I won this race!
This time, I say that with all the pride and sense of accomplishment that goes with a true, bona fide victory.
Arriving on the empty streets of downtown Newark early on a Sunday morning was quite pleasant. Despite everything you have heard about the city, downtown can be a visually appealing place, especially when you remove the people and the traffic.
The United Way 10K for Healthy Kids was a relatively small affair - only about 170 participants, but there was excitement in the air at Military Park. People were genuinely jazzed about the race and United Way gave us the feeling of involvement in a good cause. In addition, the police motorcycles leading the way along the well-marked course provided a security in knowing that all we had to do was run - no confusion, no losing focus while searching for signs or volunteers to point the way.
The first two miles consisted of a loop around the area of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. I intentionally stayed back behind the group of lean young men whom I was certain would top the leaderboard along with the woman that kept pace just in front of me.
But I had trained hard and very specifically for a pace in the 6:20s and something in me said that I was not running up to speed. In a daring move, I pulled ahead of all of them before we even reached the first mile marker.
Powering up the brief incline, I figured that one of those guys would overtake me on the downhill, so I kept up a decent pace as we came around to the starting line area to begin the second loop, which took us farther out for the next three miles. One guy came up alongside me but fell back after a minute or so.
Normally, I do not enjoy being in the lead. It has only happened a few times and it freaked me out each time. I am much better at chasing down my opponents than setting the pace. This time, I could feel my pace. I was not wearing a watch, but I knew I was hitting my goal. All I had to do was chase those police motorcycles.
Somewhere in the third mile, a kid on the side of the road said, "I knew that guy was going to win!" This startled me because we were not even halfway done and, really, who looks at *me* and thinks "winner"?
With that kid's words ringing in my ears, I pushed the pace with boosted confidence. Unfortunately, the steep hill at the end of the fourth mile was a spirit crusher. There was no keeping pace up that monster, so the best I could do was shorten my stride, motor up the thing, and try to make up the time on the downhill.
Cresting the hill, my quads were burning and my lower back was starting to feel the stress. I extended my turnover as much as possible while still recovering from the uphill.
Then my legs suddenly took over. As I pushed my way to the five-mile mark, it felt like my legs were disengaging from the rest of my body and working on auto pilot, carrying my top half with neither input from my brain nor attention to any other aches and pains.
Just...keep...chasing...the...motorcycles.
At one point there was a sharp enough turn that I could turn my head slightly to see how close on my heels the second-place runner was. What I saw was nothing. Not a soul. Holy moly, I really had this race in the bag. Now it was only a matter of competing with myself and I was sure I was on target with that, too.
Coming around for one final loop around Military Park and into the finish line, I gave it everything I had left as I watched the clock tick past 38 minutes. Not only had I beaten my goal of a sub-40, I was coming in under 39.
38:40, to be exact. And I won!
As I like to do, I stayed near the finish line and cheered almost every other runner as they all reached for their own goals. Everyone's race is important to them, and they deserve the support whether they are fast or slow, advanced or beginners.
After the race, the vibe in the park was as wonderful and pleasant as the weather. There were post-race stretches, with United Way members and the mayor of East Orange getting involved in the fun, photos being taken, and a general air of a good time in a city that, sadly, is not known for that.
Plus, did I mention I really won? I broke the finishing tape and everything! Sure this field did not have any elite runners or even big-shot amateurs, but I won fair and square and it was the thrill that I did not feel at the previous race.
Do not get me wrong - the Sprint for Soldiers was a good experience, but difficult terrain, course length discrepancy, and poor signage that led to me falling far short of my goal time made it hard to accept as a true win.
On Sept. 13, though, I got a taste of the success that comes with hard training, perseverance, and certainly some luck - not only winning the race, but running my second best 10K ever (of seven total) as a 40-year-old recovering from a back injury. That is what I call an achievement.
To view the photos of the race, go here: https://anthonyb.smugmug.com/Events/2015-Run-for-Healthy-Kids/
Look at photos #128-135 for pics of me at the starting line.
Photos #192-197 show me pulling into first place in the first mile.
Photos #519-526 show the big win!! 