Runnin' Down A Dream
Delays to Exit 18.
That's perfect considering that's the exit I need to get to.
I'm just creeping onto the Southern State at Exit 30 and I have about 45 minutes to get to my race. Judging by the gridlock I'm stuck in at the moment, I don't think I'm making this Summer Series 4k. I contemplate calling Dadquest because dad knows everything about everywhere so he could probably give me a back way to Hempstead State Park that would take just as much time driving there as it would staying parked on the highway but dad looks at it like, we're moving so it's better than traffic even though it's a longer route. Though Dadquest is very handy (got Maeve out of a tight spot in Queens once) I'm not sure he knows the exact location of this park. Even Mapquest doesn't know exact locations of state parks which baffles me because they're STATE PARKS. They belong to the state which belongs to the country so one would think it would be easy to find directions.
I'm quite calm despite the approaching 7 o'clock start time which has magically dashed ahead of traffic and left me at Exit 24. Steve is quietly reading a manga next to me as I grip the wheel until my knuckles turn three shades whiter (if that's possible for my bluish skin tone). Traffic breaks up at Exit 18 which makes me both happy and scared. Happy that I have two minutes until start time, scared because that means they probably cut off traffic for the runners and I'm too late. I pull up to the jammed parking lot and I'm directed onto the softball field. I place Pedey in park and leave it running, letting Steve take care of shutting down the iPod and removing the keys. I jog towards the starting line with other late runners, thinking they might hold the race since more people are pouring in but instead I see a guy in front of me yell in frustration back at his lagging friends.
"Did we make it?" I ask even though I already know the answer by surveying his facial expression. I can't see beyond the trees but something tells me it's begun. He looks annoyed and tells me that they definitely started. I'm disappointed because all I think about is the 2000 people already running and how this will effect my time. I’m not even in control of my body because I’m thinking to go back to the truck but instead my legs take off in a sprint. I dart through the parking lot, past the BBQers, side step and practically jump over children eating hotdogs, fly through the camping area, hop the wooden fence, and shoot past the starting line and all of the walkers. I'm so far behind my nine minute milers I'm not sure how I'll ever catch up. I ignore the cones and barrel through the ten minute+ joggers but have to jump back in line because the leaderboard is already coming BACK the other way! I maneuver through more bodies and find the grass. Ignoring the rolling of the ankles in my street shoes, I take off on the uneven terrain to gain a better position.
When I spot my fan club on the sidelines on my way to the second mile, I'm in wall to wall people, sweaty bodies not moving fast, a massive roadblock of lacrosse shorts and tees. At this point there's no more hope for me. This is my pack, stuck behind an older man in a "Go Tell Your Mother" shirt that I'm not quite sure I even get. I kick it up before the finish but not much because it's such a narrow path the entire time. I feel I wasted most of my good running before the run itself but it's definitely a plus to make it back home before 8 pm. The Summer Series usually eats your Monday nights but today I have plenty of time for a shower, a breakfast dinner, and an hour of SPARCS.
Do I know how to pack a day or what?
That's perfect considering that's the exit I need to get to.
I'm just creeping onto the Southern State at Exit 30 and I have about 45 minutes to get to my race. Judging by the gridlock I'm stuck in at the moment, I don't think I'm making this Summer Series 4k. I contemplate calling Dadquest because dad knows everything about everywhere so he could probably give me a back way to Hempstead State Park that would take just as much time driving there as it would staying parked on the highway but dad looks at it like, we're moving so it's better than traffic even though it's a longer route. Though Dadquest is very handy (got Maeve out of a tight spot in Queens once) I'm not sure he knows the exact location of this park. Even Mapquest doesn't know exact locations of state parks which baffles me because they're STATE PARKS. They belong to the state which belongs to the country so one would think it would be easy to find directions.
I'm quite calm despite the approaching 7 o'clock start time which has magically dashed ahead of traffic and left me at Exit 24. Steve is quietly reading a manga next to me as I grip the wheel until my knuckles turn three shades whiter (if that's possible for my bluish skin tone). Traffic breaks up at Exit 18 which makes me both happy and scared. Happy that I have two minutes until start time, scared because that means they probably cut off traffic for the runners and I'm too late. I pull up to the jammed parking lot and I'm directed onto the softball field. I place Pedey in park and leave it running, letting Steve take care of shutting down the iPod and removing the keys. I jog towards the starting line with other late runners, thinking they might hold the race since more people are pouring in but instead I see a guy in front of me yell in frustration back at his lagging friends.
"Did we make it?" I ask even though I already know the answer by surveying his facial expression. I can't see beyond the trees but something tells me it's begun. He looks annoyed and tells me that they definitely started. I'm disappointed because all I think about is the 2000 people already running and how this will effect my time. I’m not even in control of my body because I’m thinking to go back to the truck but instead my legs take off in a sprint. I dart through the parking lot, past the BBQers, side step and practically jump over children eating hotdogs, fly through the camping area, hop the wooden fence, and shoot past the starting line and all of the walkers. I'm so far behind my nine minute milers I'm not sure how I'll ever catch up. I ignore the cones and barrel through the ten minute+ joggers but have to jump back in line because the leaderboard is already coming BACK the other way! I maneuver through more bodies and find the grass. Ignoring the rolling of the ankles in my street shoes, I take off on the uneven terrain to gain a better position.
When I spot my fan club on the sidelines on my way to the second mile, I'm in wall to wall people, sweaty bodies not moving fast, a massive roadblock of lacrosse shorts and tees. At this point there's no more hope for me. This is my pack, stuck behind an older man in a "Go Tell Your Mother" shirt that I'm not quite sure I even get. I kick it up before the finish but not much because it's such a narrow path the entire time. I feel I wasted most of my good running before the run itself but it's definitely a plus to make it back home before 8 pm. The Summer Series usually eats your Monday nights but today I have plenty of time for a shower, a breakfast dinner, and an hour of SPARCS.
Do I know how to pack a day or what?