I really need to start paying attention to that little "periodically hit save as draft" advice up there. Take 2:
What a morning! It was so cold & really windy (the wind woke me up at 4:30 and is still rattling the windows!) that I decided not to go to the gym where the 5k starts as early as I normally would. I didn't want to stand around too long in the cold. I got there at 7:56. The run was supposed to start at 8, and they usually are 5-10 minutes behind schedule. But not today! I was still at the sign-in table when I heard the start at 7:57. I finished my name, rank & signature and ran toward the starting line. When I passed the clock at the finish line, I was already 40 seconds behind, so I made sure to start my watch when I got to the starting line so at least I'd know my time at the end. My Garmin gave me the low batteries warning on my way there (I really thought I just fully charged it 4 miles ago!) so I turned it off because I knew I would be annoyed by all the beeping. Good thing I never learned how to tell the actual time on my Garmin so I always wear my regular good ol' Timex on my other hand!
I ran past the walkers & started to catch up to the crowd. I felt like I was playing catch-up the whole time! I found my friends Grace and Paul and they said, "We were wondering where you were!" I had given Grace a hard time the other day when she said she was thinking about skipping...can you imagine if I hadn't shown up!? I knew my friend Veronica was out there too, and had to catch up with her. I started playing the "moving landmarks" game: "Catch up with the orange stripes...good job. Now pass the white hat...okay. Black shorts...check. Red shirt..." etc. until finally I caught up with Veronica. It was at the part of the course that passes by my backyard, and I saw her looking toward my house (later she said she was thinking maybe I decided to go out and cheer instead)...I popped up right next to her and said, "I'm here! I was just late!" She said, "I'm sure you'll make up for it....good luck!" and I kept going. Barely kept going that is! Right past my house was the windiest part of the run, and running right into the wind it felt like I was on a treadmill...moving fast but going nowhere! I was actually thankful to turn the corner and start running up the big hill! I thought that the hill would really get me, mostly since I had been running pretty fast to catch up with the group, but it felt surprisingly good. Now, I won't get all crazy and say I wasn't wishing it were over, but I didn't start wishing that until I was already past the first brown sign...usually that feeling starts way before the sign. When the ground leveled out, I saw a girl in a long sleeved brown shirt and I decided I wanted to catch her. For some reason I thought to myself, "What if she's the 3rd place girl and you finish right behind her?" I thought that would be kind of upsetting, to come from very last place and at least 40 seconds late and miss having my name on the board in the gym by just a few seconds. So I decided to really push myself and get around her. I also passed our friend SMSgt H. without even realizing it...he was all bundled up and I didn't recognize him until he said hello. As I crossed the finish line, I heard someone say, "We've got our 2nd female here. In the blue shirt." And I almost fell over in shock when I realized that I was wearing a blue shirt...maybe they were talking about me! Sure enough, the lady handed me a laminated "2"! That was a nice addition since the last run...usually you just have to stand there all breathless and tell & spell your name. My time on the sheet was 23:52 and the lady asked me if that was right. I said, "Well, not according to my watch, but it's okay."
My watch time was 22:56! I think that's about 28 seconds better than last month on the same course. Maybe there's some merit to my "arrive over 40 seconds late" strategy...or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm actually running more than once or twice a week! This will be my last Risner Fitness Center 5k (I said that in December too, but I'm almost sure we're really moving this month!) and I'm glad to leave on a happy note!
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