Autumn Breeze

The 16th Annual Autumn Breeze takes place on one of the most scenic courses we know, following the Tallulah River and meandering on a shady paved greenway trail in Tallulah Gorge State Park.  The thermometer said 82 degrees but it felt cooler because of cloud cover and a nice . . . autumn breeze.  I was not sure I would be ready to run a race today; it has only been nine days since I began running again after a 10-day lay-off and acupuncture treatments.  But I was able to run three miles non-stop twice last week, so I decided to go along with Martha, who was prepared to run a good race as a speed work-out six days before a half marathon.

It is always inspiring to run a race, even if it is at a slow pace.  The race-day excitement is there no matter how fast you run, and when the race begins and runners sort themselves out, settling into each individual's pace, it is the same as running a fast race when you are in top condition.  One little girl with a blond ponytail appeared to be five or six years old, and she took off and left a small group of us in the rear, never to be seen again.  "I don't like to run on a road," she had told her friends.  "I like to run in the woods!"  A future trail runner.

I felt some twinges in that right knee in the first half-mile or so, but then they disappeared and everything felt smooth and strong, even though I realized  that the result of having run a total of only eleven miles in the past three weeks have left me woefully out of shape:  three miles felt like six.  But getting back in shape is just a matter of patience and mileage and eventual speed work, and I have been in this place many times during my running career.  I was even able to "stalk" one or two runners and than pass them and stay ahead of them, which is very satisfying when the stalked runners are younger by several decades.  Above all, I was glad to be able to finish a race again, and to see before me the upward-curving optimistic path of recovery!

For Martha, it was a good day, placing first in her age group again as she has in so many races this year, and in a fast time of 29:17.  Age group winners get to select hand-made pottery from the Rabun County High School Visual Arts Department, and Martha chose an appropriate piece of autumn pottery.

She is well-prepared for the Bethel Half Marathon next Saturday, another scenic course that we both love and where we both set our half marathon P.R.s.  I, however, will settle for another 5-K (Martha was able to change my registration), and I will be grateful if I can finish another race only six days from now.