Recovery run and a few more thoughts on the race

Today’s run was an easy 3 in 29 minutes.  Almost as long to go 3 miles this morning as to go 4 yesterday. But that is the difference between a race and a recovery run.  Total mileage 1459.  I am going to be at almost 1500 by week’s end.  Given the goal of reaching 2000 miles by year’s end, that will put me three weeks ahead of schedule.  I will reach my goal and celebrate my virtual arrival at Our Lady of Perpetual Hope a bit early. 

Not much to write about from today’s run.  A few more reflections on yesterday. 

First, during the 90 minutes between when I finished the race and when they started awards, I drank 2 bottles of water, 2 diet Cokes, a regular Coke, and a Sprite.  I ate a bag of chips, a bag of chocolate chip cookies, and 2 Fig Newton bars.  I hadn’t realized quite how much fluid I needed as that is more than a half gallon of liquid.  On top of that, when I went to the state fair with Sherry after a shower, I ate a cheeseburger platter (including cole slaw and potato salad) and an ear of corn.  And at home I drank a lot of pumpkin beer.  (But not all at once.)

Second, the race had 327 finishers.  I was the last one who finished in under 2:30.  In addition to the heat, there was another reason the race was difficult.  At one point, I think I didn’t see anyone else in the race for a mile or maybe two.  Losing visual contact with anyone else is a big deal in a race.  That is how far spread out things got.  If you look at the list of finishers, the person one ahead of me finished 48 seconds ahead.  The person one behind me finished more than two minutes behind.  That is a lot of distance between runners.  I did see the Navy guy who finished ahead of me as he headed along Paper Mill Road and back to York Rd. Still, in addition to the perseverance I mentioned yesterday, this is a reminder that sometimes we are our only light.  Or, more correctly, a reminder that sometimes our only light comes from whatever we think of as that bigger force in the Universe.  Some of us call it God.  For others it is something else.  The key is that sometimes we cannot rely on other people to be the light and carry the way.  We just have to rely on ourselves and our sense of where we fit in the bigger picture and why we are here.  And the reason for the run. 

Which for me is part of how I experience and give glory to God.  My own running.  Encouraging others to run.  And the spiritual focus that mimics the physical focus as I mentioned yesterday.  As well as the mental focus and task focus that I try to bring to the rest of my life.