Today was perhaps, weatherwise, the worst day to attempt a Parkrun: the temperature at the 7:30 start was 75 degrees with an oppressive 97% humidity. That didn't keep Depot Park, located a few blocks south of downtown Gainesville, from filling up with runners and walkers for this weekly free event that is run by volunteers. I mean, I got there a little earlier than usual, but the main parking lot was already packed and the overflow lot was already half full. For the Parkrun, my intention, given the conditions, was to speed-walk the entire 3.1 miles, but I found the experience frustrating when a kid and his presumed father seemed to pick me out as a mark as, early on, the little boy repeatedly (1) sprinted past me, (2) got immediately in front of me, and then (3) stopped...making me have to suddenly pivot to avoid collisions, knowing as I walked past them that I'd have to do the same damned thing all over in a minute when they did it again. Look, if you're gonna coach your kid, fine, but maybe teaching him to avoid run-ins with others on the course just might be a priority, what do you say? In any event, I eventually shook off that obnoxious duo but found myself going at an all-too-slow pace. Eventually, after the second lap, I began to insert some running into it, ultimately running for 9:14 out of the final finishing time of 38:54. I don't know, I've written before how I prefer this simple Parkrun course to the one at West End because it has laps to it, but in all candor it can get to be a real drag encountering the same people over the course of a walk/run. Maybe next time I'll try West End. In any event, it looks like my times in the next few weeks are going to be slower and the emphasis will be on simply showing up and finishing (and avoiding tripping over obnoxious people). To view the posted results for today, click HERE...
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