Faster

People think I'm strong willed.  And I am. Or can be. But honestly, I'm a huge pushover for  bad decisions on many things:  drinking, sex, and apparently running. Specifically racing. 

There I was, minding my own business this last Saturday before our 10 mile run and people were chattering about a race the following day. I knew of the race, but weeks before opted not to participate. Yet people were asking me - yes, they talked TO me! - if I was participating. My standard answer was I hadn't planned on doing it. 

Oddly, almost all said the same thing, but they thought they would indeed do it. Blobby got caught up in the momentum and registered for said race once he got home. 

Push. Over. 

Or worse. A group that had ignored me for 17 weeks this last Winter and Spring is now acknowledging my presence and now I want to play in their reindeer games?  Apparently I've become Sally Field. 

My need of acceptance is primal - and somewhat pathetic. Yet, I recognize and acknowledge it. 

There were 5K, 10K and Half-Marathon options. The last one was out. I can't be ready for that with 14 hours to go. I toyed with the 10k, as it is doable, but I have gone of those already scheduled in the near future. So I just plopped down the $$$ for the 5k. 

This was going to be questionable anyway - Doug and Don came over the night before and I ate a lot and drank a bit. None of things you want (or should) eat and drink before a race. 

At worst, I'd get a t-shirt and a medal out of it. And a banana and bottle of water. The last two are always guaranteed. 

When I registered, I knew my "good knee" was smarting quite a bit. 

I amuse myself to think I actually have a "good" knee. But it's all relative, right? The 10 mile run just enflamed my soreness. Usually by mile two it's "gone", only to resurface when I try to get back out of the car. 

But Sunday at 08:00 the gun went off and off I went. Me and 517 of my closest friends. 

I did well. Even with a sore knee, I placed in the top 150 and with a new personal best for minutes per mile, but also for an overall 5k. I beat my previous best by 01:21, which when you look at it doesn't seem huge, but at a certain point in your training and your runs, you start measuring things in seconds in terms of progress, and an 81 second decrease isn't bad. 

Don't let the picture fool you. It did NOT take me and hour and a half to do a 5k. The clock was for the half marathon folks who took off an hour before my race. And a decent handful of those guys finished before I did. Even a guy from my group, who also signed up the day before, went into the half with low expectation and got his PB for a half. 

Blobby had his banana, protein bar and water. I gave away my ticket for a free beer and brat. It was 08:30 Even I don't drink that early..............anymore. And the beer was more of an option than having a brat before 09:00 on any day. 

So..........on to the 10k. 

Song by: Janelle Monáe