It’s Official, I am a Runner!
The day was here.
Everything I had been working for so hard over the last 3 months has led me to this place. I was lined up with 500 other people ready to hit the pavement and run 5k’s!
- Really?
- I think I need to pee!
- Am I ready for this?
- Maybe I should have gone for another run this week to make sure I was ready!
- Yip, I do need to pee?
- What if I am not ready?
- What if I can’t do this?
- I’m sure I need to pee again!
- What if I trip?
- What if I trip someone else?
- What if my timing chip doesn’t work?
- Seriously, I definitely need to pee again!
Despite all the chaos and scenarios going around in my head, I was about to run in my first ever official race. The time had come and whether I was ready or not, I was about to do it!
I had been to the toilet a zillion times (yes, I’m sure that is an official number!) before we got to the race and the first thing I needed to do was find the portaloo!
As we all lined up and the hooter went off I turned to my sisters (yip, we had dragged my other sister into this crazy journey with us. Hey, if we have to do this we might as well drag in more family members for the pain!) and said “See you at the other end” and in my head I was saying “See you at the other end…… Hopefully”
Now, to be honest, I’m not sure exactly what I was thinking. Maybe I thought the adrenaline would kick in and the fact that I was running with 500 other people would help me. Like I would all of a sudden become athletic, that I would bounce along, full of energy, smiling and doing my royal wave at all the people cheering us on. I think my vision got clouded with images from “Chariots of Fire” I saw myself running in slow motion, my ponytail flowing behind me, beautiful, elegant, majestic even!
But once again, as it tends to happen in my life, reality kicked in! I was sucking in air like there was no tomorrow (actually at that point I don’t know if there was going to be a tomorrow!) I was fighting with the person next to me for a space (hello people, have you not heard of “personal space”) but at the same time seeing if I could suck in some of their air as I didn’t seem to have enough of my own. My legs were heavy, my lungs burning at capacity and my head telling me to “Run fat girl, run!”
As we hit the 1k mark, I was like “Seriously 1k? You have got to be kidding me! I feel like I have been out here for 7 hours already, and I’ve only done 1 measly k!” Maybe I read the sign wrong, maybe it was a 4….. Nope, it was definitely a 1!
Right, time for backup!
“God, please help this unfit, un co-ordinated, coke zero addicted, french fry lover, (Hmmm french fries, Kathy, get your head back in this race!) 41 year old to keep going and get to the end, no matter how undignified I may look when I cross the finish line. God, please help me to dig deep, and do this. Amen, oh and if you could please help my sisters too, that would be awesome. Amen. Oops, sorry one more thing, please help my face to not be too red and sweaty when I get to the end. Amen, for real this time!
And so I ran! I gave it all I had and you know what…… I finished the race!
I was stoked with my time and did way better than I thought I would!
Thank you Lord, one down, two to go!
