Run for the Buzz

OMG--I'm 60! That means a new age group. To start things off, I ran a 10K yesterday. It's been a while since I've raced that distance. Truth be told, I haven't even done much running beyond 5 miles until the last two weeks. I've only raced 5ks so far this year, so it was time to set a record for my new AG. The Brian Waterbury Memorial Rock to Pier is a point to point run on the beach, from Morro Bay to neighboring Cayucos. There's also a half marathon, which loops back to Morro Bay. Although two of my friends were running the half, I knew I wasn't in any shape to race that distance. We started out together, but they were soon ahead of me. I thought I was doing pretty well, and although I started to tire, I never stopped for a walking break. I was pretty focused and didn't do much chit-chatting along the way. I looked for people who I thought I could keep pace with, but didn't find any. I also looked for runners that I could pick off. So I was vaguely aware of my fellow runners but focused on finishing. One woman started to pass me and I spend up. As I neared the pier, which was the finish line, I heard someone say, "I'm coming in with you." I don't know who she was talking to, but my thought was, "Oh no, you're not!" I may be slow, but I'm still competitive. Mostly we ran on hard packed sand, but you had to run on soft sand to cross the finish. I was steps behind a woman, and then I realized I could cross before her so went for it. Hey, it means one number lower in the overall place. I got my comeuppance though. The results gave us the exact same time, and put her name in first! My marathon training plan called for me to run 9 miles, which means I had 3 miles to make up. So instead of taking the bus back to the start in Morro Bay, where food awaited, I decided it would be smarter to run the six miles back. I figured I'd jog 3 miles then walk the rest. Except I forgot how much I hate walking--it's so slow! I also forgot that I had run hard the first 6 miles and that maybe I should take that into consideration. It occurred to me about two miles out, but by then I didn't want to turn around. I tell you, that was the longest 6 miles I've run in awhile. I doubt that I even ran 3 miles. I was sore and tired, after having only 5 hours of sleep the night before. And I was alone. Although there were plenty of runners and walkers who were heading towards the pier, no one seemed to be running back to the rock at Morro Bay. It was brutal. Kind of like the last 10 miles of a marathon. I had re-filled my water bottles prior to turning back, which helped me wash down the 2 GUs I took. Yes, 2 gels in 6 miles. They didn't help much, except maybe psychologically. My Garmin watch is set to vibrate so I would force myself to run until I felt the watch buzz. Then I would walk. As long as I was running on the beach, I tried to appreciate where I was. Dogs were playing on the beach, young lovers were kissing passionately, and surfers were riding the waves. The race started at low tide which was good for runners but bad for sand crabs. I avoided one but I'm sure someone else behind me got it. Poor sand crabs were trampled under the hordes of running feet and I saw evidence of that as I ran back to Morro Bay. I saw a few interesting birds. Here's a sandpiper. I love their long beaks, designed for digging deep in the sand for tasty sand crabs.

And here's a pretty white egret. At least, I think that's what it is. I'm not much of a birder.

You don't have to be a birder to know a mile marker. This sign for the half marathoners meant I only had one more mile to go. Hallelujah!

After arriving at the staging area, I was rewarded with scrambled eggs, hash browns, bread and delicious strawberries from nearby Santa Maria. Then I looked up my results--1:13:40, 15th place in my age group. And to add insult to injury, my left foot is swollen and I've got it wrapped. Hopefully with a little TLC I'll be able to keep on my marathon schedule, since my next run isn't until Tuesday. I'll keep you posted.