A little less than one week has past since I ran the Mermaid Marathon 5K.. And I didn't finish last. My time was 35:34.. Pretty much in the middle. I placed 126 out of 283.. Not bad even if I do say so myself.
I arrived at the racing area in Mountain View and hour prior to start. The weathr was not cooperating. They predicted rain all morning, so we were not off to a good start. Fortunately, we only had mild sprinkles.
As I lined up for th 5K, I kept thinking to myself. What the heck am I doing. It seemed like everyone around me was a pro... Darned in all the hoopla.. $100+ running shoes, aerodynamic, thermal fleese jackets, with I-pod holders and watch cut outs in the sleeve.
I wore my Freebee T-shirt, and a wind breaker from college that was a size XL.. Note to self: very larg wind breaker does not make you aerodynamic, it makes you a wind sail.
When it was time to go.. dozens of woman passed me up, but I kept going, my feet started hurting. My self paced training consisted of a treadmill at my local gym. My feet were not used to texture so when I planted my foot, my toes stayed up.. weird, I know, but I got used to it and kept going. The wind was strong and cold.. My jacket rippled in the breeze, but... I kept going. I turned a bend and even though women were passing me by left and right, there were a sizeable amount of woman behind me.. I know, it's not about who gets there first, just the fact that I did it. But reminising back to my childhood, nothing is more discouraging than being dead last.
Then, before I knew it, the front of the pack, had turned around and was passing me heading back to the finish line.. That was quick.. Actually SHE was quick ( I later found out that she finished with a time of 15 minutes) I kept running.. eventually I thought where the heck is this stupid turn around and then.. There it was with angels of mercy passing out water cups..
Shortly after th 2 mile marker.. I had to stop and walk.. Not bad, my addrenilin was pumping because I never lasted this long in my training.
I probably walked a quarter mile then it was back to it. I passed an ambulence, stuck in the mud.. I found that kind of funny.
Around the corner.. I think, just maybe.. yes, the finish line is just over that hill. As I crested the hill, I could see the beautiful orange flags over the finish line. I could hear music echoing from the DJ booth.. The crowd was cheering..Oh my gosh.. I really did it.
The sky was dark and grey, but if you can believe it, in the distance directly above the finish line was a beautiful rainbow.. It was a beautiful poetic moment..I almost hear angels singing...No, Beyonce.
Now's my time to speed up a little.. and no.. the wind really started to kick in, pushing me back and.. since I hadn't walked as much as I intended, the adrnelin was starting to wear.. I had a pain in my right chest.. "SLOW DOWN" So I started walking.. but I refuse to walk across the finish line.. SO I then stepped it up..
And there was Jason and Skylar on the side line.. I started to tear.. I crossed received my pendant ( which I have not yet taken off) and my water and fell into my family's arms.
I did this race to proof I could do it. I just turned 35, had a baby.. I needed to set my mind to something and accomplish it.. Will I do another race.. I think so.. Will I do a 10 K.. HAHAHAHAHA.. No. Not this year at least.