winning

recent mileage: alot

on the iPod: "georgia clay" -- josh kelley

While I stopped writing for a few weeks, I didn't stop running. There's been an 11 mile training run, the Cancer Challenge 10K (a waaay cool event), multiple five and six milers in the heat of the day, the Run For Vets this morning, two PR's, and one 1st place age division finish. I've never placed in my age division, much less first. I'm proud.

Summer running is so much fun. A lot of people assume that a person has to have lost touch with reality to want to lace up in the blazing, stifling heat of an Arkansas summer, but I find myself drawn to it. There's a deep, driving force that propels me to run in the summer months. I can't sit on a couch in the air conditioned bliss of my living room, watching Oprah, eating Cheetos. I must get out in the elements. I must push myself to go one more turn on the trail. One more block. One more road. One more hill.

In fact, the first run I ever took, some 12 years ago, was on a hot-as-heck early August evening. I remember it with striking clarity, and have often considered going back to the very street in that neighborhood for a repeat jog. Completely out of shape, with no lung capacity whatsoever, I pounded past my neighbor's houses toward the front of my subdivision, turned around half way, and walked home. I was in a process of discernment back then, and running became the glue that kept me together. I'm so glad the glue stuck. It changed everything. For the better.

This morning at 7:00 a.m., when I rolled in to Veteran's Park for the Run For Vets 4 Miler, the heat was already searing. It must have been in the low 80's. The humidity hadn't kicked in yet, but the heat was there. Full on. Mrs. Murie and her niece, Chloe, who is in town visiting from Georgia, were racing as well. The three of us greeted each other with smiles and anticipation for what promised to be a crazy hot morning run. I was excited.

In it's third year, the Run For Vets is a really cool event with a local feel. It's got that grassroots vibe with not alot of crowds, but some really good support and swag from local runners that plan it each year. Jerry Bailey, a grand friend from my college days, did a great job coordinating. And it's only fitting that this race falls each year on Independence Day weekend, honoring and remembering the amazing people that have fought and sacrificed for freedom and liberty.

The course was an out-and-back on the banks of Lake Fayetteville. We've run this portion of the trail system tons of times, but nothing can prepare a runner for the mean, nasty hill on the North Shore. And of course, it landed very close to the turn-around, so essentially we ran it twice in about a half mile stretch. It was a killer, but everybody survived to finish in good form. Don and Cynthia Puckett were on the levee portion to cheer me on. I love when they come to watch. It makes me think about future races and how cool it would be to have somebody great in my life that would be there to smile and yell and cheer at the finish line. I know those things happen when they are supposed to, so in the interim I won't worry and keep running. It's good.

Post-race found me drenched in sweat, but chocolate milk and orange slices made life swell again. I stuck around long enough to win a door prize and catch up with great friends: Deanna, Hershey, and Jerry, who is running Leadville, an epic 100 mile trail run in Colorado next month, but left before hearing my name called for placing first in my age division. When Jerry texted me about an hour later to let me know he had my dogtags (that's what the winners get), all I could do was smile and think that the other 37 year-olds in the race must have been total slow-ass lugs. How in the heck could that have happened? I'll never figure it out.

After a quick shower and changing into completely dry and sweat-free street clothes, I headed to the Farmer's Market for coffee and vegetables. As usual, it was great to visit with friends on the square and enjoy the things that make this Ozark Mountain town my home. We sat on the rock ledge of the expansive and lush gardens, catching up with each other and enjoying the morning. I could have stayed there, in that moment, for hours. Jerry was having breakfast at a local restaurant on the square and gave me my dogtags. I haven't taken them off since.

Summer and the heat are here and I couldn't be happier. The daily temps easily reach the 90's and the sunshine is abundant. It's relentless energy is the prime factor in any outdoor activity, and threatens to shut down the simplest of tasks. But not running. Not for me. I'm winning.