I'm still going, I guess

I'm just not moving any worlds around here.

I woke up at 6:30am for a road race in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day that started at 7:45. Not a good idea. The play was to snap up at 4:30am, get down there early to pick up my packet with plenty of time to spare. Instead the race started before I was even parked, I pick up my packet to find (despite pre-registering) they gave my size shirt away, and have no time to run back to my car.

So I squeeze the size large they gave me on under my Lions shirt, and head to the starting line. The largest size that registration allowed was an XL and that would have been pushing it. I feel (or can only guesstimate, really) like I'm wearing a sports bra with my little Turkey Trot shirt choking my upper torso. So, great, not only am I starting 45 minutes late, but I'm going to be restricted the whole way.

After I got going, it wasn't as bad as it seemed, though. I didn't have a lot of freedom to pump my arms, and I was a little hot, but I pushed on through. By the time I got done with the Woodward leg, I was pretty psyched up. I'm in Detroit, running down the busiest street there is, going by the Fox, Hockeytown, Comerica, over the E-way, and back. It gets you a little worked up. Unfortunately, that was short-lived and by the time I got to the split where 10K runners went down Michigan and 5Kers went straight, I considered cutting off with the 5K people. I took the right down Michigan, though, and I'm really happy I did.

Running down Michigan is just as exciting as Woodward. It may not be as pretty, but it has a lot of history, even for me personally. The Corktown bars and restaurants from my childhood at Tiger Stadium, the field itself overgrown and bearing a homemade "Ernie Harwell Park" sign, the old train station, etc. All of it memories of Detroit in better times.

Unfortunately on this loop, I also saw a man collapse and EMTs doing CPR on him. I stayed out of the way. All I can do is pray for him and his family, and reflect on how fleeting life can be, and I did. I think it shook a lot of people and we all slowed down after that. When something like that happens, you realize your time and the person ahead of you that you've been pacing doesn't matter as much. It's a pittance of a victory when you think someone could be spending Thanksgiving without a loved one; a loved one who just wanted to do something fun before spending the day with his family. I hope to God he somehow made it. It didn't look good, but I didn't hear of anyone dying, so maybe he's okay.

Like I said, after that, I just didn't push very hard until the finish was in sight. It took another right down Rosa Parks after the Michigan turn-around, and reversed from there. Come back up Parks, you turned right again back onto Woodward, by Cobo, and down the ramp by the Detroit Princess Ferry to the River Walk. With all the buildings blocking it, you forget how pretty Detroit really is down there. I haven't been there since the Super Bowl, and that was at night. For a rainy day, Detroit sure looked wonderful.

Overall, I'm happy with the fact I was even able to make it to run there, given the circumstances. I left way too late, and probably shouldn't have even tried to make it there. I'm happy I stayed on the 10K route and not the 5K, because it was far superior as a route, and a much better tour of the city. The 5K was nearly pointless for the money, especially when I run one 3 times a week these days.

I still haven't changed a lot of things I need to, and I still need to start seeing a doctor regularly. I've decided I'd like to stick around here a while longer than most of my family, and I need somebody to tell me how to do that.