Hamptons' Half Marathon

If the race in Providence was fun and enjoyable, then this race has to be categorized as cerebral and pensive.  I do not mean that in the sense that it was a mental battle to finish, but that the course allowed me to get lost in my thoughts. 

The race was in East Hampton, NY at the beginning of the fall, thus the leaves were just starting to change color and the weather was cool, but not cold.  It was supposed to rain, but luckily that held off during the race leaving it 70 degrees and humid.

Pre-race.  A little hazy

The race wound through the back streets of East Hampton, which are heavily tree lined and all the homes are set back from the road as if they are back in the woods; it was almost as if you were running through the forest.  Occasionally the course would take us through wide-open fields that seemed to emerge out of nowhere.  Canvassing the fields was a layer of fog caused by the humidity.  The venture through the fog was always short lived; as quickly as we entered the field, the road took us back across the tree line. 

Although we mostly ran through these seemingly isolated areas, there were still a number of spectators: people out supporting the runners were at many of the intersections where we made our turns - a special recognition has to go to the American Cancer Society and Team in Training for Leukemia (which holds a special place due to my Grandmother).

The sleeves were down, so
I was still doing ok.

Missed my start group

The 11-mile mark hits right along the beach to the Long Island Sound, so you get a breeze off the water and a relaxing view of the open water, which is refreshing so close to the end.  There were even girl scouts handing out water at the turn around at this point, sadly they didn't have any tagalongs or thin mints - yes, I asked.

Yep, that big a dork even 11.5 miles in.

The finish was at the local elementary school and there was a great showing of fan support from runners’ families and friends.  Overall it was a well-managed race and I bet it is great to run on a cool, sunny, fall day.  My finish time was not great, for whatever reason I just did not have it today.  I wasn't exhausted or struggling, I just couldn't crank it up another gear - even my finishing kick didn't have very much kick.

That look about sums it up.

Mixed feelings about the race

I mentioned earlier that this race was more cerebral and pensive and I probably should explain what I meant.  As you are running through the trees, especially during the longer stretches of the race with just trees, you quickly develop tunnel vision and it is almost as if you are out on the road by yourself.  The only occasional interruption came from Nicki Minaj, Pitbull or some other up-tempo song playing on my iPod.  During these stretches I found myself lost in thought on things that have been on my mind: thoughts of life, my future, my family, missed opportunities, girls that have come and gone or related issues (told you it was deep) and of course Laurie Markham and her perseverance - she is the one who I am running these races for in case you have forgotten.  I finally had the opportunity to think about things that get pressed to the back of my consciousness for the day to day necessities. 

At one point during the race a woman ran past me with a shirt saying "In memory of Mary Anne" and I started to think about my family - my mom or dad, my brother and his family, my best friend/brother Dave who is soon to be an FBI agent after being a SWAT officer in Miami – how I have spent less and less time with them as I have gotten older.  I got sad thinking about how I am not able to spend enough time with the people who matter to me most, despite that we really only have limited time to share with the people we love. Despite the slightly depressing nature of the thoughts, it made me think about the bonds I have with my family and that these bonds are what make our relationship special.  I realized that these bonds can never be severed by time, distance or even an eventually passing.  These people are always with me.  The person I am today has been irreparable shaped and molded by my family and I carry them with me ever step of the way.  No matter what I do in my life, where I go or what twists and turns my life will take, I will never face them alone because the people we love are always with us.

The Boys

The Family.

It probably would be an injustice to categorize this race as "therapeutic".  I can definitely say that it was good for the mind and the soul.  It turns out running can actually be good for clearing your mind and sorting through whatever has been pushed to the mental back burner.  So although this may not have been the fastest or "most fun" race, it may have been the best race I have run yet.

The next race is in two weeks (although due to a delay in getting my pictures from this race, this post is actually going to come up after that race).  Stay tuned for more coverage.   Oh, and how about this medal? Well done on the design.