The Around the Bay Road Race was much different this year, compared to last year.

Last year, it was sunny and clear. Cool, but not cold.

This year, it was wet. And a little chilly.

It could have been worse. We didn’t get the freezing rain that was forecasted.

But my shoes and socks got soaked.

So, my feet got wet.

And I developed a blister on my left foot at around the 20km mark.

Which meant that I had 10 more kilometers to run on that blister.

That was fun.

On the plus side, I finished the race in 3:49:18.

Which was about 37 minutes faster than I ran it last year.

Not bad.

Of course, Tara and Dan still ran it faster than me.

With less training.

Ah, youth…

But it was fun to share the experience with them.

It was their first time running that distance.

I enjoyed the race, but I didn’t commiserate with my fellow runners as much as I usually do.

I chatted with “James” before the race started.

It was James’ first time running in the Around the Bay. I gave him some idea of what to expect. And wished him well.

And then I didn’t talk to anyone until I saw my friend Aimee at the 21km mark.

She was volunteering and ran with me for a kilometer or so.

Which was very kind and generous.

It was a boost to my spirits.

I usually run solo, so I forget how pleasant it is to run and chat with someone else.

Amazingly, I found some energy at the end of the race to sprint to the finish.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it this time.

I had been slowing down in the last few kilometers.

I knew there was about two hundred meters to finish, but distance can be funny.

Sometimes it seems longer than it really is.

Especially when you want the race to be over.

I increased my speed and turned the corner only to see how far the finish line was.

I wanted to slow down.

But I sped up.

And then I sped up some more!

We have a friend who recently had triple by-pass surgery on their heart. And this popped into my head as I increased my speed even more.

I thought a sixty-two-year-old guy probably shouldn’t be sprinting full out to the finish line.

By the time I finished having that thought, I was across the finish line.

I stopped running. My heart was racing. I walked away from the race area.

For a couple of minutes, I worried that I might have a heart attack.

I waited.

Knock wood. It didn’t happen.

My heart rate went back to normal.

Then I met up with Tara and Dan. We hobbled up the street to get a bus home.

After showering and getting dressed, we gorged ourselves on BBQ food.

It was glorious.

Sometimes I think I do these races so that I can have a celebratory feast afterwards.