“Yeah, man, sure. What is it?”
“There’s a Half Marathon in your neck of the woods in
October, two days after my 49th”, I said. “Can I stay with you and run the
thing to celebrate?”
“Absolutely!”
And it was right there that the race began.
Chris Smith, a friend from way back in the unhinged rock and
roll days was about to be “Team Bluffton” as I got ready for the 13.1 miles
that would wind through scenic parts of South Carolina.
He had a townhouse, a
spare air mattress, and golf shop a half mile from the starting line.
As it turned out, Chris was the perfect person to be Team
Leader. With his background in the rock biz, Mr. Smith drew upon his resume
that included Dio and Black Sabbath gig advancing and laid it all out.
For
example, when Chris was working with Sabbath, it was his job to make sure
Ronnie James Dio got all of his daily info correct. Times, dates, flights,
interviews, anything that had to do with the oxymoron of Rock and Roll Tour
Precision, Chris handled it. So, he drew on experience for the race, without
thought.
On the Friday before the race, I drove the 75 miles or so to
Bluffton to meet Chris and get ready for the whole shebang.
“OK, man. I drove the course. It’s mostly flat, with a few circling
bits that make it an ‘Out and Back’ course. Now, your race packet can be picked
up at Tri Sports which is
about a mile from my place. It’s open until 6. You’ll get here around 4:30,
which gives a chance to drive the course, and get familiar with it. From there,
we can get your packet, and then hit dinner.”
I smiled to myself and said: “We can’t get away from our
past, can we? Fantastic! Let’s go.”
Before all of this, there was the decision to run it. I’d
signed up for a half marathon already, on Kiawah Island. That was in December,
though. So, why now run another before it to get “warmed up”? Being a musician,
I am a huge fan of rehearsal. Probably where I got the idea to involve Chris in
the first place.
Bluffton was slightly south of Charleston and a great fit.
Frankly, I had no idea about several aspects to this sort of race. I’d run 5K’s
and a 10K, but this distance was like comparing an arena gig compared to a club
show.
How?
13.1 – that’s quite far. Really.
Pacing – How do you stay focused and able for at least two
hours of running?
Logistics – Getting there, waking up, and finding the race
in my typical morning mind fog was going to be a feat in itself.
Finishing – I didn’t want to set a goal this big and whiff.
Born there, I had to be Mr. October
if I was to enter this thing. Had to
take a big swing and connect.
And that’s what was in my head before I even I got to the race site. So, in order to
get it all ready, I’d asked my friend and able coach, Michelle Adams for advice. She’d run
more in one training run than I was going to do for a race. Clearly a credible,
knowledgeable source. In addition to that, we share a birthday and Michelle had
mentioned that she was running a race that same day as part of a Birthday
Weekend Celebration.
“Yeah? Which one? How far?” I asked.
“Oh, it's a forty miler up in North Carolina”…she replied.
Yeah. 40 miles. That’s three times what I was planning.
Suddenly, I felt like I was planning a walk to the mailbox. In any event, I
sure picked the right person to ask what the hell to do.
It broke down pretty simply. After all, it is running and it
shouldn’t be over thought. Her
instructions were, essentially: “Here’s a chart with what your distances are
for the next eight weeks. Here’s how to eat. Here’s how not to hurt yourself.
And, oh yeah, sleep. Get lots of it.”
Notice I said simply.
Not easily.
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