4, 330 this was my ranking from the st. patty's day dash. sounds like a horrible number, but that is before you know just how many timed runners there were. well i don't know! i don't know the exact number, but i know it was over 10,000. so that isn't so bad, i am in the top half. woo hoo!!! the course was "nearly 4miles", this is what the website said about the distance. my time was 39:49. i am pleased with that. my goal was to run the whole way and finish. mission accomplished!
this was my first race since track in high school. in high school i ran the 4oo, once around, that is it. i had tried the 800 (two times around) and was a miserable 800 runner. the 400 was great an almost sprint for one lap, dude i can totally do that. somewhere in my sophomore year, i passed out during a race on the last turn before the straight away. yep, you read that right, i fell right in the middle of the race on the track. i woke up to my coach peering over the top of me. seriously embarrassing stuff, falling is NEVER cool! i never regained my composure after that, totally and completely psyched myself out, and never ran a race again.
it is funny how long that high school incident has stayed with me. my internal dialogue reminds me frequently, "hey heather? remember when you fell? yeah, you are NOT a runner." when i am running, i hear her cackling at me and have to block that voice out. when the cackling starts i tense up, my breathing becomes uneven and harried, my feet go driving through the pavement. then i have to yell at her, "shut up!" and relax the shoulders and breathing and purposefully put my feet back on the ground. i think i may have taken a step forward in quieting the evil voice in my head, as far as running is concerned.
the sheer magnitude of people who participated is awesome! every level of fitness, young (there were kids that were running much faster than i was), old timers, women and men, the completely serious racer to the attention getting knuckleheads, groups of friends who are creating memories to couples who are finding another way to be apart of their community and strengthen their marital bond, best friends and probably bitter enemies. every walk of life was represented at this race. the sense of community was strong.
we had a group of 11 runners. 10 women and one man, doc you are a trooper. our group consisted of 3 kindergarten teachers, 2 first grade teachers, 2 second grade teachers, the fitness teacher, and then the three misfits who aren't teachers but friends of these teachers; doc, cari and myself. the ride down was hysterical adorning our bodies with green eye shadow, green nail polish, shamrock stickers, affixing our race chips to our shoes, laughing at the ridiculousness of getting there an hour early, strategizing and basically just getting pumped for the race. nothing like a bunch of friends to pump you up.
it is finally race time. we are standing in the middle of the street in a huge mass of people. i am standing next to due due and shaff, these are the ladies i had been training with and wanted to start the race with my partners. we are all excited, i was a little nervous. then we are off. it is pouring down rain and we had not planned our "costumes" around the weather, rookie mistake. running three abreast is not easy, but we managed for awhile. i am several inches taller than shaff and due due which makes my stride longer than theirs and naturally i am always a few steps ahead of them. this is something i cannot help, i have tried taking smaller steps and that just looks silly. so i am with them for awhile and then turn to see them and all i see is a see of green strangers. oh well, i have lost my partners. it is just me and a sea of green.
i do not run with music. i have tried this several times and i simply can't handle that much noise being pumped into my ears. it gives me a headache. so instead of music i listened to the conversations going on around me. people catching up on their lives; new jobs, homes, boyfriends, updates on spouses. some talked about other races they ran, the weather of this race, comments about other runners costumes. i am naturally an eavesdropper. this can sometimes get me into to trouble, but i love humans they are just fascinating to me. being able to hear their conversations even though i have no idea who they are or who they are talking about is pure entertainment for me.
i wish i had taken more time to look at where i was. there were sooooo many people you really had to pay attention at what was happening around you so you didn't fall on top of someone or run up their legs. i do remember that there were lots of buildings, not sure if they were businesses or houses. i like all the architecture, especially in older buildings and homes, it would have been nice to look at some of it. i usually watch the sky and the trees and listen for the other creatures that inhabit our earth. i didn't get to do any of that either, such a shame. all i could really do was watch the road ahead of me. dodge mud puddles, get out of the way of the runners coming up from behind, and weave through small openings to pass groups of runners.
i crossed the finish line. yes, i did it! i didn't walk at all, i maintained a decent speed throughout the whole thing. i was a little bummed that i didn't have someone to celebrate with. i suppose i could've high-fived the person next to me, but i would've liked to have finished with my running mates. i reunited with the ladies who finished before me and got my congratulatory high-fives and hugs there. after the initial rush wore off, then the bone chilling cold took hold and i was instantly done being at the race. i was sopping wet head to toe, all the way through my clothes to my skin.
so the race was over. we all accomplished what we set out to do and it is time to head home. i am ready to sign up for another race, maybe in april. i may have caught the 5K bug. there is a tulip run in april and the great kilted run in may. you may see more postings about these soon (insert smiley face here).
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