You signed up weeks in advance, told all your friends about it and now the day has finally come. There’s nothing quite like getting up early, breathing in the crisp, cool air and feeling the adrenaline rush through your body as you prepare for a road race. Music blares as hundreds of runners nervously mill about, chugging water, compulsively tying and retying shoes, adjusting bib numbers, stretching, talking and making one last bathroom trip for the 4th time; the energy of it all is extraordinary! As you anxiously jog in place someone shouts over a loud speaker 5 Minutes Until The Start! And now your heart really begins to beat faster.
Making your way to the starting line all the events leading up to this moment begin to run through your head. You’ve researched articles online and in magazines about the perfect training routine and quizzed other runners about which foods to eat and what shoes to wear. You’ve trained for weeks, maybe even months and still, there are unanswered questions: Have I trained enough? Have I over-trained? Will I be able to finish? Am I going to throw up my breakfast…again?
As the starter begins the countdown -10, 9, 8, everything seems to move in slow motion -4, 3, 2, he raises his hand high in the air, you watch his finger begin to flex as he pulls the trigger, a concentrated plume of smoke bellows out of the barrel, the pounding heart in your chest muffles the sound of the gun, making the blast barely audible. Then, just as quickly as time slows down it speeds back up -you’re off and running and already a half mile into the event.
The middle section of the run is generally the easiest part of any race. It’s at this point you’re comfortably running within yourself; your breathing is back under control after the always chaotic start, you’ve settled into a pace that you can maintain for the duration, and the pain that steadfastly accompanies the last few miles has yet to announce its presence. But the pain will come, and soon enough you’ll be face to face with the gut-wrenching decision of quitting or enduring a level of discomfort that will make you proud you did.
However, as euphoric as the mid segment is the best part of racing to me is the entire experience which begins benignly enough by deciding on a distance, setting a goal, then picking out a race from the calendar. Then there’s the commitment of signing your name on the entry form, the camaraderie shared by training with friends, the peaceful solitude of training runs done alone, the excitement that builds as race day draws near and the feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line.
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