day.15.allidoiswinwinwin

Okay, I won't hold back. I know you are dying to know why I have this here picture of a medal...

Well believe it or not - I won second place in a 5k race! With 8 people in my age group (still not many - where are all the young lady runners??)! That was part of the additional goal I added: to place in a race with more than 3 people in my age group. Done.


The female who got 1st in the 20-29 group finished in 31:00 minutes. In 2 weeks, I can beat that. I hope.

I ran the whole way except the last 0.2 when I usually sprint. I stopped to help this 12 year old girl who started falling down and looked like she was about to pass out. Knowing I had a goal, but also knowing I'd be a terrible person if I didn't help her, I stopped running for a couple seconds and convinced her to walk to the finish with me. She said she had never run more than a mile and was having an asthma attack. This set me back a little, and yes this means I didn't run the whole way. But who cares. She reminded me of one of my students, and it inspired me to get my students running more as well.

I made another friend on the course - a feisty little 10 year old. When my mother runs, she says "Howdy" to everyone, brings extra water for those struggling, and carries extra Gu or energy jelly beans for those less experienced folks who didn't realize they need energy while doing half marathons. I decided to take on that friendly attitude on today's run. While none of my friends wanted to get up and run early on a Saturday after a night out (or else they had to go to work), I was determined to make some friends on my own. This little girl, when I passed her, I said "You are doing great! Keep it up!" and she said "Thank you! You are doing pretty good too!" At the end she came up to me and was very curious about how I did. She won first place in her age group. Simply bringing your kids out, letting them win every now and then, and telling them that running is good for them and that they are good at it are all such little things, but I know this little girl will be an active healthy kid and adult because of it. Lesson learned - winning sure is fun. But so is helping others and encouraging them, no matter if it slows you down or causes you to leave you comfort zone for a moment.

That's enough of the sappy narrative. Off to celebrate!

Day.15.total.5k.time: 33:35 minutes with a second place win! I don't know my average because I have a rule about races - no music or distractions (like my addictive iphone that keeps track of my average). The crowd is your entertainment and is the motivation that will keep you going.