Tempo run on Wednesday until Amy casually mentioned something about "kicking my ass." Well, that was all that needed to be said! :-) The gauntlet was freakin thrown!!

We lined up at the front and commenced to a little more trash talkin' before Gilbert said "GO." From the beginning, Skud was right behind me. I could hear those footsteps keeping pace with what I was setting. I knew her conniving strategy was to stay a few steps behind and then buzz by me at the end. That little peanut has some serious kick in her step.

Out of 40-50 Gazelles that lined up for the tempo run, we were 3rd and 4th respectively. Two guys were in front of us, but it wasn't about pacing with them. It was all about staying in front of Amy.

Mile 1: 6:59

We hit the footbridge and I had slight panic when I looked at our first split. There is no way we can keep this pace for 3 more miles. She's gonna fade...She's gonna fade...Still, those footsteps were right behind me.

Mile 2: 6:57

This was the turnaround point. Oh my...I looked at my watch and realized that if I could just maintain this pace, it would be a record day for me. At the turnaround, I caught a glimpse of Amy. Damn. She was still right on my heels! Jerry was right behind her.  

At this point, we started seeing other Gazelles as we were on our way back. "Go Carrie" was followed quickly by "Go Amy!' Several people gave us both shouts of encouragement as the duel raged on. Near the Zilker Express RR tracks, I sensed that her footsteps were fading. Had I finally cracked her? Had Jerry passed her? I wasn't about to turn around to find out. I just kept running and purposefully tried to rein in my pace a little bit. 

With 1.5 miles to go, we were beginning to catch Steve in front of us who was also on his way to a MAJOR PR tempo run.  

Mile 3: 6:58

Wow...Still sub 7:00s. Holy crap. I'm doing so much better than I've ever done. Surely Amy can't be right behind me! There's no way. Still though, don't give up and don't relax. As Gilbert would say, "Don't get eaten by the lion!"

The final mile was tough as both lungs and legs were grasping for anything. My form was still good, and as I passed the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, I dug for another gear. I was now running alongside of Steve. He wasn't having it. He found another gear and left me behind. 

Gilbert was cheering as we were nearing the 0 Mile marker sign, which marked our finish. He was loving it!

Mile 4: 6:56

Total Time: 27:34 (about a 15 sec PR for me)

Avg Pace: 6:57

I turned around and I'll be damned if Amy wasn't RIGHT THERE crossing a mere 3 seconds behind. She did not relent as I had suspected. She was cautiously stalking me the entire way. It was a 2 min PR from her last tempo run!

Gilbert was ecstatic! "This is why you train!" We both did the happy dance as it was a huge day for the both of us. Had I know she was right behind me, I would've slowed down so that we could grab hands and cross the finish line in a tie.

Oh who am I kidding?! No I wouldn't!! Had I known she was right there, I would've thrown it all out there.  Unfortunately, I think a precedent AND a benchmark have been set for the next tempo.

Who has what it takes?

We celebrated our run and Amy's birthday last night at a new wine bar in Austin called Uncorked. This is also where Amy received her new nickname of "Three"

FYI-She'll win any drinking contest any day.