Tuesday, October 05, 2010

IN THE BEGINNING

I love running during this time of year for a lot of reasons; the cooler weather, the changing colors, it’s cross country season, and there are a ton of great marathons in the fall. I also like the fall because it’s when I started running 31 years ago. I’ve lost track a little over the years, but I think the actual anniversary is like October 3rd or 4th.

What’s a 10 year old supposed to do a week-and-a-half after starting to run? Jump in a race, of course.

If you flip open the jogger’s diary that I posted yesterday, you’ll see that the first entry is from a 4 mile race I ran on October 13, 1979. I’d like to believe I ran 34:36 for 4 miles, as a 10-year-old. However, I realize they probably clocked this course by driving in their car.


I was actually able to find a photo that my mom took too. For some reason it’s a photo of our back. In case you can’t tell, I’m the short one. While it’s not a very good photo, believe it or not, she got everyone entered in the race in one shot. Yep, there were a total of 4 people in this race. If I remember correctly, I ended up losing a sprint and finishing 2nd. I sure hope I beat that guy that’s blatantly cutting the course.



Speaking of photos, be sure to check out Evan’s photos from TCM.

Quote of the Day;

“I was really ready and didn’t get the breaks. That’s life… you work hard for just a few chances.” – Steve Prefontaine

3 comments:

  1. Your jogging diary is so cute! That's a long time that you've been at this sport. How fun to look back and track your progress!

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  2. I still have my ribbon from winning a 200 yard dash in 1969 (age 6) - had to beat a 4th grader to get it. And I'm now back to struggling to beat 4th graders, so life comes full circle.

    My first real record keeping is from 1983. One year's training on one sheet of paper.

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  3. McMillan's Running Calculator predicts that someone who can run a 1:53:20 half should be able to about a 32:04 4 miler so the 34:36 doesn't seem too unreasonable--especially if you ran both more on natural talent than training.

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