Why race if you're not gonna win?

Well this is it -- race week. Five days to the start of the Great Cow Harbor 10K. I don't know what it is about this race that fascinates me but I've thought a lot about it since I signed up in August. Racing is a curious thing. Unless you are very fast, the chances of placing overall, or even in your age group, is statistically very low. So if it's not about winning, why do we race? The easy answer is because it's inexpensive fun. You register for a event and you have weeks to enjoy the anticipation. It's all upside until you reach that inevitable part of a race where you are pushing to your limits and questioning your decision to enter in the first place. No matter what, once you cross the finish line everything is fine and the pain is forgotten. Bananas and bagels never tasted so good, water was never so refreshing. Even Gatorade is palatable. I'm sure there are aspects of racing that tie into our natural instinct to compete, although most recreational runners are really competing with themselves. I honestly hope BJS and Dave do great even if that means beating my own time. I'm not just saying that because it's likely that they will.

I was going to do a hard run with a friend at lunchtime but my schedule won't allow it. I'll need to defer that to October. It's just as well on this taper week that I don't push as hard as I normally might. Saturday and Sunday were both great and different workouts. I guess I'll take a page from the quote of the week and savor the rest. My friend FS ran the 18 mile pre-marathon tuneup yesterday in Central Park. She was remarkably unfazed when I saw her this morning. Three times around the park means three times over the Harlem Hills. No matter what I've put myself through of late it won't touch that effort. I'm looking forward to my run tomorrow with JQ. The weather should be cooler than today with less wind. I think we'll keep the pace moderate but the hills on the lower and upper loops will keep it interesting. Today I'll just enjoy my rest.