What a Race!

If you have been following my blog, you would have noted my intent to run the midnight run in Dunedin the morning of the 4th.  I have run this event one other time and remembered the event fondly.  There are a lot of people that run this and it is very well organized. Although, we did have to stay a very long time as my mom and I both won plaques that year.
As the time came to leave the house, I was having second thoughts. I have only been running for about three months and I'm not doing it to be competitive. It is more of a therapy type of thing and a cross training tool for my biking.  But, I knew that if I didn't leave, I would regret it. So, out the door, I went. As I arrived, I remembered how many people liked the event as I had to park in the parking lot the farthest away from the event in an unlit area.  This actually turned out to be a great thing as it forced me to walk a ways and keep warm as arriving an hour and a half early was advised.  I walked and retrieved the shirt and number and walked back and then walked to drink some water about a half hour before the race started.
There are two other events scheduled and the mile run is first up at about 11pm.  Watching these runners tackle this event brought back memories of my younger years running track in high school and I was glad they were running it and not me.  The 5k was next up and I started running 10 minutes before start time and stretching.  I stopped paying attention to the start and should have as it filled up and I was only able to fight my way up to the first third of the pack right behind a gracious woman with a flag who let me in front of her at the last minute. Bang!
We were off. Or should I say, we were slowly mingling.  It took me at least twenty seconds to get free and find a way out across the start and then run back and forth across the street to clear running. Once on my mark I picked a few people and just ran at there pace.  The first mile was pretty quick at 6:40 from the timing judge. This gave me a 6:20 or so first mile. I was doing okay, but knew from my own experience that I tend to go out too fast in these events so decided to slow a click. There was a really tall guy and a young woman in her mid twenties with a nice pace so I stayed with them for the next mile before he died and she picked it up.
I knew then that I would just have to run my own race and it felt good to finally be clear of the thousands of people and really cool to see so many on the return leg cheering me on as they ran their own race. I returned the cheers several times and loved it. Nearing the last bridge, I was overtaken by two really strong 10-12 year olds and felt somewhat old.  But new It was their time and they looked great challenging each other. Over the bridge we went and another teenager popped up. He looked ragged and when the water hand out came he lept at the chance, although a bad idea and it was funny he echoed my thoughts as he started to drink it and faded back choking.
The race was almost over and the last 200 yards were coming up. I kicked it up a little and noted 22:00 as I crossed the line.  This gave me about a low seven minute mile and I was very happy with that.  It was a zoo at the finish so I walked and stretched on the way back to the truck as a cool down and changed my shirt for the long drive home.  On the way, I enjoyed a banana and some water.
As I sit and reflect on the race this early morning, I am most happy with two things: That I did it and that I was able to do it where I had enjoyed so many good memories. It's a great run and I highly recommend it to anyone young and old.