pleased with the CAL-10

sunday morning i ran past miles of fields. roosters crowed at me. a lot. i almost kicked a cattle skull that was lying in my path. there were volunteers wearing cowboy hats and blasting country music at us.

i reminded myself, 'we are no longer in the city, self. we have officially arrived in boonie, california.'

aside from the hillbilly country culture shock from scheduling a running race in the quiet farming valley of northern california, the 30-year old CAL-10 'happened' for me like no other.

i ran. it felt easy. no sprains, no injuries. no serious stiffness. and... i did better than i hoped. i would have been pleased with 10-minute miles or a 1:40 finish time. instead i averaged 9:18 a mile with a 1:33 finish. not bad.

not bad, considering my previous running in edinburgh was at a standstill in the recent weeks coming up to my travel home. it was freezing, wintery weather. my gym membership (and my source for indoor cardio) was canceled. i was sick in bed for more than a week. i was busy saying my goodbyes and move out of the country, so it'd be wrong to think the time in bed was welcome. instead i stressed! then christmas came and i ate everything in sight (as you do.)

so, this sunday morning before the start of the race, i was prophecying potential doom and was already mourning the consequences of broken body parts and an unfinished course, if not complete immobility for several days after.

ptooey to all that worrying.

it was a smooth, worry-free run. not on purpose, though. i think i forgot to worry. i forgot about all the things i would usually pester myself with, like being busy the night before writing my mile estimates in black marker up my arm. or creating a pre-run electrolyte drink. or taking an hour to lay out my clothes and pack a post-race clothing kit. or being more anxious about my results and not sleeping well. or camel-packing myself up with too much stuff- from gels and water and an ipod and headset, an extra layer tied around me and a bum bag... oiy!

or training. i forgot to train. (which is usually vital.) a bit careless of me, i admit. but honestly, i probably would have overtrained or trained until i stressed some body part to an almost-injury, had i been in a more serious frame of mind.

and HAD i been in a more serious frame of mind, i would have at least researched where all the water stops along the route were. the first time i even bothered to think about a water stop was when i heard the annoying slosh of someone else's water bottle strapped to their bum, running right in front of me. needless to say, i passed them up and left their obnoxious noise behind. and i left their behind behind.

this time... in this lovely little hick-town running race in stockton... i just showed up and ran. what a concept.

i've grown careless and forgetful, yes, since i planned nothing, except to show up at the start line. but i've also adopted a wee daring spirit. to run a race that lasts more than an hour and NOT carry water- that is scotland's doing, because it's how you do it there. to run a race during freeze warnings and negative temperatures and not give it a second thought. also scotland's doing. it's... 'how you do it there'.

i guess the roman-quoted land of cruel, cold wilderness and savages has turned me into a rugged thing. i think i like that.

raawwrr.