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jrjo
Gone Fishin
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 16451
Location: Lake Wobegon, MN
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 Posted: 11/07/04 - 17:30 Post subject: World Run Day HalfM.. a dedication
A good friend of mine has a chronic heart disease that has ended his distance running. It’s changed his life and the lives of those around him. For over a year now I’ve learned more and more about how a man can confront a grim reality with courage, determination and hope. About six weeks back I got the idea to dedicate my next race in his honor. At first I wondered what he’d think. I trained with the thought that even though his physical heart could no longer withstand a half-marathon, his competitive spirit could be carried with me. I found my training was taken up a notch as I felt the virtual presence of a competitor I knew lives inside his chest. My runs were faster, my long runs went further. When I decided to let him know what I was doing, he thanked me and it didn’t come up much again. But I continued to log miles better than I have all year.
This morning was a brisk 38f degrees. The stiff north wind put a wind chill out there making it feel more like 30f. This World Run Day half-marathon has an accompanying 5km and 10km which most people opted for. Only 25 of us chose the 13.1. A couple of speedsters took off and a handful took chase. The first mile was 6:14, so I knew I had to reign in my dedication run. I was so pumped, it was all adrenaline off the line. At this point, I was firmly in 4th place over all and without foretelling too much, I’d stay there the whole race. The next few miles went off with my GPS losing satellite signals and the finding them again after I had clicked off a lap button, so the two splits per mile became too much math while fighting the head wind, so I just plowed on. The course is an out and back, which for a half-marathon makes for a long time before feeling like you’re ‘heading home’. I spent much of these miles thinking of the courage my buddy displays in his continuing training regime, so ever much tempered by his bad ticker, but still maintaining physical fitness. I occasionally would even tap my heart as a gesture of what this was about today.
The early drag race too a bit out of me. Coming up to 10-miles the quads were aching, a blister on a toe was bugging me and expecting the bottom to fall out couldn’t help but creep in my head. Then at 11-miles I renewed my dedication and told myself to take it home for my buddy no matter how over my head I paced this thing. No matter what kind of yells were coming out of my legs. So I did. I pushed it for home through a couple tough miles at the end. 4th overall, 1:35:01, splits of 6:14, 7:14, 6:58, 6:52, 6:57, 6:55, 7:13, 7:38, 7:20, 7:24, 7:29, 7:27 & 8:58 for the final mile and change.
My time was 2:30 faster than this same race last year. It was 5:15 faster than my halfM seven weeks ago and by far the best race of my year. Recently my training has been going so well and it is because of the inspiration of my buddy and knowing his competitive heart has lost nothing to this disease.
So in closing. Thanks for being a hope, an inspiration and just being you. Greg. Cappy. This one was for you.
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What a nice thing to do. Excellent jrjo.
Nice job.
