A Good Place to Start

This was a great initial "organized run"! Very non-competitive environment... basically a bunch of people getting together to enjoy a challenging run in a beautiful place. Here are some details of the day:

Waking up early this morning was a strangely familiar ritual. On my drive over to the run I thought about all my Saturday mornings at Graceland, getting up while everyone else on the hall was sleeping off whatever fun they had the night before. Check, and then re-check to make sure you have everything (check a third time for shoes and jersey ;-), then stumble down to the vans to drive off to who knows where. Grab a bagel or whatever was in "the box" we got from the commons. That really was a great time. I thought about all the little routines you build into your race day. Some are practical, and others purely ritual. I saw that this morning, each person having their little tricks. Since I was there alone (eh hem, mr. bessie ;-) it was nice to sit back and take it all in. Reconnect with all those little things that I forgot about race days... pinning a number to my jersey, lines for the bathroom, all the unique clothing choices, cute/fit runner girls, a general sense of community... an honored connection that you were all in this together. Some quiet and reflective, others giggling and joking, but no matter the outcome each runner was there looking for... there is a respect that if you were there, then good for you! It was nice to absorb.

As far as the race goes, it was up... then down. Right off the bat you had to climb a very steep series of stairs (I wasn't sure what I got myself into at that point), and then it was still a good bit of uphill to the halfway point. So, needless to say the first half was pretty slow. However, after going down for a bit, we then got on a good stretch of flat... that was the fun part. There was a guy just far enough ahead of me to make a good challenge to go after him. I forgot how much fun (and how much it hurts) to decide you are going to catch someone, and then go do it. The other highlight was some spectacular views... at one point we came around a corner, and there was the Golden Gate... I had to slow a bit just to take it in properly. I will definitely be doing some more of the Pacific Coast Trail Runs! It is a great chance to meet people, and get out on some awesome courses.

My shins are a little sore from the pounding they took coming down the hill, but for the most part I feel pretty good. Except for the part when I went after that guy, I didn't run much faster than any of my training runs.

Today: 6 miles
Week: 22 miles