Ready? NO. Set? NO! Go anyway!
You may have visited my family web site within the past few months and discovered that I have been jogging. The biggest reason why I started that is because I need it. Weightlifting makes for a strong body, but alone it won’t do much to extend or enhance my quality of life. A close second in my reasons for jogging is to participate in the off-road mile run on my church’s property called the “CrossWay Mile.”
My training went well. There was a set back with an injury. If you have read this blog before you might remember reading about it in April. When June 3rd came, I definitely did not feel ready for the race, but it was still race day.
When I registered I intended to register as a non-competitive runner, because I would not describe my running ability as competitive. The non-competitive runners start a minute later than the competitors so as to stay out of their way. Somehow I got registered to start with the first group.
I tried to set a realistic pace. The competitors soon disappeared from my sight. After a minute, my lungs were pretty tight, and I was wondering if I shouldn’t just walk the rest of the way. It wouldn’t be too humiliating. After all, by the time I got to the finish line all of the spectators would have gone home anyway.
Last summer I was at a Clint Black concert in the baseball stadium in Lancaster. Throughout the concert a storm was brewing on the horizon. Finally the concert had to stop and was eventually called off. I remember running through the stadium with the storm behind me blowing a fierce wind. My hair was blowing forward and all sorts of debris and litter were passing me in the wind.
I was reminded of this memory when the “non-competitive” runners caught me and passed me; men, women and children of all ages. The thought of no one being around to collect my remains in the event of a collapse crossed my mind. I made it to the comfort station where they hand out drinks as you run by. This helped reassure me that I hadn’t run off course. There were trampled foam cups scattered all across the trail for a short distance. I took some comfort in noticing that some of them still appeared to be wet.
Amazingly, I did finish the race and lived to jog another day. We’ll see if that happens. More amazingly, there were some people who finished after me. Among them were women carrying children on their backs.
The best news was that despite my near death experience, I actually ran the course 42 seconds faster than the year previous. That is cause for celebration. Maybe I should sell my running shoes and buy a gift certificate for a month’s supply of peanut butter milkshakes at the House of Pizza.
My training went well. There was a set back with an injury. If you have read this blog before you might remember reading about it in April. When June 3rd came, I definitely did not feel ready for the race, but it was still race day.
When I registered I intended to register as a non-competitive runner, because I would not describe my running ability as competitive. The non-competitive runners start a minute later than the competitors so as to stay out of their way. Somehow I got registered to start with the first group.
I tried to set a realistic pace. The competitors soon disappeared from my sight. After a minute, my lungs were pretty tight, and I was wondering if I shouldn’t just walk the rest of the way. It wouldn’t be too humiliating. After all, by the time I got to the finish line all of the spectators would have gone home anyway.
Last summer I was at a Clint Black concert in the baseball stadium in Lancaster. Throughout the concert a storm was brewing on the horizon. Finally the concert had to stop and was eventually called off. I remember running through the stadium with the storm behind me blowing a fierce wind. My hair was blowing forward and all sorts of debris and litter were passing me in the wind.
I was reminded of this memory when the “non-competitive” runners caught me and passed me; men, women and children of all ages. The thought of no one being around to collect my remains in the event of a collapse crossed my mind. I made it to the comfort station where they hand out drinks as you run by. This helped reassure me that I hadn’t run off course. There were trampled foam cups scattered all across the trail for a short distance. I took some comfort in noticing that some of them still appeared to be wet.
Amazingly, I did finish the race and lived to jog another day. We’ll see if that happens. More amazingly, there were some people who finished after me. Among them were women carrying children on their backs.
The best news was that despite my near death experience, I actually ran the course 42 seconds faster than the year previous. That is cause for celebration. Maybe I should sell my running shoes and buy a gift certificate for a month’s supply of peanut butter milkshakes at the House of Pizza.
posted by Bueche | 11:10 AM
2 Comments:
You have such a way with words, Tom. I felt like I was right there with you every step of the way. But unlike you, I didn't race. So kudos to you for participating in the CrossWay Mile - and for bettering your time. Look at it this way, the winners only bettered their times by 20 seconds - you doubled yours! :-) Just think, if race enough years and continue bettering your time by 40 seconds, sooner or later you might win. Keep up the great work!
Yes, if I average a 40 second improvement each year, by the time I am 51 I should be able to run that rugged mile in under 2 minutes!
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