Adventures in post-transplantation fitness: Dartin' Downtown 5k

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Dartin' Downtown 5k

The first rainy day in three weeks found us in Paris, TN, for the Dartin' Downtown 5k. Runners assembled inside the nice, warm and dry First United Methodist gym for pre-race instruction before getting shooed outdoors to the starting line just prior to 8:00 a.m. Standing in the rain, we were told if we found ourselves running on a level stretch of road then we must be off course. At that point, I really began questioning every decision I had made over the course of my life which led me to this particular intersection of place and time.

A police cruiser and a young lady on a bicycle guided us through the commons of downtown Paris and downhill into a residential setting. Of course it wasn't long before I lost sight of both the police car and the bicyclist. But there were only a few runners up front and out of sight and just a few others ahead of me still within sight. The hills began to take their toll, as a couple of younger runners were forced to drop back to a walking pace. My clothes, saturated from the rain, introduced much unwelcomed additional weight, but my hat was shielding my face like a dream. Thankfully, and perhaps because of the rain, traffic was light and the handful of drivers who were on the road were most courteous.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 25:19, good enough for 6th overall and 1st in the men's 40-49 age bracket. My daughter came in 20th overall and 2nd in the 15-19 women's category. The church graciously welcomed us back into their nice, warm and dry gym with towels and snacks prior to the awards presentation. I must say I was never so grateful for a race day t-shirt in which to change as I was this morning. Access to indoor restrooms was a pleasant surprise, too! And to cap off what was truly a great event, my daughter was lucky enough to win a door prize - a beautiful handmade quilt, compliments of the Peacemakers Quilt Club of the First United Methodist Church.