Race Redux: Amy Thompson Run for Daylight

i completed my first race on memorial day. in short, i got schooled . . . by children.

it was a humbling affair.

there were two events: the 8k and the 2 mile. i decided on the 2 mile because i wasn't sure i could finish the 8k within the time limit. and really, it was just 2 miles. i walk 2 miles all the time. well, not recently, but still. 2 miles. 2 miles is easy! i bet i could even run half of it! it's only two miles. i mean really, if i had to, i'm sure i could run three miles. this was the debate that i got into with mary and ann last summer - that if i had to, i could run three miles. like, had to as in if someone was chasing me because they wanted to kill me. we argued about it all summer long - whether or not this was possible in my current state. i maintained that it was.

i digress . . .

the 2 mile was billed as the event for all! ages! what i failed to realize when i signed up was that it really was for all ages. like small children. they were numerous. and they were fast.

i started out running until i couldn't run any further. i prefer to think of this as pacing myself. then i walked as fast as i could until i caught my breath (and the cramp in my side subsided). lots of people passed me. lots. here are just a few of the people who passed me:

- small children
- a woman pushing a stroller
- a man carrying a child on his back
- the elderly
- two girls holding hands and skipping
- people who looked way more out of shape than me

i continued alternating running with fast walking until . . . wait . . . is that the finish line? i was overjoyed. that is until someone beside me called out ONE MILE! and then i saw with my own eyes the tape on the street delineating the one mile mark. sweet jesus! i was crushed. how can i only have gone ONE MILE? it felt like i had been running for 30 minutes. and i was only half done.

i pressed on as fast as i could, while the masses effortlessly passed me. when i got to the actual finish line i saw mary, ann, tim and hazel cheering me on. my spirits lifted slightly. i ran the last little stretch to the finish. i finished in 30:05, which isn't as good as i had hoped, but it certainly could have been worse.

and afterwards my body hurt like a mother - why, i have no idea. i think it must have been the shock of running on the pavement. i think i could have gotten the same time with much less pain had i just walked fast.

after i had consumed my post race cookies (the second cookie was really ill-advised) and water i sheepishly admitted to mary and ann: "okay, maybe i couldn't run three miles if i had to". they reveled in my admission.