Yearn-to-Run: Part Two

   Well, I have finished my first road race! This morning I ran in my running group's target race, the Gobbler Gallop. I ran the 3K distance, as did most of us, and came in with a time of 23:33. I am told this is not bad but, at the same time, I was pretty near the back of the pack. More or less, this was kind of what I was expecting.


Our Learn-to-Run group. L-R Kathryn(fearless leader), little Nick, Mary, big Nick, Catherine, Kelcey, Peter, Pauline and myself

   It was a good day for running, dry and cool, and a great place to run, through Springbank Park. Springbank is such a popular place for runners that, unless you were wearing a race bib, it was hard to tell who was racing and who was just out for their regular run.
   Nothing much about the course surprised me, the first half is essentially flat but the second half has a couple of hills, one going down and one coming back up. Fortunately the longer and steeper of the two was the one going down but the second one, going back up, was a demoralizer. I walked it, only because I knew by the time I got to the top of it I would be near the homestretch and I really wanted to have enough left to kick it up a notch. I was able to kick it up a little and passed three or four people in the process. What I wasn't expecting however was the slight little incline up to the castle at Storybook Gardens. This began only about a hundred yards away from the finish line and I almost had to walk it as well, right in front of family and friends. Did manage to finish it, running, but Doralyn managed to get a picture of me as I was crossing the finish line and it wasn't pretty.


The "unpretty" picture I was telling you about...

   So the Learn-to-Run clinic and the target race is done and under my belt. I've more or less decided to keep on running on some kind of regular basis but likely will not join the 5K clinic, although I am under some pressure to do so by the people in the rest of my group.
   I must admit that running in a group has its advantages, there were a few Saturday mornings when, if I'd been all by my lonesome, that I might have just packed it in early. There's something to be said for peer pressure and I hope I don't miss it by running on my own.

   My main motivation at this point is that I feel better since I started running three times a week and I wouldn't want to miss that feeling. I will try and keep this up and perhaps even increase it.

   Tomorrow they're calling for an extensive frost. Winter is around the corner so I guess it's time to bring out the layers and the long johns and the toques. I've never run in the winter before and I'm thinking I might just try and find an indoor track somewhere...