Something really quite remarkable happened to me last weekend... I placed in a race
I came second. Me. I can hardly believe it.
The race is a annual local fun run challenge. There are 2 distances - a 5km or 10km.
The 10km is simply the 5km course done twice. And its not a fast track as there are a couple of steep hills.
(The number of hills depends on who you talk to. I was told 3 hills; 2 on the way out and 1 on the way back. But, for the record, it sure felt like there was more than 3)
I decided to enter the 5km race as mentally I simply couldn't handle getting to the finish line and then heading for the hills again. I also only officially committed last Wednesday, 4 days before the race. I didn't prepare for it, as such.
So, race day.
I arrived with my boys (who were signed up to do the 1km kids dash) just as the 10km started, which was great as I got to cheer on some people that I knew.
The 10km finished, I chatted with some friends, then watched the boys and all of the other kids run.
About 10 minutes before the start of my race we ambled down to the start line.
When the race started I don't even recall if it was a gun or hooter or just someone saying go... because I was chatting to my friend, her daughter and her daughters friend.
This friend of mine, Alisha, is fast. She's really quite amazing and I admire how quickly she's built up her speed too. I thought that if I could just stay with her then i'd have a good race.
The first hill came and, well, I don't mind hills and I just had a bit more speed in my legs than Alisha did on the day. I debated hanging back so that we could run together but I knew Alisha wouldn't want that, just as I wouldn't expect her to do for me.
It was an out and back race so as we got to the second big hill I knew there was only about 500 metres up and I'd start to see the people who were on their way back.
All males, more males, then one female who had a different ribbon on (indicating under 12 age group - yes under 12 - a gun in her own right) and then one female in the open category and then that was it.
OMG, was I in second??
I couldn't believe it.
From then I just aimed to keep this girl in my sights. I still wasn't certain that I'd counted correctly and thought that there was a very good chance that I'd missed someone but as I got to the last km and started to pass officials a couple of them gave me a little clap and said "keep going, you're coming second"
OMG, I WAS in second!
I heard my boys yell out to me and my friends gave a little shout too and then I crossed the line and those officials were right.
I DID get second place.
As I caught my breath the girl who came first thanked me because I made her keep going as she though I might catch her. This was all too unbelievable.
I was beaming. I wanted to shout it out to everyone there. I wanted to talk about how amazing it was to anyone with ears. But I tried to restrain myself. I'm not sure how successful I was at that. All weekend I was grinning like the Chesire cat. Even, now, as I type this, 2 days later, I am still so super excited.
When they presented the certificates I found out my time was 24:02. I am so pleased with that as I was honestly aiming for sub 30 minutes.
 |
| Super excited to come second |
And what else is great (maybe even greater than the placing) is the fact that any time a self doubt tries to creep in it is squashed almost immediately by the joy that I still feel.
Yes, it was just a local fun run with maybe 100 people in my race. Yes, it was only 5km. Yes, there are many people in the running community that I know who could beat my time.
But I am honestly not thinking like that.
I am claiming it.
Any race, at any distance, is open to whoever turns up on the day. And this was just my day.
This may very well be the peak of my running life. Even that makes me smile.
I simply had to get this down on paper so that when this feeling subsides I can relive it again by reading my own recount
