Winning some bread

Danielle-

Saturday was the fourth Grand Prix race and gave us the opportunity to win some bread.  Literally.  Great Harvest Bread Co. is the title sponsor and gratiously gives out bread and cookies to the Top 5 Men & Women.  Obviously, both Chad and I were hoping to be lucky enough to snag some delicious bread and cookies.  While warming-up, we ran into Meagan Nedlo who confirmed that the lure of Great Harvest Bread was too much for her and she would be toeing the line.  Although Meagan is awesome and I enjoy seeing her on training runs, seeing her on the starting line isn't enjoyable, because it simply pushes everyone back a spot.  Nonetheless, the top 5 would be getting bread, so I was still well in the mix!



Fast men can't pose.  I think Chad is the
only one looking at the camera.

From the gun Chad realized he was in the mix for a top 5 spot.  John and Paul had shot to the front immediately, with Vincent and Jim trailing, leaving Chad with Billy, Michael, Richard, and Mike.  By halfway through, it was a nice pack of Chad, Billy, and Richard (sound familiar?) chasing Jim and Vincent, who were slowly coming back.  They tracked down Jim at the 2 mile marker and Richard put in a big surge to try and drop the pack.  Chad was still feeling pretty good, so he matched Richard's surge and put one of his own in coming up the last big hill, and finally passed Vincent with about 600m to go.  Crossing the line in 17:05, Chad grabbed third place overall, for his first Grand Prix podium spot!  Very exciting. 

Although the times weren't blazing fast, this course is hilly and has lots of turns, so it's not exactly fast times material.  Chad ran a really smart race, racing the people instead of the clock. Fifteen seconds separated third from eighth. It would be great to see that group finishing! 

Chad finishing with Richard,
Vincent, and Billy in hot pursuit.

I had the pleasure of working with Michelle  pretty much the entire race.  We started next to each other and ran together until the last big uphill.  The same spot where Chad put in a surge and finally gapped Richard, Billy, and Jim is where Michelle put in a surge and gapped me.  I just couldn't match it, even though there was a long downhill to try and gain ground on.  I finished 4th overall in 19:09.  I felt so much better than I did at Twilight and ran a bit faster on a harder course.  It's hard to be too disappointed with that. 

This was the first race where Chad placed better than I did, which I have to admit was a bit odd.  But I'm really proud of how well he ran.  He continues to get faster and I'm excited to see what he can do at the end of the summer when we finally get onto some fast courses. 

After collecting our loot, we zipped home to take care of Max, grab some groceries, and get ready for the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Copper Classic 1000 yard dash.   Joey had run this "race" last year and told tales of free beer for the winner, so Chad and Thomas decided to throw their hats into the ring and try to win some free beer.  We decided to bring Max, so only Chad was going to race.  I put a lot of pressure on him to win us some free beer.  Sure, he had already won bread and cookies, but beer is also awesome and I wanted to have it all.  The race was a great time, Thomas took the overall, with Chad and Joey trailing not too far behind.  All was not lost though, because the top 3 got free beer.  Hooray beer!  Michelle took the women's title and Emily Barrett took third.  Chad, Michelle, and Emily had all raced Great Harvest Bread earlier in the day, making for a rather impressive double.  Billy Shue was kind enough to provide photography services, but I decided to drop the camera on the sidewalk and it appears to be broken.  Looks like a trip to Best Buy is in order.

Chad with his 2nd place prize-
a growler of beer!

On Sunday we woke up bright and early to do a "long run" with Thomas, Michelle, Matt, and AJ.  Ardyn joined us in the babyjogger.  It was great fun watching Chad push the babyjogger the last 2+ miles.   It certainly didn't look easy, which is why I didn't volunteer to help.  Later Chad's Father, Ed, and Diane stopped in for a short visit.  They were on the way home from Myrtle Beach and joined us for lunch at Big Daddy's.  It was amazing.  Oh and the visit was nice too :)  It's always great to spend time with family and Ed & Diane enjoyed meeting Max. 

We now have a week off of Grand Prix races and a long weekend coming up.  I'll be taking a week off of racing.  Chad is, as always, a game time decision.  So many races, so few open weekends!