I have to say this about running: you learn a lot about diseases. Particularly cancer. I don’t know what it is about the cancer community but they sure seem to love running.
I’ve now completed four races as part of the NYRR club. Of those, two have been dedicated to various cancers (colon and lung), one was populated by Scots (The Scotland Run) and the other was just a run. For people who like running, I guess.
Of the two cancer runs, I had personal connections with both. My father is a survivor of colon cancer and my father in law died of lung cancer a couple of years ago. Ironically, the lung cancer run was put on by a group focused on raising awareness of lung cancer among people who do not smoke. This was the case with my father in law, who had not smoked in many, many years when he was diagnosed with the disease.
After that race, I actually walked around the celebration area (a standard feature at every race) and spoke to a couple of people staffing the tables. After picking up the customary elastic bracelet and brochures, I changed and headed to the subway. That’s when it hit me. Standing there alone in the park, cold and tired, that I would never see my father in law again. He really did die of lung cancer. Just like the man who’s name was plastered all over the race route.
As I continue the training process, I am constantly asking myself why I am doing this. It’s not my idea of fun. It’s taking a lot of time. And, maybe most importantly, at the end of the day, my body hurts badly and I beg for rest.
My latest conclusion is rather simple: I am driven by fear. Fear that I will die regretting that I did not try to complete this task.
Race #4, the TGL classic was particularly notable for my pace of 8:32 over a 4 miles course. This is a solid achievement because it followed a solid 20-mile bike ride the day before, at a rough pace of 18.3 mph. Here are the numbers:
Run As One, TGL Classic
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: April 13, 2008, 9:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 49 Deg. 52% Hum. Wind 7 MPH
Overall Place: 2581
Gender Place: 1889
Age Place: 252
Finish Time: 43:11
Pace/Mile: 8:32
AG Time: 31:35
AG Gender Place: 1820
AG%: 53.3%
Total Finishers: Men – 3241 Women – 2862 Total – 6103
Age Group 40 – 44: Men - 389, Women – 274, Total – 663
I’ve now completed four races as part of the NYRR club. Of those, two have been dedicated to various cancers (colon and lung), one was populated by Scots (The Scotland Run) and the other was just a run. For people who like running, I guess.
Of the two cancer runs, I had personal connections with both. My father is a survivor of colon cancer and my father in law died of lung cancer a couple of years ago. Ironically, the lung cancer run was put on by a group focused on raising awareness of lung cancer among people who do not smoke. This was the case with my father in law, who had not smoked in many, many years when he was diagnosed with the disease.
After that race, I actually walked around the celebration area (a standard feature at every race) and spoke to a couple of people staffing the tables. After picking up the customary elastic bracelet and brochures, I changed and headed to the subway. That’s when it hit me. Standing there alone in the park, cold and tired, that I would never see my father in law again. He really did die of lung cancer. Just like the man who’s name was plastered all over the race route.
As I continue the training process, I am constantly asking myself why I am doing this. It’s not my idea of fun. It’s taking a lot of time. And, maybe most importantly, at the end of the day, my body hurts badly and I beg for rest.
My latest conclusion is rather simple: I am driven by fear. Fear that I will die regretting that I did not try to complete this task.
Race #4, the TGL classic was particularly notable for my pace of 8:32 over a 4 miles course. This is a solid achievement because it followed a solid 20-mile bike ride the day before, at a rough pace of 18.3 mph. Here are the numbers:
Run As One, TGL Classic
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: April 13, 2008, 9:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 49 Deg. 52% Hum. Wind 7 MPH
Overall Place: 2581
Gender Place: 1889
Age Place: 252
Finish Time: 43:11
Pace/Mile: 8:32
AG Time: 31:35
AG Gender Place: 1820
AG%: 53.3%
Total Finishers: Men – 3241 Women – 2862 Total – 6103
Age Group 40 – 44: Men - 389, Women – 274, Total – 663
1 comment:
Your progress is very impressive! Congratulations on completing your fourth race!
Are you planning to run the Brooklyn Half this weekend?
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