Twilight 5-K

This was a race that I had trained hard for, and I completed it in a relatively good time - faster than last year, and good enough for a Third Place age group award - but not as fast as that 8:19 mile late in my long run last Saturday had projected.  I did everything correctly - nutrition, hydration, good warmup with some fast pickups as I normally do - and the weather was perfect:  cool, dry air had moved in, and although temperatures were in the upper 70s, the humidity was low.  But as I said in my post of last Saturday, "There is always something new to learn about running and training," and today was no exception.

It seemed difficult to wait all day; I felt that I had been ready to run first thing in the morning, and then it seemed as if the "fire in my belly" was slowly cooling throughout the long day.  6:00 p.m.is not the best time for me to run a race these days, but I have run many Anderson Midnight Flights at 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and the Pigeon Forge Midnight Run at the stroke of midnight, where the objective seemed mostly to be able to stay awake until race time.  Martha ran many of those night-time races with me, and I know she was disappointed not to run this one (she is still recovering from "Runners Knee") but her encouragement and support were appreciated (even going so far as to fetch steak tacos from El Azteca's Food Truck parked on Carolina Way after the race).

Another surprise was that there was little traffic on the roads, and plenty of parking.  Where were all of the eclipse watchers?  They must be waiting for Monday.  The empty roads were a little eerie.  We had been told to park at the Rec Park, or even the Post Office, and carpool if necessary, but we found a parking place in front of the Episcopal Church, just around the corner from the start.  A wedding was taking place at the Catholic Church, which Race Director Derek Taylor seemed to take in stride - big buses backing in the parking lot, right on the course near the start in that first turn, men and women dressed in their nuptial finery.  Our friend Will, dressed in running clothes and wearing a number on his shirt, had cut through the parking lot on foot and was amused when the police asked him if he was part of the wedding party.

But traffic control was absolutely perfect, and 450 runners made this the largest race we have ever had in Highlands.  It started on time and I was well-positioned; I had planned to run 9:20 miles, and at the half-mile split (top of Chestnut Street) I was at 5:00, just perfect, but from that point on I felt sluggish, my legs heavy and unresponsive.  I watched Vicki and Jim take off ahead and simply did not have it within me to follow.  But I did pass other runners, most of them on hills, and I maintained a steady pace of 10:00/mile, and so when I came around that final turn down the alley, and back down toward the finish line, I felt that I had given it my all.  Which is the best any of us can do.

I love being at races, simply absorbing the experience, and a hometown race is even better:  chatting with friends before and after, comparing times, watching so many runners, young and old, celebrate this wonderful gift of fitness.  I talked to Will and Gina, and Vicki, and Fred and Karen, and then I ran into Don (we sold him a house on Little Bearpen when we were in Real Estate) and Michelle and Glenda, and Canty (who came in Fourth Place overall, I learned), and countless others.  What a joy it is to circulate before and after a race like this, laughing and sharing stories.  I will never again be able to set a P.R. - I set my 5-K P.R. of 21:13 18 years ago, when I was 50 years old - but I will always be able to enjoy the satisfaction of giving my best, and watching that same satisfaction in those who go the journey with us.