Running of the Bulls 8k 6.5.10 Race Recap

The gun went off and my brain sent a signal to my legs to start running. Pretty much that was the last signal that they received for the entire race.

After spending all week vacationing at the Disney parks and the driving up to Durham this morning, I pretty had to be nuts to think that I was going to run well.

The race started at 7:30 AM and I was already in the Y parking lot just before 6AM.

But I wasn't alone, Caitlin showed up soon afterwards and we agreed to run a few warm up miles together. Not that any warm up miles were needed. My legs felt dead even at a very slow jog. The weather probably compounded the issue because the sweat was rolling down my face while just standing in the parking lot.

Just before the start Caitlin asked what I was going out in: 5:40 or 5:50. Honestly, either would be nice but I really didn't have any idea.

From the start, we headed up hill. I think 50 people surged ahead of me. As the road flatted out, I thought maybe I could force some speed into my legs. I passed Caitlin and caught up to John Hinton. I didn't look at my Garmin when we passed the mile so I don't any idea what we ran.

But just after the mile, a couple of the Durham Bulls jumped on my back and I started slowing down. Caitlin went back by and gave me some encouraging words. But it was too late. I was like a burnt steak – Well Done!

From that point, I just drifted back through the field. At one point near 4 miles, a young lady ran past me and "Good Jobbed" me. I smiled and returned some encouraging words. She soon disappeared into the horizon.

We entered the old Durham Bulls Baseball stadium and ran around the warning track. Two women went flying by me racing to the finish. After the race, they wanted to "high-5" me on a good run. I returned their "high-5"s and told them that I enjoyed watching them race to the finish. That is what you can do when you run just over 34 minutes for an 8k.

I have run some tough races but this was probably the worst. Could I have skipped this race – yes. Could I have dropped out of this race – yes. But I didn't. When I commit to something, I see it through. Tough times are part of the process and even a seasoned master's runner can learn something along the way.

The moral to my story is that pendulum swings both ways. Early in the year, the pendulum swung through some very fast times. Now, it is swinging the other way. If everything continues as planned, it will be swinging to the fast side on Oct. 3 2010.

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner after the "Running of the Bulls 8k"