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.
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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.
I have find running to be very therapeutic. If I'm angry it is a good way to release tension and stress, or if I'm just in a funk, I can go out and find some clarity. With the kids and dogs it can be hard to find a quite it time for myself, but I can always find it out on the trail. Even if the kids come with me. Sam loves to watch the trees roll by and Henry usually falls asleep after 5 min. I'm never really alone, but out there, I can pretend for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming to visit a few weeks ago, it is often way too long between our visits. We love seeing you!!