A Day At The Races

June is an interesting time to race for those of us who live through the four seasons. This is especially true when the temperature and humidity go from spring-like to mid-summer in what seems like overnight. I think to get the Varieties of Running Experience though, a runner must experience running in all conditions and in all the seasons. I do have days in the middle of February where I wake up and wish I lived in San Diego or one of the other best running weather citiies that just came out in Runner's World but then I come to my senses and realize the variety of conditions and experiences that I am fortunate to have as a runner in the Northeast. These conditions and experiences make me a better runner. My body and mental outlook adapts accordingly and I expect more or less from the season. Each season and each condition is a different experience. Even running in the rain during the seasons is different. As runners, we get to experience life and nature in their truest forms. I am not saying you can't expereince these things as a non-runner or another kind of athelete but I don't believe it is as complete.

It takes the body a few weeks to transition from low humidity and cooler temperatures to high humidity and downright hot temperatures. I have a few runs in the humidity this year but today was the first race that pushed the limit. The body will adapt - it always does and helping it along never hurts.

I ran the Princeton Fete 10K race today. It was hot and humid even at 8:00 AM. As always, I might have started a bit fast running the first mile in 6:57. I hung in there as long as I could with the weather. I sweated and I tried to drink (except the race organizers decided to give shot glass sizes of water in plastic cups and if you don't know what this means, someday you will!) and worked my way through the course. One saving grace was that most of the course was tree-lined and had plenty of shade. The downhills were slight so I could increase my stride without jamming my feet and knees into the road surface. The hills flirted with the flat and downhill surfaces but were not really a problem. I hit the 5K in 23 minutes so I certainly ran a positive split finishing in 47:51. I was nearly 2 minutes slower in the second half which I think is a lot in a 10K. I've tried working on more even splits and starting a bit easier but I guess I still didn't get it done today. The finish was on a soft spongy track at Princeton University. I love track finishes mostly because that is what I used to be - a 200 meter sprinter. When I hit the track - I go back!

Thus, a day at the races! One gratifying thing I did after the race was went back out to the track and cheered on the remaining runners. This was probably as gratifying as running. I love the people who believe they are not runners but are out there making the effort and in doing so are REALLY runners! Those runners are the ones who drive the sport and drive the motivation for so many of us as runners.

Happy Running!