In spite of not feeling in tip-top running form, along with an unwelcome plantar fasciitis flare-up in my right foot, I decided to go ahead anyway and tackle the challenging Tioga course of the Run for Haven 10K for the second straight year. Unlike almost every other running race, held around 7 to 9 in the morning, this race has the audacity to start at 4:30 p.m., right at the hottest point of the day. Last year it was hot and humid, and I had some difficulty getting through it all...I saw many runners have to stop and walk for long stretches. Today was much of the same, with the temperature in the low 80s and the humidity a tolerable but still unpleasant 60%. But I had learned my lesson from 2015 and changed my tactics...
First of all, I drank plenty of fluids in the two hours before this year's race, preparing for water and salt loss in advance. I also ran a slower, more reasonable pace: after about 1.5 miles, no one passed me...but I passed many, a large portion of who were once again compelled to walk, apparently unprepared victims of the heat and humidity. My final time as I clocked it myself was 59:00, a little less than 3 minutes slower than last year's time. However, due to the crowd of runners in front of me, it took me several seconds to even get to the starting line after the race's beginning...it will be interesting to find out my official finishing time when it is posted (for which I'll provide a link as soon as possible)...
The folks putting on this event combined it with a St. Patrick's Day celebration, which accounts for all of the green you see in the accompanying pictures (I wore green, too). They had a live band and provided "free" food and drink for the race participants, although I passed up on my allotment due to the impossibly long lines of "customers". No problem, I wasn't all that thrilled with last year's meal, anyway...
I like this race because it mixes up, in even proportions, road and trail running. I'm beginning to develop a more realistic default distance running pace that is a bit slower than that I ran with, say, back in 2010-13. But I'm not getting any younger, with my 60th birthday coming this October, and I need to make reasonable adjustments. At my newly adopted pace, I feel confident that I can once again run in longer distance races like half-marathons. Then again, I still need to overcome this nagging, recurring plantar fasciitis problem...
