Race culture

I did it.

I was out of breath, but I knew there was one more lap left of the Wisconsin Hills Middle School track, and I HAD to keep on running (determination, or (what I like to name my stubbornness) has been a trait for many years...).  8:32 for the mile.  I didn't even mind when the other seventh graders made fun of my tomato face.  I made it to average.  phew.  Gym was often a mixture of humiliation, determination and desperation.  I am not a runner, never have been a runner, never wanted to be a runner.  But I did always try.

10 years later and I am paying to run a race.  Paying?  to Run?! yes, completely ridiculous. Especially when I haven't run for 5 years since I hurt my knee (running).  But several of my siblings and father were running a half marathon after the family reunion, and there was a 5k option.  Why not?  Even if I couldn't train, I was walking a lot (all over NYC and now over Provo) and I tap for an hour or more every day.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 4am, 4:30am and then 5am before I made myself get out of bed an hour later.  Christmas morning, anyone? I finally left with just enough time to get there, with the coordinates of the race.  Well, the streets didn't all align the way I thought they would, and before I knew it, I was in going off towards another town.  My mom always says that you have to get lost three times in order to have fun.  ok.

The lines of parked cars served as my guide as I left Edwinea (our Toyota Sienna) at the end of the line.  Of course the parked cars didn't lead me exactly to where the race started.  Really? really.  Even after getting lost, I might have been on time if I had been able to park at the starting line. But after jogging all around the parked cars for and asking several mothers for directions, I found it! (ten minutes late!) well, I couldn't stop now, and they let me start my clock 10 minutes late.  But I will forever be grateful for those ten minutes.

My oldest brother Adam had started the half marathon much earlier that morning, and caught up with me for the last 500 yards of the race, and we sprinted to the finish together!

On the other side of the finish line, everyone was so happy! The free food, massages, drinks, give-aways, the kind people, the congratulations... Every one was so pleasant.  It is such a beautiful sport when each is happy for each other.  I couldn't believe how many people that I look up to were there as well! And not only my own family (which was well represented) but friends from previous wards, study abroad programs, family friends... the whole event was such a happy one.  I couldn't believe that I'd never experienced race culture before.  And I loved it.

(ps, sorry this was saved in my drafts... so a year later when I'm starting to write again...)