Just Jogging

Greetings!  Oh how I love running in on warm days! Yesterday was pure bliss for me. The sun was shinning and I had time for a midday run. I ran in a park that occasionally houses a cross-country race. I have participated in races on the course a number of times. During this run as part of daily exercise, I thought back on previous races. Oddly, I remembered a great deal even though the last time I raced there was some years ago. I recalled the dampness of the fields, other runners and how I felt at specific turns on the course. It was fun to flash back. After about a mile I found myself thinking about other races.

Often in the moment, I find racing a bit brutal, both physically and psychologically. It was much nicer to think about the experience ex post facto. Reflecting on racing while having an afternoon jog didn't have me bound up worried about finishing time or anything else. I just thought about the act of racing. For me race days are filled with patterns and rituals

I wake up very early in the morning with pre-race anxiety. I have water, but no food. I putz around the house to keep my mind busy. I do not like to arrive at the race site too early. Once there I prefer to have only enough time to confirm registration and to get in a one mile warm up jog, this is especially true in the winter.  Next comes the interesting task of finding a comfortable and fitting place at the start line.

Once the race begins I get into my least favorite part, pacing. Far too often I come out of the gate much too fast. Once I finally find a stride that works for the distance and my goal is to hold steady until the final push. This is pretty bad also. I let my ego get in the way and push too soon because someone passes or is drawing near. Once the finish line is in sight I run all out, ignoring my legs and lungs. Then comes the finish. Almost every time I think back over the start and finish errors and ask myself, Could I have run faster?

For this run, those were all memories and not realities of a grand jog in the direct sun of a summer day.

Make memories. Run.

Tom