Trav’s Trail Run- 34:55 (long)
I had breakfast with Kat and the kid at our local place. I had most of the kid’s chocolate chip pancake, my two eggs over medium, and both slices of toast. What the hey, right? Oh, and I drank green tea.
The weather was perfect. 64 degrees and sunny with a strong breeze. There were hundreds of people at this race, which was a better turnout than I’d expected, but visually less amazing than the 108th Boston, which was my first ever race to view.
Kat and my daughter and Amadis came to support me. I was very happy to have a few people there, and also glad not to have a crowd (what if I blew it?). It was just right for this race.
I ran with Damon, who’d completed the Disney marathon in January, and then the 108th Boston in April. He said he doesn’t normally run this little a distance, but he was happy to run with me. I felt excited to have him there, and also nervous, as he explained to me later (somewhere around the last mile) that he did the Disney in mostly 8 minute miles.
The path was something like the two attempts I made earlier in the week, but different on where it turned up. Just the same, my pre-running of the course proved to be PERFECT for getting the mental preparation.
I hydrated like a son of a gun, and the only bad thing was the race started with me having to pee again. Just the same, I pressed on. Look at this calf, captured at the start. That’s mine?
So, we were near the back of the pack (my choice and his), and we chatted along the entire race. The only thing was, it was easy for Damon to chat, and it was effort for me. I pumped my heart rate up into the 160s most of the trip, as opposed to my typical 151. We passed a few folks, then a few more, then a few passed us. In the end, I think there were 20 or 30 people left running behind us, which felt good for a first race. Hey, finishing felt good.
When it was all over, I’d finished in 34:55, so a hair under 12 minute miles.
And then I did my after-run stretching on the tick-infested grass of Maudslay, while my daughter shutled grass back and forth to put on my belly.
It was a great day, and I’m glad I did it. I feel otherwise fairly normal. I’m also now more anxious to train up for the 5K on July 4th. Rock!
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Comments
Thanks, Jon. I had a great time. Yes, this was on a trail. It was mostly gravel or just worn down paths in the woods with a kind of mulch here and there for good measure. No injuries whatsoever. By following the Core Performance workout, I’m building lots of little supporting muscles that are helping with that kind of thing.
Glad to hear from you.
Excellent job, Chris! No injuries? Even better. Was this on a path? That’s a tough run because you don’t get the rebound like on a hard surface. Glad it went so well. Onward!