So, I've raced twice this year. OK, if you count local orienteering meets and the tune-up 5K for Boston, it's been more than twice. But, really showing up at the starting line with the idea that this was an "Event" (not race!) and not a training run, it's been twice: Boston and Leadville.
It's no coincidence that those are two of the most prestigious races in the world. I've been intentionally seeking out events that I have absolutely no chance of winning so I can move myself into a mindset of participating rather than racing. I did that quite well at Boston and really enjoyed running one of my slowest marathons ever. I did it a bit too well at Leadville. Apparently, I need to bring a bit more urgency to that one or I miss the cutoffs. Anyway, even though I missed out on the last 40 miles, it was still a great thing.
So, now comes Pere Marquette. There's simply no way I can show up at this and kid myself into thinking I don't care about the result. While it may not register on the world stage, this really is one of the big deals in Midwestern Trail Running. And, in that pond, I'm a big fish (or, at least, I used to be). This will be my 17th showing. In the previous 16, I've finished in the top 20 twelve times, won my division 3 times, won my age group 8 other times, been second or third another 3 times.
It's not just me, either. The last two years several runners have been annoyingly pleased to have beaten me. Sure, I could be a jerk and point out to them that grad school tends to knock your fitness down a couple rungs. I'm not seeing the upside in that. But, it is a bit painful to see folks so happy to have smoked you when you know you weren't anywhere near your best.
I've decided I'll run another tune-up race in October. If that indicates that I have a legit shot at running under an hour, I'll run. Otherwise, I'll transfer my entry to someone else and just work the race as a volunteer.
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