VOLUNTARY Army 10k

*fade from orange* This was a really odd run/ race/ event for me. Foreward (and forewarned) For one, when I arrived I realized “hm, I’m not really ready for this.” The past week went by in a blur and Saturday morning arrived in a rude heap. I must say I had the best of intentions of doing three weeks of disciplined runs to get myself in the mindset for this event after CTRR. Oops. Silly me shoulda thought a little bit harder on that one. Let’s see… Week one, I was in the Field. (It is amazing how hilarious a vicious thunderstorm, torrential downpour and category 4 winds can be at 0230 Wednesday night…) Week two, final exercise for the course I was on…did get a couple o’ runs in. Week three, house hunting trip / honeymoon in Moncton. One run… After my arrival, and then I finally realized I had to run in less than an hour. And I got nervous. And I did not know what to do. I had never gotten nervous before. Maybe it was the home field “advantage” I had. The run was going to be on the trails I train on. Maybe it was the fact that I felt maybe as an ARMY guy at the ARMY 10k I had to be ARMY-ish? or maybe it was the fact that the last time I did a 10k event on these trails it was a horrible experience. *cue transitional music* (sappy retrospective) The year was 2004, October. I was on my final phase training course when they came in and said. “Ok, everyone will be doing the Terry Fox 10km next week” I was a bit heavier, much less a runner and sat there in freshly soiled combats with a stunned look on my face. Great. It was as embarrassing as I thought it would be, gasp, wheeze, I sprinted I walked, gasp, I lumbered, and staggered across the finish line at 1:04:xx. But it was great (sarcastic) my course was waiting for me, and most of my friends were still there. To my credit I still came in closer to the middle than the back…well, ish. That run taught me something. I was fat. I had convinced myself I was in shape…(and on some comparative scales it was arguable that I was). Shorter after I joined Jaimer and Scadian on there Fredericton 2005 Half quest. Which lasted about ten runs, as I had an operation scheduled a month before the event, and I was terrified, overwhelmed, and a wuss. And stopped running. Fast-forward to August 2005, CAW finds RM, therefore, ergo, donc, Scotty finds RM. *cue transitional music* (finally…the point) Today: I warm up a little, slap a few bugs. I feel unprepared. I have no MP3, no Garmin, and no watch. Nada, well a snazzy retro headband…I was running on pure measured output. My previous best 10k was 53:38, back in March. I had had a whisper goal before of 50:00, seemed like a reasonable goal. But in essence I just hoped to mirror my previous result. With only 100 or so starters I had no problem seeding my self about 1/3 of the way back… It was just before the 2km marker when I had a funny moment, that is when I started to feel “yeah, ok, got my stride now, breathings good, I feel good, look out world I’m loose now!” Then I look up and see this kid streaking towards me, doesn’t even look old enough to shave…little bugger is already on his way back (doing the five). So I smiled, and shoved his 85lb frame as hard as I could into the bushes. Which got a chorus of cheers from behind me… I wish. I was still chuckling to myself at the 4 km mark; people must’ve thought I’d lost it. I had heard quite a few people, unfamiliar with the route nervously chattering about the “hilliness” of the course, and to some like me, it was moot as I didn’t find them that bad, but for anyone who focused their training on level ground…oops. At any rate I had no clue how I was doing, time wise. Physically I was maintaining a cruising pace somewhere below ‘vomit’, but above ‘comfortable’. I was stuck right around ‘stitch’. I nodded to Dan, high-fived Jaimer, smiled with Pete, and high-fived Kara. As I came into the last km mark, a spot I know very well, I decided to leave my spleen and pancreas on the course and go for it. As I came around the six-foot wall on the obstacle course I see the finish. Holy carp…I lumber my way to the line. 52:02. I tried so hard to shave 3 more seconds off, but the timer mocked me… Still, a PB is a PB. I am surprised, excited, and sore… I like those accomplishment that sneak up on you unawares and yell, “BOO!” and then giggle at you… *roll credits*