Race #97 – Carolina Panthers Blue Points 5k – Charlotte, NC – 08/07/10

09-13-08 Panthers Game 007photo © 2008 Matt Trostle | more info (via: Wylio)

I’m back! After three of the longest weeks in recent memory I was able to get back out and race this weekend. My knee problem was diagnosed as being a combination of a tight IT band in combination with a weak quadriceps muscle in my right leg resulting in an imbalance in the musculature that caused my knee to get out of alignment sometimes as I was running, which caused enough pain to put me out for a while. Now I’m wearing a knee brace, stretching, and doing exercises to build up my quads and things are going well. I wore the brace today just to give my knee some stability in case I needed it. The knee felt great although the big decrease in miles over the past few weeks left my endurance a little on the shaky side, and I decided to take three 20-second walks — one in the 2nd mile and two in the 3rd mile. Nevertheless, my chip time of 21:48 (7:03 pace) was surprisingly not all that bad. In fact, it was only 7 seconds slower than last year in the same race.
The finishing time is really not all that important though. What a privilege it is to be able to get up on Saturday morning and head out the door to a new running adventure. It’s always a little bit different, even if it’s a race we’ve done before. There are always new people to meet as well as seeing friends Linda and I have met along the way who are similar to us, having found the fountain of youth in running. It’s amazing the people in their 50s, 60, 70s, and even 80s who are in better shape than most 30-year-olds.
So it’s great to be back on track. Soon it will be my second running anniversary. My first race was September 13, 2008, and I should still be able to hit the 100-race mark by that date, which was one of my running goals for the year.
Race Rating:
8 – 1-10 Website (Information, results, registration, photo links, etc.)
6 – 1-10 Awards (Quality of medals, trophies, etc.) (1 to 10)
8 – 1-10 Awards Presentation (PA system, winning times, etc.) (1 to 10)
5 – 1-10 Food for Race Participants (1 to 10)
5 – 1-10 T-Shirts (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
6 – 4/6 Part of Race Series (Grand Prix, etc.) (6=Yes and 4=No)
0 – 0/5 Professional Photography (5=Yes and 0=No)
6 – 4/6 Chip Timing (6=Yes and 4=No)
7 – 3/7 Certified Course (by USA Track & Field) (7=Yes and 3=No)
4 – 1-10 Course (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
2 – 1-10 Parking (1 to 10 with 5 being average) (Had to pay $6 to park!)
5 – 1-10 Entertainment (1 to 10 with 5 being average)
10 – 0-10 Age Groups (10 if 5-year groups; 0 if 10-year groups)
0 – 0/5 Indoor Shelter from Elements (0 if none; 5 if provided)
8 – 1-10 Bathroom Facilities
0-10 Other
TOTAL – 80
My Stats:
Time: 21:48
Pace: 7:03
Age Group: 4 of 21
Overall: 117 of 957

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