I try to save the feeling "hate" for hate-worthy things like cancer and Alzheimer's, but I VERY MUCH DISLIKE running.
I briefly played basketball as a kid, junior pro and what not, but the year my junior high girls team went full court, that's the year I gave up basketball. Too. Much. Running.
I was active. I played fast-pitch softball for years, summer ball and high school ball, and I loved it. But running? Blech. On the rare occasion that our coach made us run, I was a puker. I'd have to stop and throw up. My side hurts so bad it feels like a machete has been shoved under my rib cage. Running the bases? I almost literally groaned when I hit a triple. Too far to run! I've been envious for years of my brother and dad who both love to run. But kids, I am not a runner.
This year I turned 50. My life isn't where I had planned it to be. Lots of shattered dreams, hopes, plans. Birthdays have never meant much to me, but this year I wanted to do something to mark the year. Last year I did a foolish thing and declared I was going to do a half marathon in 2014. If only I hadn't said it out loud! Why would I want to do something I not only don't like, but I won't be any good at?! David Landrith, I blame you. Ever since you ran that marathon, I've been thinking about it.
I'm ridiculously competitive. As a kid, I confess I never did anything that I couldn't be really good at. Yeah, I'm still that kid. I can't stand to lose. So why would I want to run? I can't win!
2014 rolled in, and that ridiculous half marathon declaration kept haunting me. In typical Kelly fashion, I procrastinated. I missed the first marathon opportunity, the Country Music Marathon. Thankfully there was another one, the Women's Half Marathon benefiting breast cancer, so I still had hope to get it done. But I kept putting it off. I didn't sign up at the last possible minute, but nearly.
Two or three weeks ago I told my family about my intentions and my niece asked me, "Have you trained?" Uhhhhhh. No? I didn't train. I was going to walk it. Who needs to train to walk? I'm a walking MACHINE! But Emily, you got me thinking. Thank you for that challenging question.
I finally got around to reading my confirmation email for the race. I can walk this thing, right? Yes, you can walk it. But. Under FAQs, I read this statement. "All participants MUST complete the course within the course time limit." Wait, what??? It went on to tell me I would be picked up by a TAIL VEHICLE if I went too slow. Are you kidding me? I did the math - clearly I was going to have to RUN a lot of this race if I was going to finish! Uh oh. I think I should have trained.
I decided I would rather die than be picked up by the TAIL VEHICLE (yes, ridiculously dramatic, that's me). And if I finished close to last? Ha! Have I mentioned that I'm competitive? Clearly I will never win a race, ever. I don't run. But I decided I needed to finish as close to three hours as I possibly could. I decided under 3:15 was my personal mark to beat.
I set three other goals. Yesterday, at 7am, I started my first race, ever. By God's grace...
- I didn't throw up.
- I didn't get picked up by the dreaded trail car.
- I didn't quit.
And I finished in 3:05.
