Only Fools Run at Midnight

My schedule got all twisted up yesterday/last night. After guard drill, the swim, the race and the brick run, I was ready for a nap. It lasted until the end of the day … literally. I woke just in time for the Only Fools Run at Midnight. It’s a 3.5-mile run going up one street and down the next and eventually goes right past my house toward the finish line. I ran there for a warm-up, but finding motivation when I was so tired was hard to do. Most of the fatigue was from a heavy training load this week before Saturday.

Amanda and I arrived on the start line just as they counted down from 5 seconds. Nice timing! The race started and I was able to tell in just a few steps that my heart just wasn’t in it. I cruised along at a comfortable pace as dozens quickly pulled ahead of me. As usual on runs where I feel like this, I ran faster and faster as I warmed up. The combination of people slowing from going out too hard and my speeding up made for a lot of passing. As I neared the end up the run, I found myself running really hard to pick off the last few people in sight. Of course, being dark, there were others who were literally out of sight. The final half mile was at 5:17 pace, which is certainly a race pace, not the comfortable pace I started with. I think I finished 4th overall after counting runners in the finish corral. Mike McCoy (my training partner) came in shortly after. Phaedra was the overall female winner and Amanda came in second among females. They don’t give awards, place or time, but they do have a clock to look at as you finish. What a way to start a day! Now I’ve got to nap before the daunting task of a 50-mile bike race.