Last July 31st, I went to Jones Beach for the Marcum & Kliegman Long Island Workplace Challenge, of which the company I work for was a part.  There was a bunch of us from work who joined this year's race and we were all excited - some of us newbies have been practicing after office hours to make sure we don't pass out in the middle of the race.  When five o'clock came, we put on our running shoes and headed off to Jones Beach.  I got to the beach park early but the traffic there was slow going that it took almost an hour to finally reach the parking lot.  Fortunately, I made it there before seven, and since the race started late - I had enough time to acclimate myself to the bright yet slightly muggy weather and to the palpable excitement emitted by the crowd.  It's one thing to expect a large crowd - it's another to be actually in the midst of a large crowd willing to engage their bodies towards a common goal: to run a 3.5 mile race.  I for one was stoked.  We were a happy mob like a school of kids waiting to ambush an ice cream truck.

The starting line for serious runners (9-minute mile or better) was on the right side while the casual runners took the left.  The loudspeakers, which weren't loud enough, were placed on the far right so those of us on the left side couldn't hear much - actually anything from the speakers.  I swear, my neighbor's car speakers blasted Guns N Roses louder sounds than the speakers they had at the race.  They set up an elevated stage where they had some people address the crowd.  Again, because of the ineffectual speakers, we couldn't hear a thing.  I think they played the national anthem and had some people lead the crowd into some warm-up exercises.  What I was sure of though was hearing the countdown through the din, with each number sounding louder than the last.  The countdown was punctuated with the sound of a horn followed by a loud cheer as people poured out of the starting line.

With people walking close to each other, it took a while before I could break into a run and when I did I found myself needing to make sudden stops and turns to avoid bumping into people.  I took to the side, by the grass, when I could.  I knew I was probably burning myself up too much too soon but hey, I didn't care really, I was out there to have fun and I did.

By the time I reached the first mile marker, I found myself needing to slowdown to a walking pace.  I was huffing.  But I never stopped though.  I kept on going - I kept instructing my mind to bring one foot in front of the other.  Just don't stop I told myself.  By the time I reached the second mile marker, throngs of people have already passed me but also, on the positive side, I had passed a throng of people too - some of them looking much younger and fitter than me.  This gave me some feel-good energy which I tried to parlay into finishing the race.  Which is why even when a grandma would pass me by I didn't mind so much - I had, after all, some X-Box kids eat my dust.

Since I bought new sneakers, my shins weren't bothering me anymore, that was, till I reached the 3-mile marker.  I could feel more and more pressure build up on my shins.  Maybe I was leaning forward too much.  I don’t know.  But I stopped to rest a while and took the opportunity to take a picture of the digital display at the mile marker.  38:52 it said.  Far from competition stuff but not bad for a first-timer, I thought.  I pushed myself some more.  I found myself needing to slow down a lot more frequently but even then I kept my slowdowns to a minimum, maybe around 10 to 20 steps.  Eventually, I reached the finish line and the digital display there said that I did it in 44:53.  It didn't really matter to me.  At that point, there was a more pressing realization that dawned on me.  I did it.  I had finished my first race.