Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Loneliness of the Medium Distance Runner

It's not lonely at all, really. At least it wasn't this weekend at the redundantly titled First Inaugural Winslow Half Marathon. My sister was with me and my Winslow friends were all helping to handle the logistics of the grand event (By some accident of kayaking, I've come to be friends with a whole slew of Winslovians over the last several years, which has been a great blessing to me.) Plus the 125 other runners were all real friendly, the ones I talked to, at least.

My favorite was Marge from Tulsa. I caught up with her a while after climbing the mile-long Welcome to Winslow Hill and she paced me perfectly for about four miles. This was my plan all along, you see, to find a 64-year-old woman to pace me for the first half of the race. We talked about lots of things as we ran and walked the steepest sections of the nonstop hills. Of course I mentioned that my sister had come up from Houston to run it with me. Anyway, we swapped leads for a while until suddenly I noticed she was no longer close behind me. No matter, people were getting scattered but I still occasionally came alongside someone I could say hi to.

After a long but steady downhill, I finally ran past the turn-around point just far enough to smack the hood of the EMT vehicle parked there and give the guys a thumbs-up, and it was on to the long and steady, and muddy uphill. I remember giving a shout to Marge and my sister both as I passed them but I can't remember who was ahead. I know I was only a few minutes up the hill when I passed them. I was feeling really good.

At about mile eight, the on-and-off drizzle and cool breeze we had been having turned into a downpour with a driving wind, which was exactly what I needed. It was perfect! The squall only lasted ten minutes or so but it left the course pleasantly slick and muddy. The cushion under my feet felt wonderful and I quickened my pace, walking only the very steepest parts of the hills. The nine, ten, and eleven-mile signs went by and I was tempted to start running up all the remaining hills, but good sense and discipline prevailed. I stuck with my plan and by the time I began the descent of Welcome to Winslow Hill the older lady with the homemade flip-flops and striped socks up to her knees was in sight. I was determined to run her down! It would not happen, though, and I'm glad about that. Her finishing eleven seconds ahead of me was the just and proper result.

On the way there, I was sure to put a nondescript expression on my face for the cameraman who was photographing every one's nipples just before they crossed the finish line. He actually got one photo which showed my nipples really well and another which was probably a better photo overall even though my nipples were not clearly defined. What a cool job, I thought, to see hundreds of people at their absolute best, people succeeding at something fun but also painful and challenging. Then I thought, what a drag! Here is this man who loves running and biking and swimming but can't do these activities because his lousy job won't let him. He works every race! Anyway, I wanted a keepsake and felt mercy for the photographer so I bought rights to the superior, nipple-less photograph for twelve bucks. Hey, the man has to make a living! A few minutes later, he sent an email congratulating me and included the nipple photo for no charge. I was so thrilled!

My friend Kristian, the cartographer who created the course map, is also a pretty handy photographer and he took a few more photos at the finish line. One is with my sister, Jennifer, and the other is with my friend David who was kind enough to wait around at the finish line the 47 minutes it took me to get there. It must have seemed like hours! I think I was having my picture taken with Jen when Marge wandered in. She, curiously enough, had had a long enough conversation with Jen at some point to figure out that she was my sister. How cool is that!

I was very proud of my sister. I said she was from Houston where people run up bridges and parking garages to simulate hills. That's not exactly correct. She's actually from northwest of Houston just far enough that it takes an hour to get downtown where the parking garages are and two hours to to get to the refinery district southeast of Houston where all the good bridges are. She showed up to Winslow, after a twelve-hour drive, not having run up a single hill in all the training she did for this race. That not being challenging enough, her purist heart chose to run the race consuming only plain water along the way. No Hammer Gel! Let me tell you something: Running Winslow without Hammer Gel is like climbing Everest without oxygen! I was hitting the Hammer Gel every hundred yards or I wouldn't have made it. As far as I'm concerned, her accomplishment dwarfs mine despite our times, which can be found here if you absolutely must see them. She killed it!

The course had it all: Steep hills, long hills, some pavement, some gravel, some mud, a hard rain, and a million great volunteers who did Winslow proud. My first half marathon experience could not have been more perfect. There was nothing lonely about it!

The Boston Marathon should have trophy girls this hot!

My sister Jennifer. Isn't she amazing!

David had Lana and all the girls there. I got to meet twins Isabella and Eleanor for the first time and they are so beautiful!

Notice the Hammer Flask in my right hand. Do you think I can get an endorsement deal? I believe!

My nipples!

17 comments:

Martijn said...

By Lenin’s goatee, you did it! Hoozah!

Jokes aside, I think it's wonderful and inspiring. In fact, I intend to give the old running another go. Not because of you, but because I need it. I need some Forrest Gump kind of mad obsession in my life at the moment and running might seem a perfect choice.

I'm very proud of you & your sister ánd your nipples. Great pics.

carl duewall said...

It looks like a good time was had by all.

Martijn said...

Oh, and your new hat! Very cool Indiana Dave-like.

dinan said...

Very cool Dave. You are one tough dude for making the Winslow 1/2 Marathon your 1st Race.

Dave Renfro said...

Running would be perfect for you, Martijn! Maybe I can track down the gal with the homemade shoes and get a drawing you can use. It looked like just thin flaps of soft rubber tied to the foot with a single piece of string. I saw those shoes and thought of you! And thanks for all the encouragement along the way. My nipples could not have done it on their own!

Oh yeah, has Tijno's blog recorporated yet or is it still floating around in a cosmic vapor of yodeling? Is there a URL? Cheers!

Dave Renfro said...

Indeed, Carl! The happiness that comes from running seems to have a longer half-life than happiness that comes from other sources. I've had a spring in my step for five days now! Thanks for stopping by!

Dave Renfro said...

Thanks, David! It actually never occurred to me to run a 5k or 10k as my first race because my sister was only running half marathons; she's the one who started all this! If you can believe it, our original plan was to run the Hottest Half in Dallas together this August. About that time Stephanie posted up about the Winslow race on Facebook and we decided that would be even better. The problem now is that if I don't slide around in the mud for at least five miles, it just won't seem like a legitimate half marathon to me. I'll cry if they pave that road before next year!

Thanks again for everything, David!

red dirt girl said...

Congratulations to the coolest half-marathoner I know!! I've been checking your blog, wanting to wish you luck and godspeed .... guess I missed the cut-off date. Oh well. Alls well that ends well. You look great by the way. Go Hammer Gel-Dude!!

xxx

bulletholes said...

Dave you have nipples that would put my 10th grade gorlfriend Nita to shame.

red dirt girl said...

ps.

Did you put band-aids on your nipples to stop them from chaffing? Just curious ....

xxx

Dave Renfro said...

The question you obviously meant to ask was, "Did you put band-aids on you nipples to keep them from wearing holes in your shirt?" The annswer is no, but thanks for your concern for my microfiber shirt.

You're tops, mule friend!

red dirt girl said...

Happy to hear the micro-fiber didn't let you down. I really just wanted to get in on the nipple talk, ya know ??....

xxx
your mule friend ;)

Martijn said...

I finally did it: surrendered to Blogger and set up an ad interin Blog. Another Day In Paradise. See http://drowning-gnome.blogspot.com/

I don't know where this is going. I don't know if I like the environment of it. I just gave myself a new escape. Hey Dave! Be Happy!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on so many successes at the same time! Jennifer looks great. Pretty neat that so much went well at the same time. Great Show!
Quack, Quack!

Dave Renfro said...

Thanks Rod! Glad you're doing so well. We're on a bit of a roll here, too!

soubriquet said...

Pert!

johnfordfw said...

Great post! Hope to see you again for our Second Annual! www.winslowrun.com