1st Race - Thirty Years Ago

It was thirty years ago that i ran my first race, the Kiwanis 10k Road Race in Warwick, RI. What prompted me to try this race i really don't remember. Could be that i just saw it mentioned in the local fish wrap and figured it was time to see what it was like. I had started running 8 months before just for the hell of it and was addicted right from the first lap i ran on the cinder track at Lockwood Jr. High.

Going into this first race, i hadn't a clue about pacing, actually, most all of my runs were solo so running with all these people had to feel strange. I can't say as i remember much of this race other than running hard and finishing in 35.28 for 11th place. Having never raced before, i had nothing to compare this race to and since i did not know any of these runners, i couldn't gauge myself against the others. I ran 5.42 pace in my first race, not bad. Now i was really hooked!

In thirty years, i have run good, run great and not run at all. I have dealt with way too many injuries, most could have been averted, but i always had this thing about running fast workouts. When healthy, i ran very well, seems like there was no in between. Run good or don't run. I do wonder just how much faster i could have run if i wasn't always getting sidetracked with one injury or another. Oh well, one can only speculate.

On to the next 30 years.