Track and Field

No, I didn't compete in a track meet. I didn't even make it into the stadium or whatever they call it (it was an outdoor track) to watch.

It was my first time at a track meet (as opposed to just plain track) and I wasn't anticipating a charge. It seems reasonable, though, and I would have paid it if I had the $5 bucks on me. However, I had decided to combine watching a friend in a 5K race, and running for a couple of hours or so, although not simultaneously. Accordingly, I left the house, ran for about an hour and ten-fifteen minutes, and then after a few false forays found the track. And a fence around it, and gates...

I went up to the first one, and asked about spectating. It turns out that that was the place to register. No, I didn't register. Then the guy took a closer look at me and asked me if I was competing. Uh, no.

So I went down to the next gate, and there saw that $5 sign. oops. I felt kind of crummy. Probably the guy at the gate felt crummy, too, but in a different way, like he thought I didn't think it was worth $5. He said something about how it cost a lot to put on an event such as that one. I understood, I just didn't have $5. I tried to apologize, but I was still kind of in a running zone and probably didn't make much sense. I turned away, and then heard him, or someone else, sort of snort in derision. So I turned back again, said something along the lines of I understood, and thought the fee was valid, and asked if most events they put on had an admission fee, for future reference. He said 'This is the Provincials.' ok...

And then he took a closer look at me and asked if I was competing. I said no, and left quickly because I just wasn't connecting with these people at all. I wasn't making sense, and they were throwing me off further. haha. In retrospect, it makes sense--there were people of all ages competing, and though I hadn't been running particularly hard, I was still sweating and probably flushing red and so forth. I had that weird red face/white around the eyes thing when I got home.

However, when I run for a while, I think a bunch of blood must get diverted from my brain, and things seem nonsensical, or funny, when they are not.

Anyway, I found an open bit of fence and watched my friend finish from there. It was pretty neat seeing the race. The part that surprised me most, apart from the track being blue, was that during the race, on the inside lane mostly, other people were warming up on the outside lanes. At first glance, I wasn't sure what was going on. But it was neat and I would have liked to watch more, but didn't wish to overstay my welcome.

I ran off, and around, for about three hours and ten minutes, or so. I took a few walking breaks, too. It was pretty relaxed. This is the sort of atmos I'm aiming for my long-long runs this summer. Anything around 2 hrs or under, I'll Garmin up (probably), unless it's a recovery jog, but longer runs seem to go better when I chill more, taking a walk break here or there, and taking in the scenery. But it's hard to relax like that. I guess I tend to get too wrapped up in pace to enjoy long runs much of the time, and watching the numbers makes it seem longer and more arduous. A 2 hr run glued to the timer seems longer than a 3+ hour without.