Tales of 9 Runs: A Tale of 2 Medals or I Just Ran a 25K, No, Really!

Lance Eaton before his first 25K race.
Boy Blue ready for
his run.
It was cheesy.  All of $. 50 of plastic and ribbon, but the sincerity and sweetness of it was pretty awesome.  In the picture below, it's the medal on the left.  My sister-in-law made it for me for my first 5K race that I ever ran (It's happening again this year for interested runners-- the 2nd Annual Lynda Talbot 5K in Danvers, MA).  It was cheesy but a kind gesture.  One that I recognize was just enough of a carrot to get me to the medal I received today when I finished my first 25K race.

Today's race was hard.  I wasn't there fully as I explained in my pre-run post.  But I got up, did my routine and got ready to run.  It was a laborious course with lots of hills but luckily the weather was on our side.  Largely in the low 70s and partly cloudy, the weather wore away less on me than some of the hotter runs during the summer, which was good because I made the cardinal error of going out too fast.  I did my first mile in about 9 minutes 15 seconds which for a run like this, I would have been better with straight 10 minute-miles.  I paced myself with people that were more prepared and ready for this and found myself feeling it around mile 5.  At the half way mark, I allowed myself to walk for about four minutes to let myself rest.  But the entire second half of the run, I found myself walking more than I would have liked.  I think in total, I walked between 12-15 minutes of the run.  However, despite that, I still had a time (2:50:50) that was better overall than what I ran when I ran my first 15 miles a few weeks ago. Considering the hills and previous mentioned issues.  I'm overall happy with it.  The critiques I'm providing are mostly my own accounting of how to improve for next time.
Timing for Lance Eaton's first 25K
No records were broken,
but I was happy to press the
stop button.

I know that I've lamented about this before, but I'm profoundly amazed that I did this and grateful that I've had the opportunity to train and work towards this goal.  This last year of running has hit me to the core.  I would never utter the words, "I'm a runner."  And now, I do. As I crossed the finish line, hamstring beginning to cramp and seeing the woman at the end holding out medals to grace finishers wish, I was pretty awed.  It's not as much about accomplishing the 15.6 miles, but accomplishing it and enjoying it.  Despite the fatigue and strain of my body, I still love running.  I'm not fast--I never will be and I don't need to be.  I just need to be on the road, moving one foot in front of the other and enjoying the projection of my body into the space in front of me, knowing that if I can if I can do it for one step, I can do it for two; if I can do it for one mile, I can do it for two.

Lance Eaton after finishing his first 25K race. As I look back at the runs and the writing (Run 1.  Run 2.  Run 3.  Run 4.  Run 5.  Run 6.  Run 7.  Run 8.  One note--I apparently messed up on the numbering--ooops)  I'm surprised about how much writing I have done on a topic that I would have loathed to read about, never mind participate in and write about. I plan to continue running.  In fact, I have this 30K race in two weeks and a half marathon next month.  I do believe there is a marathon or two in my future, but not something I'm likely to tackle this year.

I also want to thank my readers and my friends.  I don't get a lot of traffic--a few dozen if the post is released at the right time, but I know people are reading in the conversations I have in the real world and your words have meant just as much.  When people they tell me they've drawn meaning or even kinship from my what I've written about, that's pretty awesome.   Many tell me they like keeping up with me and hearing how the running is going.  Others appreciate the energy and excitement that I bring in hopes to absorb some of that for their own challenges.  There have also been the friends that I've had conversations with about running and they changes and differences they see in my as a result.  Undoubtedly, I ran this race, but equally important, I felt the support and encouragement from dozens of friends and colleagues.  So thank you!

Lance Eaton's race numbers thus far.



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Comments

  1. You are amazing. Congrats, you should be so proud. Seriously Lance. :) I feel the same way about saying I'm an "active person" - that you do about saying "I'm a runner." You keep my ass getting up and pumping iron and going hard even when I don't feel like it that day. Keep at it!

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  2. Thanks Em! I appreciate the warm sentiments and I feel equally obligated when I see your posts about how much ass you're kicking at the gym!

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  3. Congrats! You looked pretty steady to me when I saw you on the course. The specter of a someday marathon looms for me too, just not yet. It was a great day out there; happy recovery!

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  4. Thanks Sarah! Steady yes, but you still blew right past me :) I am recovering well--albeit sore for certain. I think next year I might move up to the marathon by season's end...during the fall and winter there's just too much going on.

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