二つの大会に申し込んだ。

 

ひとつはLake Youngsで開かれる50キロレース。先週の土曜日に同じコースを走って棄権したので再挑戦だ。同じ様式のレースに5キロを加えた50キロレースということなので参加してみようと思う。タイムは余り気にせずにあくまでも完走を目指そうと思う。

 

もうひとつは8月9日にCouger Mountainで開かれる13マイルのトレイルレース。これはハーフマラソンの距離になる。直前まで日本にいるので迷っていたのだけど同僚が『申し込みましたよ～』と誘ってくれたので自分でも申し込んだ。

 

さあ、楽しみだ。

英語だと「Idealism Without Illusions」で、ケネディ大統領の言葉だそうだ。

 

彼は自分のことを幻想を伴わない理想主義者と言ったそうでこのフレーズにとっても感銘を覚えてしまった。

 

自分は理想を追い求めている理想主義者ではないし、時には幻想を抱きながらある種の理想を求めていることがあると思う。まあ、人生においてもそうなのだろうけど、そこまで話を大きくしないとしても仕事でも同じ感じだった気がする。自分のプロジェクトが中々進まず、理想を追い求める以前の基本において全く満足する点に達していないのだけど、やはり理想無くして先には進まないだろう。その際に幻想を抱いてはいけないということだ。

 

とりあえずまず自分が何を理想としているかを書き表すという作業を進めてみようと思う。

I ran, but retired after two laps while it's a three lap race of about 9.5 mile course.

 

I originally thought the course will be right by the lake as you can see the trail on the aerial view of the lake, but found out that you really cannot go by the lake as it's fenced.  Instead, the course or the trail goes by the fence, and it's actually very nice.

 

 

I overheard some runners saying the course was nice but too simple as a trail running course, but it's complicated enough for me. Even though by the lake, I felt a half of the time whether I was running up hill or down hill. None of them were steep at all except the last one right before the finish line, but it was fun course. The weather was good for running. I was expecting it be hot, but it wasn't. I therefore didn't get dehydrated even though there was only one water station in the middle of the course besides the one at the start/finish point.

 

Due to my possible leg injury, I hadn't jogged for the past three weeks even for a mile. So it wasn't really the right thing to do a full-marathon-like race without any prep for three weeks. I knew, but at least I wanted to get the "free" t-shirts, and the BBQ. As a result, I couldn't go any more than two laps. The first lap was easy, and I finished it at about 90 minutes, but I started having pain everywhere in my second lap, and took me over 2 hours to finish the second loop. Towards the end of my second lap, I was deciding whether I should finish the race, or retire.  Since I didn't want to damage my legs, I decided to retire and I thought it was the right decision even though I have gone a bit crazier and finish it.

 

The course was like a "Q" shape. You start off the loop, go on the loop, come back to the start line to get checked, and go back to the loop. The race was supposed to be a clockwise course, but I found many runners running counterclockwise. It was very interesting, but I don't believe that'd happen in Japan. Everyone will be afraid of "breaking" the rule, and his/her result may become invalid. I guess it's not that strict at all, and I really like that kind of relaxation.

 

After the race I had muscle pain, but my legs were okay, and I was very happy about it. I think I will resume my jogging now.  I just cannot not-running any longer.