Crossing the Bridge

I had to get up at 5:10 this morning just so that I could get up, get dressed, and get to New Bern for the Neuse River Bridge Run 10K. As I was trying to get myself started this morning, I kept asking myself the question "Why do I do this again?" I couldn't come up with a good answer, but I could come up with an answer of why I had to get up and do this one today: I had already paid for it! Yes, money can be a motivator.

As I drove, I began to get a little concerned about the weather as it began to mist a bit. Outside, it was 46 degrees and winds around 10 mph, and I knew that a misty rain would make it feel even colder as we crossed the bridges over the Neuse and Trent River. I had to be there and registered by 7:30, because there were buses that transported you from the registration area (which was the finish area) to the start, and the last bus was to leave at 7:30. Got there on time, in spite of a road being closed and having to trust my natural manly "hunter" instincts ;-). I was relieved to know that they were providing a "sweat shuttle," so I could wear my warm-ups all the way up till the start of the race, and they would shuttle them back to the finish for me. As I rode the crowded bus over to the start, it was intimidating to see and hear the wind blow as we crossed the rivers. They dropped up off in a Food Lion parking lot, which is where the start was, and we had an hour before the race started. So I sat. There were probably 200-300 people that went inside the Food Lion, but I just sat outside. But I sat outside - getting my "game face" on - and taking a nap.

After running a warm-up mile, I ditched the sweats and got ready. I was determined that I was not going to go out on the first mile and run crazy - I wanted to run a nice, even pace. As we started, crowds were rushing past me, but that was ok - I was looking at them and thinking to myself, "Don't worry - you'll see them again." At the first mile marker there was a water table, which is unusual - I can't say I ever seen a water table that early in a race. I was wondering why in the world they would have one at mile 1, and only later did I realize it was because it wasn't until mile 4 that we were running on solid ground again (remember, this was a bridge run). As I look at the stats from my Garmin, it is funny how you can almost trace the bridge as it show the elevation increase and decrease. On the increase, I began to see those people that had passed me early. I just felt strong this morning, and I wish in hindsight that I had pushed myself harder, because I had a lot left in the tank at the end.

One neat thing they did at the end of the race: with about a quarter mile left, there were people on the side with walkie-talkies, and they were calling out the numbers of the racers as we went by. As I got closer to the finish, I was then able to hear on the PA, "And here comes Adam Seate, bringing it home! Come on Adam!" That was a neat touch, and it definitely inspired me to bring it home. Lame, I know - but still, I thought it was a cool touch.

Here are my splits and final time for the race:
Mi 1 - 8:34.34
Mi 2 - 8:27.89
Mi 3 - 8:37.59
Mi 4 - 8:22.98
Mi 5 - 8:05.06
Mi 6 - 7:55.62
.2 - 1:49
Total = 51:52

I was pleased with the race, mainly because I really felt I was good for several more miles. For me, these times represent progress, considering I've only been back running from my stress fracture for just a little over a month. Symbolic that I ran across some bridges, while I feel like I also crossed some bridges from where I was to where I'm going.

End note: One of the strangest things happened in the race today. There was a cop who was riding a motorcycle, and this particular cop kept ticking me off because of the way he would recklessly ride around the runners. This guy, who could barely fit on his bike due to his weight, just seemed to want to ride back and forth from front to back showing everyone he could ride. He kept annoying me the way he almost ran into several runners, and he just didn't seem to have any sense at all on that bike. The dude went buzzing past me not too far from the finish - maybe a mile away - and I swear I was close to flipping him off - he had no business coming up that close to me and he passed me from behind! As he kept going and made the next turn, I just kept running. After I made the same turn, I came upon people hollering and jumping out into the road to stop traffic. I couldn't see what was going on - all I saw was there was a car on my right that was stopped as it was pulling into a driveway. As I ran past the car, there was the cop on the group - dude got hit by the car, and you could tell he was hurt. Fortunately I didn't see blood, but by the look on his face, he was hurting. I do not know what happened to him, but truly the guy was an idiot on that bike. I feel sorry for him, but I also feel sorry for the driver who hit the cop. That's gotta suck.