Summer Track Week #2

Was the weather today awesome or what?

Standing the curb in front of my house this morning, I was about to step in to the first stride of my run when I couldn’t help but let my mind wonder for just a second. Letting the savoring thought of this great weather fill my body with energy, and hoping every other runner in this world was having the same experience.

Let’s be honest here. How could this be the first week in June.  June weather is not known for low humidity, nice breezes, and awesome temperatures.

Following that first step were more steps. Each was carrying forward the goodness from that  very first step.

But I digress.

I am here to talk about last night’s track meet. I guess I took too much for granted. Last week, everything seemed to go off flawlessly. This week, I had my first major screw up.

For the 100 meters, we had what looked like a false start yet, the sprinters kept going. Afterward, Tom and Tim decided to run the 100 meters again. So I needed to reset the timing machine. Our single timing machine needs to be reconnected to the 8 hand held individual lane timing. Then, I was in the middle of explaining how it all works to our 8 volunteers when I hear the gun sound. The sprinters were already roaring down the track when I looked up and cringed. I haven’t started the clock. All I could say is that “I am sorry”. Crawling under a rock was pretty much what I felt like doing. I should have waived Tom off until I was ready. I didn’t.

I couldn’t change what happen. Making apologies was all that I could do to the sprinters and make sure I was ready for the next events. The rest of the evening moved along with no other major mishaps. Later after the two mile run, we did another heat of the 100. Actually, we had two heats. At first, we had only a couple of runners up for doing another 100, but by the time everyone gathered, we had 10 runners interested. This time, I had my volunteers ready, and we captured all of the times without any issues.

Life experience is a cruel teacher. Often forcing us down the more difficult path in hopes making us better, this certainly taught me a lesson. I have no plans on repeating it.

 

The Cool Down Runner.