This morning, in my hometown of Fort Worth, I did my 157th footrace. I used to begin marathon training on Labor Day, so I would run the 15K (9.3 miles). For the past few years, however, I have done the 5K (3.1 miles). The shorter distance allows me to go faster. I wouldn't say that the total amount of suffering is less, because while I do only a third of the distance, the pace is higher. If you're not suffering, you're not pushing yourself hard enough.
There was a huge turnout of runners in Montgomery Square. The day dawned warm and sunny. I got caught up in the crowd at the start, which cost me upwards of 15 seconds. My time for the first mile was 7:18. I did the second mile in 7:10 and the third in 7:07. I sprinted the final tenth of a mile at a 6:24 pace and ended up with a mile pace of 7:14.05 (chip time). This is slower than the previous two years (6:52), but I got the second-place award in my age group nonetheless. Actually, I was third of 24 runners in my age group (men 50-54), but one of them was given the Grandmaster award for best time by a runner 50 or over. The other man beat me by six seconds. This is strange, because I didn't notice a man my age during the final quarter of a mile. Had I done so, I might have been able to catch him. I finished 50th of 310 males.
My average heart rate during the race was 146. My maximum was 161. I rarely see even 155 on the bike, which tells you how much harder running is. I was gasping for air the entire way. Running is a distressing activity. It should be illegal to race. But if it were, I would be a scofflaw. Some things must be done, legal or not. Here are the results. My name appears on page 26. Here is a story about the 5K and 15K races. I hope you're having as nice a Labor Day weekend as Katherine and I are. Life is good.
Addendum: Here is video of the start of the 5K and 15K races. I go through the screen at 50 seconds. I'm wearing black shorts and a blue top, with yellow shoes like those depicted in this post.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 