As the 3,000 plus runners crowded into the old, narrow, downtown street, the bodies stood shoulder to shoulder three blocks long. Sunrise loomed, and a hint of pink peaked over the eastern storefronts lining the street, otherwise the sky was dark; the only light provided by the soft glow of the old gas lamps. Towering over the crowd was an old, three story brick building known by the locals as the “Village Tower”. It was originally a Masonic Temple, the exterior brickwork still displays the emblems of the bygone era. If you closed your eyes and listened to the low murmur of crowd anticipation, you could imagine the century old building overseeing many gatherings like this in the city square over the decades.
The start time approached and the noise grew slowly louder. A muffled PA system began to blast announcements to the crowd. Over the next several minutes, the excitement and noise levels continued to climb, the mood began to border on “rowdiness. Then… something very touching happened. Over the PA, a woman began to sing the national anthem and immediately the crowd became silent. An awesome display of respect was shown by the crowd to a person. The silence was striking. For a moment, my heart felt a glimmer of hope for us all. Regardless of political differences and economic downturns; regardless of the fact that more and more often we seem to be living in a society in decline; regardless of the fact that families are literally living in their cars here in Florida, there still may be common ground for us to all come together upon. It is silly, I know, but it was a nice and profound moment. Maybe things will start to get better.
Slightly Less Corny Description of the Run
The course traveled along a relatively narrow coastal road literally a few feet from water’s edge: it was beautiful, scenic and relatively flat along the Indian River waterway. Homes sitting up high off the ground lined the course. Wonderful old oak sprinkled the spacious yards. The sights and sounds of the race seem to take on a life of their own. The course and staggered start times allowed for people grasping for air to run alongside elite athletes who make running a marathon at a 6 minute per mile pace look easy.
It was breezy, but there was heavy cloud cover so it was cool with an occasional sea mist coming off of the water. I focused on Keeping my heart rate below 150 beats per minutes for the first 10 miles and then I allowed it to go up to mid 150’s for final 3 miles because I was feeling better than I expected toward the end. This is a big change for me from the old approach of working toward a specific pace and I have to say that because of this, I really enjoyed this race. I was never extremely uncomfortable and always felt like I was actually running, not just scooting along. I ended up going faster than I had planned and it gave me hope that I can continue to get faster using this approach.
Obnoxious Attempt at Humor
Top 5 quotes heard during the race
This wind is kicking my ass!
You’d better get out of the way of the motorcycle cops out in front of the marathon leaders, they tend to speed up first and ask questions later here in Brevard County.
This camera is made for taking pictures of landscaping not runners… can you just pretend to be a palm tree for a minute and stop moving?
Is it too late to just go over to watch the rocket launch?
Oh crap I’m cramping… SALT!... JENNY GET ME SALT!
On a closing note, I may do a 30 mile event on the bike in preparation for the Diabetes Ride in March. Stay Tuned.
