Notes
An outstandingly spontaneous experience, and one I am SO thankful to have stepped up for... After my initial outing with M earlier this morning, and a special shouted-out invitation from Byron Stillman's wife on our way back home, I do wrestle for well over an hour with the decision of running this Donahue run this year - Especially with such short notice, muscles already fairly tired, and the now-steady rain falling outside our windows, the thought of staying home comfortable is tempting beyond measure, but I also can't shake the thought that not going would create a regret even greater than that temptation. Good call, and even in the rain, so well worth it - I throw on my red Saucony long-sleeved 1/2 zip and shorts and head out the door...
Although Mare doesn't make it in time for the Start (I only just squeak in myself, and, alas, long after anything but XL race shirts remain) I do see a few familiar faces in the running crowd, but have only an actual minute or two to register and wait before the runners move into the street to start. M is stopped in traffic but cheers me on from her car as I pass her crossing Prospect Street, and I continue on out at a comfortable pace in pretty much single-file formation for most of the first half. Auto traffic is surprisingly heavy, and the rainy conditions force most of us on foot over to the extreme edges as the cars try to edge slowly around us. (Bad news for the people with sneakers on going through the many puddles we encounter, but good times for me!)
True to form and past success, I run comfortably for the race's first half, but after that begin creeping up past those ahead of me slowing down, and I'm able to grab a substantial amount of momentum from perhaps the half-way point to Bob Arnold's. From there on it's just muscling on and holding out... I do find a cool surprise in the final stretch, though, as the last guy I pass nearing Bob's, who has remained behind me from there, comes up beside me and we run the last leg together - "We're almost home," he says (or something to that effect) and his presence, which I at first take as competitive aggression, pulls me forward even faster. We run neck-and-neck past the new condos and up to the parking lot where Mon & Dad watched me from last year, where M is now heartily cheering for me, and I pour it on past my partner to sprint up to Cherenzia's and into the chute strong seconds ahead of him...
After congratulatory hugs from M and many well-wishes, I mingle through the crowd, particularly with new runner acquaintances Ed, Peggy, and Andrew from Crew...