Surprise!

Short and fast was the order of the day. I was in the park right at 6 AM; by the way, it’s almost dark at that hour. Since I had an appointment back in Orland at 8:30, I had to be quick. And I did a 5.25 round trip in 65 minutes, giving me a 12:38 minute/mile average.

But an odd thing happened in the park; just after I had turned at Manzanita and was coming back, a race walker appeared! He was heading towards me at a very fast pace; probably under 10 minute miles. He grinned and shouted, “Isn’t this fun?” Well, of course it is…especially if you are able to walk as fast as he could. But, if I were judging, I might have given him one warning for “Bent Knee”.

After waving and agreeing, I continued on towards the car. And after about 15 minutes, I saw him again; coming towards me, still going very fast and grinning. This time he shouted, “This is really great!” Of course I agreed. And judging? He might have had “Loss of Contact” and should have been given another warning.

It’s quite uplifting to see another race walker, hard at work and doing it well. I only know of 3 others in this area and this guy looked to be the youngest of us all. He couldn’t have been over 45.

Weight 197.4