Third place.
Today was the grand opening of a new mountain biking and trail running park near my town. As part of the celebration, there was a 5K trail run. C and I and an ultra-marathoner friend of ours decided to go and run the 5K just to get out on a Saturday morning and also to check out some new trails. So we met at the farmers’ market, piled into our car, and headed out there.
There were fewer than ten participants in the race, and I was the only woman. The trails were in need of some major work still–sometimes it just seemed as though we were running cross-country through the woods, following pieces of pink tape placed randomly on trees. After the first few minutes I was running alone. It was hot and muggy, and the trail was very difficult to follow, but the woods were pretty and it was good to be out. When I got to the finish line, I was informed that I had gotten third place, after the two high-school cross-country stars. This didn’t seem at all likely to me, especially since I had never passed any of the people who had been ahead of me at the start of the race. It turned out, though, that they had all taken a wrong turn and had to backtrack. So I got third place semi-legitimately, but certainly wouldn’t have if the trails were more clearly marked.
This afternoon C and I went to a picnic with his research group at Claytor Lake State Park. It was rather boring, and we stayed for hours, being attacked by bees. I have decided that, generally speaking, if I’m going to be outside I like to be moving.
I’ve decided that I am not fond of the outdoors when it is hot. Congrats on the finish.
Yay third place! Congrats
As for the weather, I assume that you are experiencing a similar heatwave (or worse, being further south) to what we have up here in Penna. It has been terribly hot and sticky, but I have been practicing mental discipline in trying to enjoy it as it is while we have it. I have found that with the exception of sitting in an oven on wheels (read: black car) or trying to sleep, a little heat can be quite enjoyable in the right mindset.
When you’re racing on a confusing track, part of the ability that is tested is your ability to follow the course. You got third fair and square. (Of course, if I ever ran a race and got lost, I’d complain that it was the fault of the designers, and not my fault!)
Spectrum — I also don’t especially like the outdoors when I’m hot, but I prefer it to excessively air-conditioned buildings when I’m dressed for the summer.
Seth — Thanks for the congrats. It seems that I missed most of the heatwave because I was out in the Mojave desert (go figure…great place to avoid a heatwave!). I know what you mean about heat being enjoyable sometimes…occasionally I even like getting into a baking hot car, although only for the first 30 seconds or so!
Jay — Yeah, I would have been pretty annoyed if I had been one of those who got lost. They all seemed pretty cheerful about it, though. This wasn’t exactly a serious/competitive race.