Well… I DID IT! Ran a total of 9.3 miles combined beginning with an 8am 5K followed by a 9:30am 10K as part of the Runner’s World Festival weekend. What was billed as the “Five and Dime” turned into a much bigger mental test for me. I’ll post a full race recap in a day or so, once I get all the pictures sorted out. Coming home with 2 medals felt really good. As I’m sitting here typing this, getting ready to do my organist duties in church, the soreness is setting in. Quads in particular, hammies to some degree, and wow, the balls of my right foot. The good news is the knee brace appears to have corrected the tendinitis problem… but the sore feet and aching hips are another. Hopefully, I can figure this all out in the coming weeks, and not “chase” a problem from body part to body part.
As you’ll read about in my race recap, I had the chance to watch the final runner in the 10K make it across the finish line. Never really had it sink in about the mantra “just finish” till I saw this 20-something girl running down the finish line. A bunch of people were cheering (including me), some were crying, and it was all around great scene. Way too many times, today’s society thumbs their collective nose at people for any reason… was nice and refreshing to see everyone come together, runners and spectators, with encouragement and congratulations to this young woman who pushed herself beyond her limits. What made it ever more amazing was the young man that won the overall Five and Dime, and couldn’t accept any money due to his amateur racing status, offered his prize money to the last place finisher. It may seem weird, or not sound all that great, but it was an awesome show of respect and an awesome atmosphere to do it in. Maybe there’s hope for the human race yet…