Race #93
I ran Race #93 on February 18th in Austin, TX, coming one race closer to reaching Mikie’s goal of 100 half marathons. It was great running weather…cold but sunny. As I ran this race, in the city where I earned my undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin, I recalled many great memories of the fun-spirited rivalry that Mikie and I had for our alma maters. As many of you know, Mikie loved his UCLA Bruins and one of the first presents he ever gave me was a UCLA ball cap (and I still have that hat, all these years later). We had fun over the years when UCLA did play UT (not that often, though) and of course, we always had to have a bet for those games! And one year when we went to a UT game in Austin, I even got him to wear a Longhorn shirt and hat!
I also reminisced during the race about how much we loved following our sports teams (of course there was always a rivalry when his beloved Dodgers played the Houston Astros) and making bets. When the Dodgers played the Astros in 2017 World Series, we had a bet and the loser had to wear the other teams’ gear for the day…Mikie sure looked good in orange!
I still cheer for the Dodgers and the Bruins in his honor and think about how our competitive spirits always fueled our athletic pursuits. I always feel his spirit pushing me in every race. I feel him when I am dragging and I get a cool breeze to give me a second wind. I feel him when I am about to slow down, but then I see him on the sidelines cheering me on. But most of all, I feel his love, and that is the best motivation of all to continue running these races.
This course was full of lots of hills that definitely challenged my banged up knee, but I had to remind myself that this race was just mirroring how I am living life at the moment, full of ups and downs and never knowing when the next big hill would pop up and ambush me. But I did in the race as I am doing each day, just taking it one step at a time, and with that strategy, I was able to finish the race, although not my fastest time (2:28:34) but still pretty darn good for me. And I will continue to take each day step-by-step.
At all UT Austin sporting events, they play a song called “The Eyes of Texas” and I found myself humming the song during the race (it is sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”), so I decided to rewrite some of the lyrics for Mikie…
The Eyes of Mikie are upon me, all the livelong race.
The Eyes of Mikie are upon me, telling me to pick up the pace.
Do not think you can escape him, I feel him sending me a sign.
The Eyes of Mikie are upon me till I cross that finish line.
My next race is the Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon on March 16th (our wedding anniversary).
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