They say there are only two things that are certain in life…death and taxes. I say there is a third…me running super slow.
Maybe
it’s the knee brace; maybe it’s me getting older, but my times have really gone south of the
border over the past year. I still feel great and run strong,
but my times are not reflecting the effort. It's not an issue with me, since I don't do any "speed" training, but it would be nice to see if I still “had it.” This race, which I have run multiple times,
would be the perfect course to give it the gusto.
With
a start time of 6:20am, I was up bright and early. I got to Cypress Bay High School around
5:40am, and felt pretty energized. The
temperature was around 64°, which is a far cry from the 34° in Mount Airy a few
weeks ago. 362 runners made their way to the starting line (132 less than last year), as I focused on keeping a
steady pace. Once we were off, I felt
really good, but of course I was bringing up the rear. My goal was to finish under three hours, which
up until last year would be a no-brainer.
You
can read previous blog posts to get the lay of the land for this race, but it’s
basically a super-flat out-and back course. A sobering
realization came during the turnaround…there were not that many runners behind
me. I was ahead of the three-hour pace group, so I still had that going for
me. I was enjoying the race, but when
you are as slow as me, it’s like running in a ghost town. I was very focused, but then the unthinkable happened around the
ten-mile mark…the three-hour pace group passed me! I didn’t panic, as it seemed as if we were
both on track to break three hours.
With
about a quarter mile to go, it was going to be close. Of course, my favorite part of the race
kicked in…NOT! The Kids One-Mile Fun Run was released (see
previous posts), just as I was making my final push. I quickly darted to the other side of the
road to avoid all of the congestion, only to realize there was no way I was
breaking three-hours. I crossed the
finish line 32 seconds away from my goal.
I was disappointed that my efforts didn’t pay off, but they give the
same medal to the person who finishes first, as they do to the person who
finishes last (12 runners finished behind me…thankfully).
What
didn’t disappoint me was just how much I still enjoy running. Mount Dora is next up, which will be a
challenge. But I’m up for it.
After
all…I am a runner.
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