Saturday, June 16, was the Watkins Mill Get Outdoors 6K. Proceeds for this race benefit the Watkins Mill Association. As I mentioned last year, this race is near and dear to my heart. I grew up just a few miles from the park (before it was a park), and our family spent lots of time there especially once the lake and trail were built.
The race is held on an asphalt trail that encircles the lake. As all runners know, the first mile is the hardest, and this one is especially hard as you run across the dam in full sunlight–no shade whatsoever. However, once across the dam, the rest of the race is shaded.
A friend and I prepared for the race by going to the lake a few times and running the actual race route. Our last time to go around the lake was especially tortuous, as I had a few horseflies that decided I was a horse. For about two miles, they were literally swarming around me and biting me. In self-defense, I ended up using a towel to swat at them. They finally left me alone at the end of the route.
On race day it was much warmer than last year at a bright, sunny 78 degrees. I remember about two-thirds through the race thinking, “my feet feel like soup.” We all know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare and the saying that “slow and steady wins the race.” In this case, maybe it should be, “slow and steady finishes the race.” The last few races I’ve participated in, someone has been taken away in an ambulance. This race was no exception. The only thing I can think of to do in those situations is to pray.
Finish the race, we did. I don’t think that any records were broken, but the important thing is the good time together with family and friends.
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. James 4:14
LoriCamper.Com 