Anyway, I was prepared to do this one solo, but at the last minute Riley decided he wanted to participate as well. It was a course we were very familiar with, at a nearby community sports complex that's quick and easy to get to, with abundant free parking--so the logistics were quite favorable. And as a bonus, Mother Nature blessed the occasion by providing a cool, cloudy day that felt conducive to a bout of vigorous outdoor exercise.
Adding to the festivities, the race organizers--local law enforcement personnel--announced prior to the start that the volunteers offering their support along the course would be...UNC football players, on loan before their own home game against UVA later in the day. That certainly explained the gaggle of Carolina-blue-clad, LARGE young men gathered off to the side of the trail, all of whom smiled and waved in a friendly fashion at the crowd of people warming up and stretching.
As for the path itself...let's just say that we knew going into it that the one word best describing this particular venue is HILLY. I swear, I know it's not possible, but it feels like you're plodding up a steep slope BOTH ways...and unfortunately, no matter how many times we run this route, it never gets any easier for me. Now, don't get me wrong, I super-appreciated the sunny grins, enthusiastic high-fives, and encouraging words from those delightful Tarheel athletes--but I'm not gonna lie, it was an all-around rough 3.1 miles for me, y'all...as well as the slowest time I can ever remember recording. Siiiighhhhh...
Of course, none of this seemed to have any effect whatsoever on my speed-demon son, who looped the turn-around point and passed me on the way back in what seemed like a ridiculously short amount of time. He also appeared to be in second place headed back to the finish line...and still moving faster than I probably ever have in my life. But hey, no matter how challenging I, personally, found the endeavor, I still clocked in at a little over a half-hour...and could happily check "sweat session" off my To Do List for the day--that totally counts as a WIN in my book.
And speaking of victories, Riley did, in fact, finish #2 overall, earning himself a gift certificate to Fleet Feet, where he can pick up some cool workout swag. (In case you were wondering: new PR of 19:08, which averages out to 6:10 per mile. And no, I still haven't a clue where he gets it...) And you wanna hear something absolutely hilarious? No doubt due to the tremendously small field for this event...I also ended up placing in the top 3 for my age group, and received my own store credit to add to our shopping trip. (Whoo hoo! We are a Family of Champions, folks! Or at least some of us are...while others will gratefully yet sheepishly accept their prize, whether they feel they truly deserve it or not!)
Finally, after all the presentations, the emcee commented that catered food would shortly be arriving...and that the college kids would be hanging around a while longer if anyone wanted a photo with them. Well...HECK YEAH I do! Not that I knew who any of them were, to be perfectly honest...but the opportunity to get a picture with members of a hometown sports team was waaaaayyyy too good to resist. So I got Riley--who was far too embarrassed by the whole thing to jump into the fray--to capture a shot of me...surrounded and dwarfed by the charming football dudes. It was a satisfying conclusion to the experience, so we took our lovely parting gifts and headed home. Now I have a solid 3-1/2 weeks to baby (or bully--we'll see how it goes) the recalcitrant knee into behaving for one last 2018 trot...wish me luck!!
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