First race for NDSA-RI

Last Saturday afternoon I participated in my first competition for the newly formed NSDA-RI Road Racing Team, the St. Mary’s Feast 5.5-Miler. Under gray skies and breezy conditions my aide/guide Nathan and I took to the streets of the Knightsville section of Cranston to mark the beginning of this new inclusive (able-bodied and disabled) athletic program
Because this program is fairly new I was the sole representative of the group. Being in the midst of training for two marathons coming up this fall my sprinting speed is not what I’d like it to be, but I went out there to run the best time I could.
As I started 35 minutes before all of the other runners I felt a little tight but very strong. Having rained before the race my footing was kind of slick but I’ve been training on all surfaces recently so this didn’t hamper me much. I passed the mile-1 mark in just under 17 minutes. This was slower than my average mile but faster than I usually start a race. It takes me a while to get warmed-up and find my rhythm, but the longer I go the stronger I seem to get. This is great in a long race such as a marathon, but in shorter distances I tend to press myself to get into this rhythm much sooner.
As the race went on I continued to feel strong and slowly picked up my pace. I passed the 3-mile mark in slightly over 49 minutes. Right there I was four minutes behind my target pace and with the hilliest portion of the race yet to come I just hoped I could keep that pace and not lose anymore valuable minutes.
As we were approaching the 4-mile mark the top runners passed us. As the leader blew by me on a short uphill, he shouted a word of encouragement and gave me a quick wave. A few minutes later the main pack caught us. Almost every runner, jogger or walker, no matter how tired they were or how much they were struggling, took a second to clap for me or pat me on the back.
I ended up finishing the race in 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 41 seconds. This wasn’t my best time on this course but it was not my worst either. All in all I feel this was a perfect tune-up for the Blessing of the Fleet 10-mile Road Race that I’ll be doing later today in Narragansett.
Racing has done so much for me over the years. I also feel that I have had an inspiring impact on so many runners, joggers, walkers and wheelers over the past 12 years. By assisting in getting this road race team up and running I hope to further raise awareness of what people with disabilities are capable of.
People looking to join the NDSA-RI Road Race Team can get more information by emailing me at jprunr@aol.com or call NDSA Executive Director, Jerry McCole at 792-7130. Information can also be obtained at: http://teampisano.blogspot.com/