Today,
I was nominated by my friend Rosie to do a Facebook challenge called #RunningIsLife. Here’s the text of the original challenge:
“Every day
select an image from a day in the life of a runner - a photo from a day you
felt fierce or you had a great race or a workout, and post it without a single
explanation, then nominate somebody to take the challenge. That is 10 days, 10 running photos, 10
nominations and no explanations. Be
active, be positive, be passionate. Raise awareness of the importance of
running.”
I
don’t usually do these Facebook challenges.
They’re sort of like chain letters.
This time, I decided to make an exception. This blog is mostly a vehicle for writing
about my experiences traveling to various races. I haven’t run a marathon since March 1t, and
it’ll probably be months before I run another one. All my travel plans are on hold, so I haven’t
had much to write about.
Instead
of posting a photo without explanation, I’m going to accompany each photo with a
recollection of my experience at the race where the photo was taken. Here’s my photo for today.
This
photo was taken at the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon on July 4, 2011. This was the third day of the inaugural
Firecracker Triple. The other runner in
the photo is Kim Gray.
This
was the first time I ever ran marathons on three consecutive days, so I didn’t
know what to expect. On two previous
occasions, I had run marathons on back-to-back days. Each time, my legs were sore and stiff the
second day.
At
the time, I was consistently running times in the 3:05 to 3:15 range. My plan was to hold back a little on day one,
running just fast enough to break 3:30. I
expected to be slower in the remaining two races, but I though breaking four
hours each day was a realistic goal.
I knew
most of the other runners would just be trying to finish each day. I thought if I paced myself to keep all my
times under four hours that might be good enough to win the award for the
fastest combined time.
The
first race was the Stars & Stripes Marathon. When I arrived at the start, I saw Chuck
Engle picking up his race packet. I
quietly asked the race director, Steve Walters, if Chuck was running all three
days. Steve said, “yes.” Chuck is WAY out of my league. I decided to forget about competing for the
best combined time, but I stuck to my plan to run just hard enough to break
3:30 the first day. Chuck easily won that race with a time that
was well under three hours. I finished a
distant second with a time of 3:26:43.
The
second race was the Freedom Marathon. I knew
Chuck would win the race, but I impulsively decided to race for second
place. Surprisingly, my legs didn’t feel
sore. I actually ran faster that day,
finishing in 3:22:53.
Before
the third race, Steve Walters sent an email to everybody who was signed up for
all three races. Chuck opted to skip the
third race. That meant I was suddenly in
first place for combined time.
Among
the women, Rebecca Yi had the best combined time, but Kim Gray was within
striking distance. I remember telling
Kim she could still catch Rebecca with a strong race on day three.
I
started faster that day. In contrast to
the previous day, this time my legs were screaming at me. I caught up to two friends who were pacing
for 3:20. On a long out-and-back
section, all the other runners doing the triple were shouting out their
encouragement. I ran negative splits
that day, finishing in 3:18:10 and easily winning the triple. My enthusiasm overcame the pain and fatigue
in my legs. I can’t remember a day when
I’ve ever felt more excited about running.
Kim
also had a great race. She came close to
setting a PR that day. More significantly,
she came from behind to overtake Rebecca in the race for fastest combined time
among the women.
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