September Half: Mill Race, Columbus, IN

September races are supposed to be more temperate, right? Even cool... crisp perhaps? They're supposed to be the reward for surviving the heat and humidity and general misery of summer running.

The the Mill Race Half in Columbus Indiana, a lovely mid-sized race in a wonderful city brimming with architectural masterpieces (I'm serious) and #9 on my half a month for 2017, was a scorcher. Warm, humid, nary a puff of wind, and a sun that I'm pretty sure chose this day to get back at us for the mocking it took during eclipse-mania.

I knew before I'd left home at 4 (f'in!) 30 in the morning that it was going to be too warm to try anything, so I knew going in that this was a well appointed training run. So, I took it nice and easy and smart.

The first 4 miles were not only the best of the course, touring the downtown, many of the aforementioned architectural works, and Mill Race park, which couldn't be lovelier. And because the sun had yet to peek over the trees, the pace was smooth and easy.

The second 8 miles were not as scenic, but thanks to a mostly sun-at-your-back course that looped around an enormous Cummins Engine plant ("They're the title sponsor Bob, if they want us to run around the perimeter of their parking lot, we're gonna do it."), my pace only dropped a little as the air got hotter.

Exiting a covered bridge in Mill Race Park

Then... 8.5.

I know it was 8.5 because I looked at my GPS watch when I turned to corner.

I looked at my watch because I was wondering just exactly how far I had left.

I was wondering how much was left because I didn't want to end up like the guy I'd just passed.

The guy I'd just passed was walking, but not well... he was drunk walking.. at mile 8.5. He was NOT doing well. His long sleeve shirt (event shirt, so you know he was a newbie) was soaked through and his eyes weren't sharp.

I pulled up next to him and asked if he was ok. He clearly wasn't, but insisted he was good and started running again.

He ran out ahead of me. Maybe he was ok.

A  couple minutes later I came up on him again. Drunk walking, again.

This time I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I stopped to walk with him and started to tell him that I was going to walk with him to the next water stop. Before I'd finished my sentence another guy came along side...

Me: "Are you with him."
Dude: "No. He's just my friend."  (ok, I didn't mean "with him".. yeesh, relax)
Me:"He's in bad shape man."

The friend dude grabbed our drunk-walking guy's phone from his hand. "What's your password!"

We were almost at the rest stop. I knew he was in good hands.

So it was time for me to get to running again... but I didn't.

Something in my head said "Nope, I think we're done here."

Maybe it was seeing drunk waling guy. Maybe it was a flashback to my June half in Zionsville when I let the heat get the best of me.

Or maybe it was me listening to my body...

The blue is a trace from my GPS watch of my pace. The red is my heart rate. Look at those spikes just before I slowed down. Those spikes were the start of what could have been a very bad day. That was my body over-heating.

I didn't "feel" it, not really, but I did feel something... something not right.

It was that quiet, almost silent "ahem" that your body gives you when something is starting to tilt, the signal too often we ignore, or worse don't even hear or feel.

[Note: To be clear, I didn't see that heart rate trace, not until 2 days later when I pulled it off of my watch.]

But at that moment I felt something, something had changed.

As I walked through the rest of the water stop, I literally told myself "I don't want to end up like drunk-walking guy."

I decided I was going to end the long run portion of this workout and do 3x 1-mile intervals with recovery walks in between, that would feature copious amounts of fluids, and get me to the finish.

And it actually worked out great. I got in a good workout and felt great. My time sucked, but I didn't care.

I poured water on my head in my finish photo*, walked to my car, changed from wet to dry clothes in the parking garage (!!) and drove home safely in time to take lunch to my son.

Part of running is pushing ourselves, extending our limits, and sometimes competing against others. But above all, running is about tuning in, connecting to our bodies in the most intimate way.

Our bodies are smart.

Listen to what your body is telling you.

Good running,
Doug

PS. I think Dwight Schrute may have moved from Scranton PA to Columbus IN...

Race packet swag...
from Schrute Farms?

If you'd like to catch up on the year in halfs so far, here are links:

1. Jan: runDisney StarWars half at Disneyland
2. Feb: Gasparilla Half in Tampa FL
3. Mar: Sam Costa Half in Carmel IN
4. Apr: Carmel Half in Carmel IN
5. May: Geist Half in Fishers IN
6. Jun: Zionsville Half in Zionsville, IN
7. Jul: Rock 'n' Roll in Chicago, IL
8. Aug: Viking Dash Trail Half in Muncie, IN

Next up, Boilermaker Half on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN (my alma mater, thank you very much).

*Note: A bottle of water feels considerably colder on your head and neck than it does in your hand.