April 4th, 2011. Only ran three times last week as I continue with recovery mode, but fairly happy with the results. Paced 7:45 for a thirty minute session on Tuesday and followed up with an 8:05 pace for forty minutes on Thursday. Although I was only supposed to run four miles on Sunday I went 5.5 at an 8:25 pace.
Of course I intended to cover seven miles by running down River Road for a while. As you might imagine, this road shadows a nearby river (the Cape Fear River) and attracts many bikers for its eight mile stretch without any intersections requiring a stop. Better yet, there are bike paths on either side. The fly in the ointment, however, is that the road twists with the river and because the speed limit is 55MPH most of the way, there are plenty of idiots who go too fast and cut into the bike paths as they jet along.
Spotted a police cruiser blocking River Road as I neared, and pointed to indicate to the officer standing there that I wanted to proceed on foot past his roadblock. He shook his head and replied the road was closed, so I had no choice but head back for home. Naturally I was annoyed that I was included in the ban, thinking it would be easy to sidestep an accident clean-up, until I read the paper the next morning.
Some guy was DWI and swerved into a father and son biking down River Road, killing both. The real tragedy is that they had chosen to bike the road Sunday morning when traffic is sparse. Although I shudder to think how close I tread to this sad incident, I will let you know that this cowboy takes no chances on River Road à an advantage of being on foot is that I can run against traffic (which I always do on River Road) and often veer off the bike path onto the shoulder to grant further leeway between myself and oncoming traffic.
This terrible news gives me pause to count blessings. Thanks to the fruit of diabetic research, not only am I existing beyond the age of 50…I am thriving and attempting an ultra-marathon. Chasing that dream has subjected me to many pitfalls, but I have truly been blessed thus far and still able to strive towards this goal. But the sobering fact of how quickly the fates may turn reinforces the precautions I take before each long run à if the unforeseen can wreak such havoc, I best ensure that I don’t lapse into hypoglycemia and tempt fate…
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