TarBaby Part 4

The course record was 31:36 and the more and more I got to thinking the more confident I had faith in myself . The following year David Matherne showed up again and I beat him once more . I had a good year that year but wasn't all into it . But I recall the following year I just got engaged to my girlfriend Julie which I met at the Farmers and Merchants bank . Same bank which puts on the race . Ever since I settled down my times have been improving . I gotten in deep on learning how and when to train. Putting in tempo runs and longer intervals into my routine . The year 2000 I ran the TarBaby solo and won again in a time of 32:35 . Dad kept hounding me about that record telling me he'd give me $300 if I broke it . I wasn't wanting any money . Doing it for any other reason would make the effort worthless . 2001 comes around and I've been running great . With my first child on the way , getting married , and new career it was turning out to be a great year . Some sub 15:00 5k's in my book and sub 31:00 10k's . But racing on this course can get yeah. It has it all . The 3 H's . Heat , Hills , and Humidity . And did I mention hills . The fastest miles on this course is 1 and 5 . Mile 1 you had to come back up to the finish .  Others are nothing hills . Not rolling but just long hills . I marked the course every 1/2 mile to know where I had to be if I wanted to break this record. Just to break down the course in 1/2 splits .  I knew how fast to start off due to the fast first mile and challenging second mile with two hills in the mix . A few days before , dad and I came up with this idea to record the entire race . An idea I got from running in the Charles Harris 10k where the recorded the race from the back of a truck and the runners was able to watch the race on TV during the awards presentation . We got with the race director and lead pace car and they said it was ok .
That morning there was no one I recognized that would give me any competition so I had to do it alone . My brother was also running great the past few years . He has been running low 17 5k's . Nervous as always and I do my race day prayer from the script Hebrew 12:1 . Look it up if you don't know . We start out with dad in front on back of the truck and I go through the first mile in 4:53 due the fast mile . I didn't want to go out 4:45 mile like I have done in previous years  . I need a 5:05 pace to break record .Second mile 10:03 after the double hills and then mile 3 in 15:08 , mile 4 in 20:21 then I pass the Church St with the crowd roaring . Everyone knew what I was going for . I believe my mom was he loudest of them all . Mile 5 I hit 25:26. Right on pace . Then the last hill I had to hammer this thing . It's a monster of a climb . Nearly 400 meter climb . I hit 6 in 30:34 and I have slowed alittle but I needed a kick to break the record. I threw down the hammer and floored it with my signature kick .I've won a quit a bit of races with my kick. I take my kick with a lot of pride and arrogant with . I was one of the fastest guys in school in short events when we would race against each other in school for fun .  Once I crossed the finish line it was over . 31:26 !!!!. I but on a :52 second 1/4 mile. Tears from my eyes come out . My pregnant Julie waiting on me at the finish shoot . I try to hug her but she hardly wants any part of it due to the sweat coming from me . She is not a big fan of sweat . Then I go to dad after he gets out of the truck from recording me and give him a hug cause I know how much he wanted me to get that record . Along with my mom . Still today she tells me how much she is proud of me . It's was one of the best races I've ever ran and most rememberable one . As we sit back and wait for the second runner to come in ,  guess who shows up in second place. No one other than my brother Ken . He had been battling for second  with another runner name Rob Blaszkiewicz . He finished in 36:20. We went 1 and 2. A great day for the Black family . And we got it all on tape .
  I tried the next year to break my record again but at mile 6 I stopped and hurled I was on pace but that dang last hill got me . In 2005 Michael Greene came up and handed my butt . He is a real great runner but I wasn't prepared . I ran a crappy race . I wouldn't say I would have beaten him but if I was in great shape like 2001 it would have been a great race.  Some years I've gotten injured and I've won it a few more times . I've had everyone from my aunts to friends I've never seen throughout the year come watch me run .I can remember on my grandmother came once before she past away . Today I can recall what she said to me one day " You might have some skinny legs but they sure get you around fast ". I'll continue to run it as long as I can walk .
Hopefully my hard work and desire will be pass on to my kids in which I have three girls now . Now they run the 1mile fun run every year at the Tar Baby. Just a few good words. What good are goals and you dont tryto achieve them . Always believe in yourself no matter what the situation . It's not how many time you fall , it's how many times you get back up . Hope you enjoyed this and can get a little bit of understanding my background . God Bless and see you on the roads