A Race For Everyone: Justice Run Fun
Running is becoming a family affair. Last weekend was the 4th
time I’ve completed a race at the Justice Run. This time it was only a half
marathon. The full seemed a little out of reach for where my training is this
year. That turned out to be the best option after all. I finished just over 2
hours and 16 minutes. Slower than I’d like, but at least I finished running the
whole way. I’m starting to set my expectations a little lower on some of these
summer runs. I know it’s not summer, but the heat hasn’t relented enough for me
to feel like keeping a quick pace. I tried to eat a little more in hopes that
my energy levels wouldn’t dip so much. I’m not sure how much it helped, but I’m
in a phase right now where I’m trying different things.
Recovery Tools
For the second time after a race, I got a vitamin cocktail IV
at one of the booths. It’s perfect for quick recovery. For whatever reason I
get very wiped out during these races and nothing feels better than a full bag
of nutrients right into the blood stream. I was getting chills sitting there in
the chair. The IV bag is quite cold apparently. They offered me a blanket and I
declined. Not because I wasn’t cold, but because I thought I looked pathetic
enough on a chair with an IV bag dripping into my veins. I wasn’t interested in
looking even more like a hospital patient.
Instead I shivered--like a man!
While the color started to return to my face and recovered,
the 5K run began. That’s important because my nephew and 2 nieces ran their
first race along with another family (the houses) we know well. My brother and
me and my mom all walked over near the finish line to cheer them on. At this
point I was full of energy and happy to be on the other side. Emily managed to
cross the finish line first. That took us all by surprise because she is the
youngest. The rest of the kids passed the line about 5 minutes apart. Bella first
and then Christian. All of them had a great experience and can’t wait to do it
again. We talked about doing a Turkey Trot at Thanksgiving since they’ll all be
here. I’m not sure if this will come off but I do hope so. Turkey day has a way
of making people relax and watch football instead.
The seeds of running were planted.
Habitual Tools
There is something about listening to people cheer as you
cross the finish line that keeps you coming back. You get a medal and a tee shirt
to remember the day. You start to learn how fast you can run and still maintain
a constant pace. The more races you do, the more you learn. It’s fun to strategize
and improve. Mostly it’s good for you and builds habits that can last a lifetime.
Later that evening we had steaks on the grill, another tradition that we all
look forward to.
I was happy the race wasn’t rained out. Two years ago it
rained heavily the night before and washed out the running trails. The organizers
pushed the start time back a few hours hoping for a little more light and little
less water on the track. It worked out despite the later start. The first 30
minutes were sloppy but the water drained off enough to make it passable. This
year it looked to be a repeat of that. Friday night brought monsoon level rain
to Fort Worth. Flash flooding was a problem that night across the region.
Fortunately, it didn’t stop the race. Pooling water wasn’t a problem on the
path either. The worst part was probably the humidity it brought with it.
Living in the south means getting used to the heat though.
Conclusion
But it's finally on the way out. Colder temps are on the way
and despite being uncomfortable in the early part of the race, it allows me to
go longer. I realize that I write a lot about the weather in these running blog
posts. But it plays such an important part in how my body performs that I
always feel the need to mention it. The goal is to learn to run despite the
conditions. In that regard, I’ve got a way to go.
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