I finished the Champion of Trees 10K in 51:00 flat, a pace of 8:12 per mile through show and up hills and down. At various times during the race I definitely questioned my ability to meet my goal of 8:20 per mile, a decent early season pace.

I finished the Champion of Trees 10K in 51:00 flat, a pace of 8:12 per mile through show and up hills and down. At various times during the race I definitely questioned my ability to meet my goal of 8:20 per mile, a decent early season pace.

My Garmin Fenix watch kept me perhaps a little too honest. When you’re crawling up a hill and the pace reads 10:20, the mind goes soft. “Ahh, what’s it worth anyway?” that little voice says.

But then you’re headed downhill and the watch reads “7:20” and you lie to yourself a little. “I could keep this up all day!”

Then you check the race results a couple days after the run and discover a second place age group finish and go, “Whoa! I wonder what the age group winner’s time was like?”

So I checked the race results and found out I was 119th overall. The 60+ age group winner Ed Straka was 111th overall with a time of 50:42. Just twenty seconds ahead of me.

Now I’m wondering if he was the tall guy in the blue shirt that was (wisely) walking the worst of the short hills along the way. He’d stalk up the slope and then take off running again. I’d hump my way up to a pair of anaerobic thighs and try struggling on.

In any case, the guy who beat me ran just two seconds per mile faster. I should know better. Lessons learned are like bridges burned, you only get to cross them but once.

Problem is, there are always more bridges to cross.