This morning John and I ran in the annual Paden City Labor Day 5K Fun Run. I've run that race and done others before, but this was John's first- so that was exciting! He's been running a lot this summer, and I've just been running a little bit. For me, running will always be just another part of my overall fitness regime. I'll never be a top finisher, because I'm going to keep lifting, doing Zumba, kayaking, swimming, biking, yoga, and everything else. So I'll never run every day, but I will run sometimes. Last year at this time I was going out and doing 6 or 7 miles at a pop. Now I'm doing right around 4, which is fine since I'm getting plenty of exercise from other sources. Of course, specificity is important in athletic training, and today's time of 27:20 reflected that. Last year, when I was running further, harder, and more frequently, my race time for the same course was 26:01. Still, today's time wasn't bad. I was OK with it.
It was raining during the whole race, and by the end of the first mile, my feet were soaked. There was this little boy running right around where I was, and shortly after the first mile he asked me all distressed, "How far have we gone?" I said, "About a mile and a half, so you're half way there." "So all I have to do is run back now?" "No, there's a little bit more than that, but you're doing good!" He was a trooper. I'd say he was about ten or eleven, and he really hadn't grown into his legs yet. He was wasting a lot of energy flailing them behind and in front of him, but it was too cute and he did finish. I was also fortunate enough to find someone to pace with, a body-builder looking guy. We were within about ten seconds of each other almost the whole race. I got a side stitch in the second mile and was running with my fingers dug up under my ribs, and he said to me, "Just slow your pace and take slow, deep breaths. You'll do alright." Which... I know... but didn't... because you get going in race mode and you forget everything except "GO FASTER!!!" So I followed his advice, geared back, and finished the race shortly after John.
I like running this particular race because it's in my hometown. People talk about high school reunions as being these huge motivators for getting in shape, but this is that for me, just coming home and showing I'm still out there pushing year after year. It keeps me accountable to myself in some way. Also, the funds raised go to the high school track team. I went to Paden City High School through my freshman year (at which point I decided to transfer), and I know how important funding is for the kids' activities. This isn't a rich area. For a lot of these kids, if the school wasn't providing these opportunities they just wouldn't have them. Add to that the fact that the school doesn't get a lot of government funding due to the student body population (I think there are only about 150 kids left 7-12), and it's just a struggle to keep it going. I feel like a lot of kids think there is just no way out of this town, and I enjoy the opportunity to say in my own small way, yes you can. And it's not that this is a bad place to live; there are just no jobs or opportunities. So I say, run kiddos, run, to the next horizon!
(After the race I came home and ate a Bavarian creme-filled chocolate donut. I can't be good all the time, and I enjoyed every bite. Then I took a nap.)
No comments:
Post a Comment