Burns Park Run

This morning's 10K was altogether a somewhat disappointing experience. It was a lovely day for a run - when I left home at 6:45, bright blue skies were in evidence, though at 35 degrees it was a bit cool. But when I picked up my packet, I was dismayed to find I was listed on the 5K, rather than the 10K - I must have inadvertently misregistered. But after I pondered it for a while, I went back and was able to communicate my desire to change, and they switched me with no problem. Then I asked if there was a map I could consult, and they said, "No map," but assured me that volunteers would be in place at every corner to point us the right way. I was running pretty well through the first 4 or 5 miles, but then late in the race was an intersection without volunteers - particularly disadvantageous at this late stage, when we were tiring. I turned the wrong way, and later when I discovered this, tried to add on a few blocks to assure myself of doing at least 10K. But I think I tacked on too much, and ended up running about 7 miles, finishing (by my watch) in 1:11:07. My error was confirmed when I ran by the home of my good friends David and April Wright on Hermitage, which was not part of the course. The mystery continued, though, as the clock at the finish line showed about 1:26, and I KNOW I was not that far behind the official start time. My friend and coach Tom Brown had predicted that, based on my training times, I would "almost certainly" make my goal of breaking an hour, and while I wasn't so sure, I was reasonably certain of setting a new personal 10K race record (my old post-accident one was 1:02:29).