Frostbite Race

It is with some trepidation that I have decided to miss the Saturday group run this morning in order to rest one day for a race tomorrow - my first race since the marathon I ran on December 14, the Frostbite 5-K in Fletcher.  This race is aptly named because it always takes place in early February, and on at least one occasion in the past it has been memorably windy and cold.

According to my race log, I first ran the Frostbite in 2005 with Martha.  I remember it well because that was the year I gave away my favorite running hat.  Moments before the race began the light rain that had been misting the air ceased completely, and as I was warming up I circled through the parking lot and concealed my hat up under the cover of my spare tire (the car being locked).  When I went to retrieve it after the race, I realized that I had unknowingly donated my hat to the owner of an identical red Honda CRV, which might have come as a surprise had it been discovered when changing a flat tire at some point.  I don't know why runners become so attached to hats, and socks, and other articles of "lucky" clothing.  But I was so disappointed in losing that fine hat that in succeeding years I checked out the spare tires of every other red Honda CRV in the parking lot at this race, hoping to find it still in that spare tire cover, as runners eyed me suspiciously.

Martha has another reason for remembering the Frostbite, because my notes indicate it was her first race ever.  Yes, I remember it now!  I was so proud of her as she won 2nd place in her age group (I took 3rd in mine, thus giving her a slightly larger ceramic pot at the awards ceremony than mine). "PB&Js and cookies at the finish line," my little log reminds me.  "And Mexican food in Brevard on the way home."  What wonderful memories we all have of going to races, good or bad - the crowds of other runners, the excitement of lining up at the start, the things that we see and that happen to us all along the journey, the little losses and wins that make running so worthwhile - so much like life itself, except life lived more intensely for just a little while.

My race log tells me that I ran this race again in 2009 - has it been five years? - the day before my 60th birthday.  Martha ran, too, and I noted that it was cold and windy.  The next day I was genuinely surprised at the Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company by a couple of dozen friends at a birthday celebration planned and organized by Martha.  Wonderful memories!  And I hope to add to them tomorrow.