February 2011 Essay

Remnants of Cape Cod


I don’t normally do this. In fact this was the first time I ever did it. Under the circumstances I felt it was ok as a rare treat.
As I woke to the sound of my alarm clock, which, is another rare treat for me as well. I immediately got up and then back down throwing on the cloths I laid out on the floor the night before, like a child getting ready to go play. After the odds and ends of race morning and finally arriving to the race tent I had just enough time to pin my race bib on and grab another cup of coffee they had present. They had Starbucks!!!
So the gun went off and away we went. During the race there were volunteers directing us at each corner as to which way to go and reminders to watch the ice that was all over the roads. It made me think about how we need to see what’s right in front of us. We need to be aware of the moment and deal accordingly. It is far more important however to look up and ahead at the long term goal. The Focus should be long term; you got to be aware of the immediate ice that we all have to deal with. But by focusing on the long term goal and continually moving forward with a positive attitude the ice is nothing more than a harmless puddle. Enough deep thinking back to the race…
So I navigated through the course and managed to avoid the puddles on the road. Surprisingly because I tend to daydream when I run and not pay attention to where I’m going and where I’m stepping sometimes. The course reminded me of the Cape Cod marathon due to the fact that we were running with gorgeous views of the Great South Bay along the route. The sight of the cool, crisp water made me want to go swimming, another favorite endeavor of mine. At about the 6 mile mark I noticed a runner with a blue flame beanie on. This may not seem like anything special but since I was wearing a red flame beanie I found another goal besides finishing. To beat this blue flamed runner! But I put it out of my mind because he was ahead of me already running from a turnaround point.
It just so happened right at the stretch to the finish line, I saw him. Leaving some gas in the tank I picked it up past him. He also picked it up and we ran even for a bit with the finish line in sight. I was expecting a good race to the finish, something I have yet to get so far. But after hearing the, ‘ah’ and seeing the fading shadow of the blue flamed runner disappear from the blacktop in front of me I knew he was done. After clocking in with a time of 1:27.32 I immediately went for my race day treat. To my surprise there was 4 to choose from; Golden, Toasted, Pumpkin, and Oatmeal. It was around 10:30 A.M., breakfast time, but I’m not talking cereal here. After a big quenching gulp of the Blue Point Brewery’s Oatmeal Stout I reflected on the race while talking to some of the runners and Brewer’s around me. I thought about stretching but instead took another sip and just hung out, had beer, looked at the bay, and took the best nap since the Cape Cod Marathon. Between the beautiful scenery and the nap (also the great beer) this was truly a remnant of the whole Cape Cod marathon experience.
-Barton-