The big news in my life this week was I ran, not IRAN, but I actually ran. After the 2 Cities Marathon and the story I wrote people who know I ran long, long ago have been trying to get me to lace up the shoes and get back outside. Like many of us I used to run a fair amount and posted some decent 10k and Half Marathon times but as I crept up on 40 I just didn’t feel like it. My standard response is if Zombies or mountain lions are after me I’ll run. Now at 45 and with a daughter on the Clovis West XC team I’ve decided its a good time to start again so at worst I can go run around with her for some father/daughter quality time and at best I’ll be healthier and have some fun.
Not being one to go into something blindly I went to the CIF XC meet to watch the high school kids run and root for my daughter as she ran her race.
I looked at all the young faces and thought to myself “Sure they are working hard but that looks pretty easy” as they sped by and up the big hill on the course. My son and I marched back to the finish to see them sprint in and my favorite runner finished in a 21:18 in her first CIF as a freshman. I thought back to when I was running and how I did most 5ks in the 20’s. I gave her a good job in my mind and went off to hug her and give congratulatory high fives for a job well done.
Fast forward a few days and I’m back at the park with my shorts and shoes tied up ready to hit the XC course and see just what dad could do on the same course.
The feel of the grass under my feet was like running on a cloud, I had springs in my feet, this was great I thought. Making the turn to run the creek that splits the park and settled into a casual pace I thought could be handled as I knew the first test was coming up fast and soon there it was “the hill”. I slowed a little and cruised right up, this isn’t so bad I thought, running is easy even after all this time. The back third of the course is nice and full of small rollers to test the legs and I was in the groove trucking right along until I made a right turn and found myself at the bottom of what looked like a mountain, I slowed………then slowed some more. Hokey smokes Batman those kids made this hill look easy but wowzers I was huffing and puffing. As luck would have it I topped out and the final third of the course was as easy as putting one foot in front of the other with me picking up more and more speed leading back to the grass and the finishing stretch the kids sprint down to end the race. I kicked a little harder before I crossed the line and hit the timer to finish in WHAT!!!!!!! 29:15! Maybe I wasn’t flying after all but I got out there and enjoyed the course, gained a lot of respect for our high school athletes and ended up with a fun story to tell.
All off the best high school runners from FresYes will be back out after the holiday on November 29th for the State Championship meet. I think I’ll run out and watch but I’m not timing myself.
- Invitation to the Ball - November 6, 2015
- Sportsman’s Warehouse, the New Kid In Town - July 20, 2015
- The Freewheel Project - July 13, 2015
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