Cross-Country Race

The last cross-country race of the season was last night. I declined to run in the Tour de Pain, because I just wasn't ready for it. I do plan on running next year, though.

Oed ran in the kids' race with me this time. He almost backed out at the last minute, but between his mom and me, we managed to talk him into coming.

We warmed up together before the race.




Here's a picture of him with about 200 meters to go in the kids' race:



He was very happy to have run in the race, and his ribbon is going into the box with my race ribbons. I still have the first ribbon I ever got in a race--it's just a finisher's ribbon, from a high school invitational meet in central New York, and it says "Proven Harrier" on it. Nothing about my place or time. The ribbons and medals for the faster runners were of a higher quality, and gave the finish place on the front. I've has that ribbon for 32 years. I won a lot of ribbons over the years, and a few medals and trophies as well, but I think that one is the most important. It gave me the taste for racing.

My race didn't go as well as I would have liked. My time was a bit slower than all three previous outings in the series. I think that was because I did not get a chance to have anything to eat after lunch yesterday, so I was running the race on a mostly empty stomach. For the previous races, I got a chance to have an afternoon snack.

The hill really took it out of me.



The mile point is just a few yards from the bottom of the hill, and the race goes all the way to the top, so after a nice, fairly flat, fast course of about nine tenths of a mile, you start up this hill. But hey, at least nobody moved the course markers this time!

Posting rarely

I hardly ever get to post anymore--I go to the gym in the morning before work, and so I can't post in the morning, but I have to compete for computer time with three other people in the afternoon, so it's difficult to post then, too.

I ran in the third cross-country race of the series on Thursday. I ran a 23:10, but I think I was actually faster than that. Smeone had moved some of the markers on the trail, and a large number of us--most of us, I think--took a detour in the woods. I ran into my friend Andy at the race (not literally), and he's talked me into running the Oak Tree Half Marathon down in Geneseo, with beer afterwards. It happens the Sunday before Labor Day (the Monday following the first Sunday in September). We both went to college in Geneseo, so we'll be revisiting old haunts.

Back on the road

My ankle is feeling better now, so I'm back on the road. The third cross-country race of the series is this Thursday, so I can't slack off now. I'm expecting to do better this week--hopefully I won't be falling this time!

MC Lars put on a great show, and I wasn't the oldest person there! At least, I wasn't the oldest-looking person there (when I'm clean-shaven, I'm told that I look younger than I am).

Boy, Kevin Beck really hates Florida.

Off today

I won't be running today. I ran in the second cross-country race of the series last night. Around two miles, I stepped on a root and went down. Nothing serious, but I twisted my ankle before I went down, and I don't want to run on it today. It's not swollen, but it is a bit sore.

I finished the race (5033 meters) in 23:10 -- just 9 seconds slower than last week. When you figure that last week I didn't fall, I'd say that I should have been a few seconds faster than last week.

I was still tasting dirt after I got home last night. It's been a long time since I last fell during a race--probably 1981 or so.

This weekend I'll be taking Electra and a few of her friends to an MC Lars show.

I ran in a race on Thursday--it was part of the Genesee Valley Harriers Thursday Night Cross Country series. The races, four in all, are approximately 5033 meters, cross-country style, at Cobb's Hill. The races have one large hill and one smaller one, about a mile of trails, and only a very short stretch of roads.

I ran a 23:01 in the race, which is pretty good. I was also the 4th masters finisher at the race.

The "Tour de Pain had to be moved, due to construction at my former high school. Instead, the track events will be held at the high school across the street from me. The cross-country portion of the event will be held at Cobb's Hill. I'm planning to run in all of the cross-country races, and possibly in the tour de pain as well.

It's been a long time

I haven't been able to post for a while, for several reasons, one of which is that I don't have the necessary permits for the explosives it would require to remove my 15-year old daughter from the computer.

I have been running most of the summer, though. The weather is making it difficult right now--when the low temperature is 76°, and the high is in the upper 90s, it's difficult to get out and do a workout. I've been running at 5 am, which is just before dawn, so the day is coolest. The weather is supposed to break soon, and temps should be back down into the 80s, with lows down into the 60s.

I started at a gym today. I bid on a 3-month membership at a downtown gym at a benefit dinner/auction, and ended up winning, so I signed up on the 31st of July, and started working out today.