Run for the Birds

Yes, that is the actual name of the run. There was a kids run, a one mile "fun run" (really?), a 3.1 mile, and a 6.2 mile run.

I did the 6.2. I knew ahead of time that it might not be a good idea. The only people doing the long runs are those that are really studly runners. Well, not this time, because I'm entered. The shorter runs don't only have slower runners, but you've got walkers, people pushing kids with strollers - the kinds of participants I can be very competitive with.

The next issue - the $25 entry fee. That is a lot of money considering the kind of performance I was going to put forth. While it is true that I'm getting the best bargain in terms of dollars per minutes run, that is little consolation.

So I figure I can do it in about 70 minutes. I was figuring that on a six mile race. I had forgotten that it is actually 6.2 miles. That final 0.2 could be rough. Its like 300 yards.

So off I go. I was ahead of some people, but they all turned around before me because they were running one of the shorter races. There were only 6 people in the 6.2 mile race. I knew I was destined to come in last. The only other time I came in last was in a college cross country race when I got the mother of all side aches. Most all my miles were about the same. The third mile was much slower because it was going uphill (straight up, it seemed) and it was on a trail with a lot of rocks so you had to be very careful.

So I did come in last. There is good news, though. I got a nice little pity clap as I finished. And my goal of 70 minutes? 69:59. Oh, yeah. I used to be able to do this in about 33 minutes, so just a bit slower, but that's ok.