My second goal for this year was to participate in a road race. This is something that I've longed to do for quite some time. I desperately want to be one of those real runners. Someone who easily kicks out enough miles to efficiently burn a few extra brownies. Slim, sleak in little running gear posing with a big smile after a race, I long for that to be me. Well, I managed to participate in a road race in early June to at least accomplish the goal that I had set.
I regularly run/walk 2 miles with my personal trainer in 30 minutes, so I had hoped I could manage 3.1 on my own amongst a crowd of people in possibly 45 minutes. I huff and puff and am beat red by the time Britney's dragged me the two miles around town. There is nothing slim and sleak about me, but I convinced myself at the last minute to do Victory in the Valley's East Meets West 5K. They are the cancer support organization that has done so much for us, so it was without a doubt an excellent cause. I went alone so there would be no significant witnesses to my potential failure, but I made it. In less than 45 minutes. I was so proud of myself!
"Did you win?" That was how Things 1 and 2 greeted me after my drive to meet them post run, busting my bubble. "Well, no."
"It wasn't really that kind of race," Mr. 1inamillion tried to save me.
"But did you get a ribbon?", Gabe asked. I began a list in my mind of the chores I would soon dish out to this little buzz kill.
"No, I finished it. That's what matters!"
"But what place did you get?", he persisted.
I sighed, then replied with "NOT LAST!" and followed with the laundry list of assignments.
The record shows that my time was 42:31 and I came in 410th place. I take great pride in the fact that there were 44 people slower than me. I was beat red, gasping a bit, and alone in my accomplishment so there are no smiling photos of me with my race number. There was no one to hug or high-five once I crossed the line, but I achieved my goal.
Yesterday I changed a statement about my self. I used to say, "I would love to do a marathon, but there's no way I could do that". I am so proud of my friends that have done it! To focus, and work hard training for so long, I have so much admiration for them. Not to mention total envy of their cute smiling post race pics and finisher medals. I used to say I wanted to train for a half-marathon. I even have a training plan pulled from a magazine that's hung by my desk for a year.
Yesterday I said, out loud, I am training for a half marathon. I followed by typing that in an email. Now I've done it again. I am training for a half marathon. I do have the personal trainer so she might as well be training me for something, right? I need to have another goal to chase, to focus on something I am capable of conquering.
Now that I've said it and committed myself to the goal, how many people will hold me accountable? How many people will join me? I don't want to do this one alone. Miserable finish or not, I want a picture and I want someone to share the sense of accomplishment with me! I can't imagine that I will be able to run the entire 13.1 miles in October, but my goal is to just complete it. Run, walk or crawl. Hopefully, there will be at least a few people crawling slower than me so I can tell my kids what place I got and have a little bit of pride left.
Meet my personal trainer, Britney! This is her happy face after our loop around Mayberry.
I want to run that with you....I need a personal trainer though!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the one in a million study was really good. Wish I would've known you were doing it!
I am proud of you for meeting your goals!
Let get together and walk again soon!