Done, run

So even though the race I was timing was quite small with less than 100 runners, it still brought me near normal amounts of anxiety.  On Friday I left early from work to drop off packet pick up items and then Cindy and I went back before 7 to grab stuff.  While we were there we helped the race director, a friend of ours from the running club, do some additional prep for the race that included hanging up a number of inspirational religious banners along the course.  The race was being held at a Roman Catholic church.

This was the first and last time the new Tacoma was pressed into duty as a race transport vehicle.  It’s larger dimensions made getting all of the gear inside less challenging than it had been in the past.  Although the 4AM alarm was unwelcome, I shot out of bed almost immediately, ready to get my last timing gig in the rear view mirror.

The church was relatively close to us which was convenient.  As soon as we arrived on site we worked on getting the finish line arch up and running.  I felt badly that the erection of the arch knocked down an amazing spider web that was built overnight.  One of it’s attachment lines to a far away tree literally was over 30 feet long.

The race was scheduled to start early at 7:05 AM.  Even so, by 6AM all of our stuff was set up and ready to roll.  Once again I had extra time to help the race director with other stuff like placing signage on the course.  Cindy manned the registration computer but there were only a handful of people that signed up on Saturday.

The start of the race was very simple for me since it was not a chip start, meaning all I had to bring with me was a stopwatch and a clipboard.  After a brief prayer the runners and walkers were off.  The course was a little confusing as it snaked around the church grounds.  It included multiple loops and a separate course for walkers that used some of the runners path as well.  Luckily there were plenty of marshals out there telling people where to go.

As the first runner crossed a little after the 22 minute mark I held my breath for a second just as I normally do until I confirmed his name and time flashed on the screen as it is supposed to.  Even though I do plenty of checks ahead of time, until a runner crosses, I never fully feel at ease.  The first and last runner came through just fine.  I had absolutely zero issues for the event.  I can’t imagine a race going much more smoothly.

Katie showed up towards the end of the race with coffee in hand which was nice.  She also helped us tear down the finish line.  As we packed away the equipment for what should be the final time I felt some small sense of both sadness but a much larger feeling of relief.  Although my race timing accomplishments have been a source of pride for me over the years, at this point in my life the price I pay in anxiety and stress just is not worth it. I’m sure  It will eventually fade into the background as just one of those other things I used to do.

Cindy had to go to work so I went home and unloaded the truck myself.  After I was done I headed outside for a grueling yard work session that started with weeding the property in the morning followed by extensive weed whacking in the afternoon during the heat of the day.  To follow up with all the backyard mowing I did, I whacked the entire fence line, both sides of it, in addition to the normal stuff around the house.  It was a two hour sweatfest that had me refilling the trimmer head spool three times.

By the time I was done I felt obliterated.  The combo of getting up early and timing the race with hard, hard labor left me again walking in my now familiar zombie like gait.  Despite feeling wiped out I took Cindy out to dinner at PF Changs to celebrate the end of our race timing career.  Although it is one of Cindy’s favorite places we had not been there in a very long time.  We enjoyed our food although we brought a lot of it home with us, including a massive slab of chocolate cake that was big enough to feed a family of four.

Despite feeling so shitty Saturday night I still set the alarm for Sunday morning to get my ass out to run.  For the second week in a row Cindy joined me.  We logged the most mileage in recent history, doing just under four and a half miles.  I can’t tell you how forward I am looking towards running in something less than 95% humidity.

After getting back and showering  we headed back out to ride the PTVs, get coffee and do a run to Home Depot for a few items.  Once again I rode my electric unicycle while Cindy rode her Segway Minipro.  At this point there is nowhere she can go on the Minipro that I can’t handle on my unicycle.  I had an annoying moment when an SUV looked like he was going to stop for us and then didn’t, causing me to lay down the Ninebot unexpectedly.  Of course the asshole had a Trump sticker on the back of the vehicle.

We did our Halloween decorating later in the day and I finally got some time to play some WoW, the first of the weekend.  Sunday night we watched All the Way, the movie about LBJ, played by Bryan Cranston.  I thought Cranston did an excellent job portraying LBJ.  I found the film interesting and educational.  I honestly had very minimal knowledge of exactly what LBJ accomplished while in office.  I was surprised to see it was quite significant.  It was a solid B+ film for sure.