Ramat HaSharon
Eyal 15km Race, Ramat HaSharon
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- Intensity
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- The Gang
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- Bling
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- final 20 metres
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- Grinding
First off, I got a time I’m not ashamed of: 1:10:23. I can live with that. I know I could have managed a wee bit faster, but I wanted to feel relatively human for the rest of the day. [noticed that Shvoong updated my time to be 1:09:41 – even better!]
We arrived later than I wished due to my typically disastrous navigation skills. I struggled to secure the boys’ chips and kits, as the organizers seem to have to have lost them. I was trying my best to verify their registration number, and the “charming” gal “helping” me, barked back, “You don’t need to be sarcastic!” Which is really funny, as within the context of the vocabulary I was using, I am incapable of sarcasm; I was sincerely desperate. I think she eventually realized that I was a newcomer and changed her approach. In the end I managed to get them numbers, but their times were not officially recorded for their 2km run. This didn’t bother them, and both boys did well and had fun and enjoyed all the swag they received.
I am still frustrated with the organizational disaster. Did I mention the utter lack of toilets? Runners apparently are able to dispense with dignity when required. But enough about that!
In defense of the race organizers, Shvoong, the swag was A1: Nike dri-fit shirts, monogrammed towels, medals and wee string bag for your stuff, which included hi-tech Band-Aids. Post-race goodies included: yoghurt, fruit, mints, borekas, water and popsicles; that works for me. The best part was that the kids didn’t just get cheap t-shirts, but Nike dri-fit as well.
The whole day actually got better, once I started running; imagine that!
Ah, the day – truly gorgeous! It was sunny and warm, but not hot; just right.
More than half the race was off-road on agricultural roads, many through orange and grapefruit groves which gave the race a sweet citrus scent, which is certainly better than the alternative. An interesting touch was the race being inaugurated by drummers, who were stationed a various milestones as well. I don’t know why, but this made me smile.
I confirmed to myself that I prefer longer distances and am wired for the upcoming marathons. Loved my BondiBand, and accidently ended-up running with my pack, but it worked.
I saw a bunch of cools stuff in the product tents: leg-massagers by TigerTailUSA, compression socks by compressport, and other toys. I’m going to read up on the socks… just about got suckered-in to buy a pair, but I realized that I know nothing of the actual science behind them (sales pitch >=< science) and whether I could stand to benefit.
It is a sweet gift to run a race again and not feel frustrated by your performance, but to actually enjoy the run.
The highlight of highlights for this race wasn’t my time or the groovy gear, but getting my race shirt a couple of sizes smaller and giving it to my wife, as she tirelessly cheers me on in my addiction.
Awesome Run, by Accident
Some mornings for whatever reason, getting out and hitting the road takes an awful lot of self-discipline and it often isn’t till I’m a couple km in that I remember how much I love this.
Saturday was one of those days. My goal was what I thought was going to be a 14-15 km loop, and given that it was the first run since the race, I opted for a 5:15 pace, slow but respectable. The morning was rather cool and for the first time in months I needed a long-sleeved shirt and it rained intermittently, which cleaned the air and the road. About 12 km in it dawned on me that I was still a long way from home, in fact barely over half-way! I felt great though, and hammered through, often singing-along terribly with whatever hard-punk/techno nonsense I was listening to; enjoying the rain and un-fettered ability to run. In the end I clocked 23+ km but felt marvellous to be surprised by the distance I hadn’t intended to run, and how good I felt in running it.
I wonder if life isn’t like that – the hard tasks we anticipate might be even longer than we ever imagined, and yet our ability to overcome is underestimated and so deeply rewarding.
There is the 15km Ayel in Ramat HaSharon race in a couple of weeks and I am pumped to go with my boys, as they will be racing in the 2km; I suspect they do it to impress me, though they’d never admit that; I just hope that they can discover the magic of running and do it for themselves.
Run Negev 