Forgive
me, but the beginning of this race recap is also a bit of a bash on the
Princess Half-Marathon. See, the
Princess Half wasn’t all love and light and was, in fact, a source of more than
a little drama and tension.
Leading
up to the race, there was rampant concern and intrigue in the Disney running
community about corral placement, training plans, costume choices and runDisney’s
16-minute-mile minimum pace requirement.
In the weeks immediately preceding the race, concern frequently turned
to outrage as corrals placements were released, verifying that some fast
runners were “stuck” in far back corrals, while slower runners were placed in earlier
corrals. Some slower runners and walkers
became fearful, worrying that they might not be able to keep up with their
assigned corrals.
During
the Princess Half weekend’s festivities, I heard too many negative comments to
count – in lines at the Expo, in park restrooms, overheard at dining
establishments – about crowds, corrals, and other runners. Race day brought more of the same.
And,
sadly, perhaps the worst of it has come post-race. Lengthy discussions about who “deserves” a
medal. About whether or not merely
finishing is sufficient if one did not maintain the minimum pace. About runDisney’s ever-increasing participant
cap and its effect on course congestion.
About what a “real” runner is, looks like, strives for.
Let me
be clear: I was not immune to all of it.
I added my voice to a number of online and in-person discussions and,
yes, I made some negative comments of my own.
I’m not proud of this. By the
time I actually ran the race, though, I’d really had enough of it. I felt like all of the negativity took away
from an event intended to bring people together. I’ve felt the race and its accompanying drama
like an albatross around my neck. I’ve
been making an effort to mentally separate my individual race experience from
the nonsense and I’ve been making an even bigger effort to separate myself from
the nonsense altogether. Because, in the
end, I want my running to be about more than races.
The
Eagle Lake Classic could not have come at a better time.
Two
weeks after the Princess Half and less than a week after I’d been hobbled by
bronchitis, I wasn’t even sure I could run some
of a 5K, let alone set a new personal record (PR), let alone come away with
a joyful race experience. I’d have been
happy just to finish and spend some time in a favorite park.
The
mood before the race was relaxed and friendly.
There’d been some confusion in the days prior about packet pick-up, but everything
ran smoothly on race day. After securing
my bib (and awesome swag bag – too many useful giveaways to count!), I set out
for about a mile warm-up, knowing that it always takes me about that long to
find my groove and release pent-up tension in my muscles. As I jogged through the park, I encountered other
runners doing the same and we all smiled and said “Good morning!” as we passed.
Getting
into position for the start, I recognized a fellow mom from my son’s school and
we chatted briefly about the race and others coming up. In no time, we began moving forward and the
race quietly started. Throughout the
race, I was impressed with the number of other racers and volunteers who took a
few seconds to say “Good job!”, “Keep it up!”, or “Looking good!” as I passed
or was passed, and I did the same in return.
My lungs were in bad shape and weren’t able to run as much as the rest
of me could handle, but the encouragement kept my head held high right through
the finish.
By the last
half-mile, I knew that I was very, very close to hitting a new PR. I wanted to repeat my finishing kick at the
Princess Half and dug deep to sprint that last half-mile, but my lungs just
couldn’t keep up. I managed a fast
quarter-mile, took a walk break to recover my breath, and did my best to sprint
the finish line… clock time and iSmoothRun had me within half a minute of my
previous PR, achieved at last year’s running of the same race. I wouldn’t know my final chip time for another
day, but I was more than happy to be so close!
But,
really, the best part of the race came after the finish. I walked some to cool down and sip water,
then found an open spot at a picnic table and sat down to eat a snack and
nerd-out on my race stats. But the woman
next to me was telling some other folks at the table that it had been her first
race and I offered my congratulations to her.
At that, I was drawn into further discussion with the fine folks at our
table, talking about other races, gear, injuries, training… Not once was there
mention or debate over other runners’ performance. When I said something that sounded entirely
too apologetic about needing to take walk breaks, I was quickly reminded that
there is no shame in walking; didn’t’ we all learn to walk before we ran? When overall and age group winners were announced,
we applauded politely, though we didn’t know any of them. And when I took my leave to head home to Leo,
we thanked each other for the nice conversation and encouraged one another to
keep it up, that we’d look for each other in future races.
The
2013 Eagle Lake Classic was the perfect counterbalance to my Princess Half
experiences. Though it didn’t start with
fireworks, though the only on-course “entertainment” came from a couple corny
jokes made by the amazing volunteers, though I walked away with a
sample-sized toothpaste instead of a shiny medal, Eagle Lake embodied
everything I love about running: communion with nature, people who want to help
others succeed, and positive energy. I
think there’s a place for both types of racing, but I think I prefer the
low-key experience of a small, local race to the mega-watt excitement of Disney
racing. I’m so glad I live in a place
where I can do both regularly.
And oh,
about that PR? Yes, I actually coughed
up (pun intended) a new one! Shaved 14
seconds off last year’s time. Imagine
what I could do with fully functional airways! :)
