This was never going to be a PR or even a BQ race for me. I’m in the final throes of a head cold, I’m undertrained and over-stressed. The goal for today was simple: sweat out as many germs as I could, get to the finish line, have some street tacos.
And by that standard, it was a resounding success. Was I a cheetah? No. I was more a Baymax. Was the course life-re-defining? No, but it was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday — a bike path near Magic Mountain, out and about in the world. It was more of a loneliness of the long-distance runner vibe given the sparse field (especially on the second loop of the two loop course). I was just slightly off pace with folks so there seemed to be long stretches of… wide open paths.
I didn’t take many photos — though I did snap a shot of this “course landmark.” It’s been a minute since I had such a delightful course instruction: “At the polar bear, take a left.” And sure enough: Polar Bear.
The day happened, I ran, and most importantly, this race organization prides itself on having a taco truck at the finish… so I got my street tacos in the end. And that’s not nothing.
How this all rolls into next Saturday’s REVEL race at Big Bear is TBD… and honestly you can feel great and have a lousy run and feel lousy and have a great run. The general ennui I’m feeling means I’ll most likely have an ennui run… but even that is better than no run.
To the final race of 2024… and maybe not a moment too soon. My legs are tired. My body is tired. I’m just tired.