Last night was the second race in the running club’s summer series. Yes – I’m whining about how fatigued my body is and that this recovery process is taking so long despite this length of time being typical – and then I go and run a 5k. Let me clarify the fact that I ran this and did not race it. Big difference. I did not even wear a watch. Imagine that, racing without a watch! That was the best part about this race, not having any idea how I was running and relying totally on my effort. I kept my effort at a moderate level, or what I felt was moderate. Turns out my current moderate effort is way slower than my usual moderate effort. No surprise there. But what that does tell me is that I am still very much recovering from the marathon and that the process is not nearly over. This is actually all working out rather well, I’m learning a lot about this whole process and can approach my marathon recovery in November quite differently. Always look on the bright side as Monty Python used to tell me.

So, the race. Well, it was National Running Day so I figured it was a perfect reason for me to head over to the Parkway and hang out with all my running friends. I even got to meet some new people which was nice. I warmed up with my fast friends and then lined up toward the back with some people I knew. They were planning on running a 26 minute race so I figured that was a perfect spot for me. The race started without much hoopla and a Peanuts-style murmur coming over the megaphone and I started running after being shoved around a bit which was totally fine because the beginning of the course is a little bit tight with 150 of us.

I set off at a moderate pace but have no idea what pace that actually was. I definitely slowed down after the first mile but not by that much. I tried to keep my effort as even as I could and kept my breathing in check so that I knew I wasn’t going too hard. The course is a loop along a creek, we cross the creek twice at each end of the loop. Around 1.25 miles there is a bridge which takes you back to the start/clubhouse. No, we don’t cross this bridge but I always want to run over it and DNF when I’m running a 5k here. This time was no different and I seriously considered it for the first time. What was I doing out here? I’m certainly nuts. I kept going because I knew it wasn’t much farther, a mere two miles until I was finished. I took the rest of the course easy and crossed the finish line in my slowest time in two years. I saw the clock read 25:09 as I approached the finish line, I have no idea what my time actually was once I crossed it. I never even bothered to look at the stats once they posted them on the wall of the clubhouse. Tonight it wasn’t about the race or the performance. It was about getting out there for a run on National Running Day and hanging out with my friends afterwards.

Final Time: 25:17
Overall: 75/145
Gender: 24/63
Age Group: 2/10