Sunday, October 09, 2016

Next Year (actually next Sunday)

2016 Brooklyn Rock And Roll Half Marathon, October 8th, 2016

Well, the morning of the scheduled Brooklyn Rock And Roll Half Marathon, I began to shake with the chills and then minutes later, a high body temperature, a fever. If running a half marathon under normal, healthy conditions was a mental and physical challenge, I knew that I couldn't push my body under these conditions. If I still had the sniffles, I think I could've manage running breathing through my mouth, which I do anyway. But a fever, that was another issue. 


In all my years of participating in organized events, I have never been ill or injured to start. I guess that if anyone is keeping track like a professional or semi-professional athlete, this would be labelled as a DNS, did not start. 
I began to begrudge the time I have waited for this event. One full year since the inaugural Half Marathon, when I signed up upon completion of my first ever HM. Call it craziness or blame it on the endorphin of the moment, without any hesitation I signed up. Then I begrudged the loss of the entry fee. I usually don't purchase an insurance in the event of an emergency or an illness for these events, so it was a gamble that I took knowing the odds. 

I wrote to the race organizers if I could receive a credit or use this year's entry fee for next year. Minutes later, an email from the organizer confirmed what I had expected. A no for an answer. But, at least I tried. 


As the minutes went by from the Race Start Time, I  kept imagining how everything unfolded, by recreating the images, the memories from last year's Inaugural Race. The crowds, Brooklyn's architecture, the colors, the sounds of the people and the street bands. I remembered how the slow start due to the large crowds of runners, of all shapes, ages, began to disperse. How little by little, like a heavy freight train, the wheels began to increase the pace. Running by the water tables, looking for a cup of Gatorade, then mix with water. 


I broke down the 13 miles of the Half Marathon into various 5 ks, and I distracted the mind by looking all around, and once in a while looking inside of me. 
Having trained/conditioned for this Half Marathon that I now missed, I just signed up for next Sunday's Brooklyn Greenway Half Marathon. Strangely enough, 24 hours later, that being today, I feel much better without any sniffles, fever or chills, but not with sufficient strength to go for the feat on hand.


Let's go Brooklyn. Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn.

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