Let's Do the Time Warp Again

A couple times early in high school, I was put on the 4x200m relay team.  This had nothing to do with any particular aptitude for the event; it had more to do with the fact that I was a warm body that wasn't good enough at other stuff to have a full schedule already.

Regardless of the reasons for participation, what struck me the most about the event was the time warp that seemed to occur.  All I could ever recall about my leg of the race was that I got the baton, and I handed off the baton.  There was no recollection of the 200 meters of all-out sprinting in between.

This phenomenon has fascinated me ever since, and I'm always intrigued when a run approximates such an experience.

Yesterday's run did.

To be sure, it was a differently flavored time warp, but after finishing up, I realized that a hair over an hour had passed, still feeling that I had just walked out the door.  All that was noted were the first two or three strides and the last two or three strides, the rest lost in thought.

Such bending of the space-time continuum happens on occasion during runs, whether it be an 8-mile jog, a 15-mile tempo, or miles 65-75 of a 100 miler, but each time I emerge on the other side, I am equally fascinated with whatever has just transpired.