Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I am blessed ,and not because my birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day. When I ran my first cross country race, still running 45 years later was not a thought. 60 years of aging and 45 years of running has taught me not every race is about testing my limits, every run is a celebration of physical, mental and spiritual health, and the people you encounter along the way are the blessings. #celebrating60/45
The Run to Get Lucky 5k was meant to be a test of my current fitness. I'd had several very good runs and was looking forward to the race. Then Wednesday morning before the race, on my morning run coming off a downhill a sharp pain struck my left hamstring. I stopped immediately and walked home, with a very sore muscle.
I spent the rest of the week icing it. On Saturday, it was better but I could still feel some irritation. As I warmed up for the race it became a bit more sore and I was concerned it would get worse as I ran. My race plan changed to going out very slowly and hoping it wouldn't get worse. As I ran the first mile I was very cautious and remained concerned. As I passed one mile in 10:20 I felt a bit of relief that it was no more sore than at the start. I decided I could gradually increase the pace.
During the second mile there were some slight up and downs. I was concerned even the mild downhill would cause it to get worse, fortunately that didn't happen. The second mile dipped to 9:24 pace. When I hit mile 2 I decided I'd pick up the pace for a faster finish. The last mile was significantly faster as I passed mile 3 in 27:54 and crossed the line with a watch time of 28:34. An 8:10 last mile.
Though it wasn't the race I wanted to run the significance was that on my 60th birthday I was able to run. Jared ran with me and I appreciated his company. He was kind enough to hang with me and I'm sure he would have walked me back to the start had I pulled up lame.
As I noted in my FB post, not all races are about testing ones limits. This one turned out not to be about testing the limits of my current fitness but about being able to continue racing now and into the future. Embracing the lessons of the tens of thousands of miles run, to run and race smart among them, will help me continue to celebrate beyond 60/45.
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