Firecracker 15k
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Firecracker 15k - Run
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Comments: So, we start out, and as expected, 45 out of 48 of us take off in a bolt of speed. One guy was running medium fast, and then there was me and one other woman (30 ish). I started in the back, so I was last as we started from the high school. I passed the girl in front of me in the first quarter mile, and after I passed her, she tripped and fell. I looked back, and asked if she was okay, and she was already up and running again, saying she was fine. So, someone did have a worse time than I did. It took her well over 2 hours to finish. At mile 2, I passed the next guy. I told him, "Good job," and he said, "You are doing great." Okay. Whatever. At this point, I already can't see 35 of the speedy people, and it's a straight road. They are just completely gone. So I did a lot of soul searching, as I was running and beating myself up. And I was running. I asked myself if I really just wanted to give up. I could easily do nothing and gain 30 pounds in probably about three months, without changing much at all. I could eat the way I do and just add some cookies, desserts, and maybe some milk shakes, and I could just be fat. It would be so easy. I could sit on my butt all day. I could drive everywhere. Never walk. While I'm at it, I'll just get that lazy fat shopping cart at Walmart. Then I passed someone else at mile 4. "Good job," we exchanged. "No." I told myself. You do not want to be that fat lazy person who eats cookies all day long. Yes. I am old. I don't feel it, in my soul and in my heart, but I am. I am going to be a grandmother in five months (My step son and his wife are expecting their first.) What kind of mother and grandmother do I want to be? That's the question I asked myself for the next two miles, as I was working on passing the next person in front of me, and begging her to walk just a little during the water stops. (No one in front of me that I could see walked one step. The entire race.) Do I want to be the fat lazy grandmother, that would be so easy for me to be? Genetics are in my favor. I have strong peasant German blood in me, so I could very easily be fat and squishy like my grandmother and my great aunts. Or, and I started pick the pace up a little because I could see that the person in front of me was beginning to fade a little, do I want to be the fit grandmother? Do I want to be the grandmother who can run around and play? Who likes to get out for a long bike ride and go for a real swim? Who makes healthy snacks? Who doesn't drink soda or alcohol? Yes, I said, as I passed the person in front of me, ("Great job!" I said to her). I am going to be that grandmother. I am not going to win any races. Ever. That's never what this was about. What was it about? I had lost sight of it over the last couple weeks. I've become so frustrated with my lack of swimming ability. Of how slow I am on the bike even though I am riding hard. Of the spare tire and c-section ledge that I don't believe I will ever lose, no matter how many crunches I do. It's about being healthy. And that's okay. If that's all it is, that's all it is. As I rounded the second turn of the race, into the lake park (I couldn't catch anyone else), I just ran the best that I could. I came in the exact time I predicted, over by only 30 seconds. I do know myself, at least. And I ran within my ability, and I will still be able to run tomorrow, and the next day, and that's important. The winner was 19 years old -- a cross country star. He ran 15k in 54 minutes. I still can't wrap my head around it. In the 5k race, the first two runners -- one a cross country star, the other a colleague of mine and an elite runner -- came in within seconds of each other. 16 minutes. The top five runners were all under 20 minutes. And neither course, the 5k or 15k, is short. I have double checked both of them. I was running with crazy fast people. I know I looked unfit, slow, and old. What would you do differently?: It is what it is. At this point, I'm just hoping not to get too much slower too quickly. Post race
Warm down: Hubby and Jayson met me shortly after I finished, and I had some of Jayson's snow cone. It was amazing. I took off my shoes and just sat for a while, waiting for results. I honestly didn't know there was anyone in my age group, so since I was tired anyway, I waited around for the final results. What limited your ability to perform faster: Age. Genetics. Lack of dedication to serious training. Last updated: 2013-07-04 12:00 AM
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2013-07-04 5:58 PM |
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2013-07-04 8:38 PM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-04 9:08 PM in reply to: bcraht |
2013-07-04 9:58 PM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-05 6:45 AM in reply to: rrrunner |
2013-07-05 7:09 AM in reply to: #4796074 |
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2013-07-05 8:15 AM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-05 8:28 AM in reply to: ligersandtions |
2013-07-05 10:36 AM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-05 10:43 AM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-05 12:16 PM in reply to: #4796074 |
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2013-07-05 1:17 PM in reply to: blueyedbikergirl |
2013-07-05 2:43 PM in reply to: Asalzwed |
2013-07-05 5:04 PM in reply to: KWDreamun |
2013-07-05 8:48 PM in reply to: #4796074 |
2013-07-06 7:22 AM in reply to: TriAya |
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2013-07-06 8:21 AM in reply to: jobaxas |
2013-07-08 9:37 AM in reply to: Pink Socks |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Lyons Rec Commission
70F / 21C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 38/42
Age Group = 46-55
Age Group Rank = 3/3
This is actually called "Freedom Run" not "Firecracker." I did sign up for it at the last minute. That's my excuse.
I have wanted to do this run for the past couple years, but it never worked out. Once hubby decided not to do the 20 mile bike ride the night before this race, I decided this year was my year to run this race. It's a point to point -- run from the county seat, 9 miles away, to our town.
I woke up at about 6:15, got dressed, made coffee and toast with peanut butter and jelly, and drove up to Lyons. Registered without incident, and then just hung out at the high school.
These were serious racers. Even before the event began, I felt out-classed. Almost everyone seemed like former or current cross-country people. I knew for a fact that some of them were.
It's also important to know that I have been doubting myself for the past couple weeks. I saw race pictures of myself from two weeks ago, and I was appalled. Who am I kidding? I am old. My body looks old. I have thin arms, legs, neck, face, and this spare tire hanging just below my belly button. Where did that come from??? I studied the race photos. Obsessed over them. Even the overweight/fat people didn't look as bad as I did because they were fat all over the place. They looked good, actually. I just looked ridiculous. Like a caricature.
I know I'm probably being hard on myself, but these have been my thoughts. I've been swimming and biking and running, a little, but really, starting to rethink this whole athletic kick I've been on. Because I am a disgrace to the sport.
So, I decided to do this race and then show up to see incredibly fit and young people, and I just about got back in the car and drove home, never mind the $10 race entry fee. (Yes, only $10 -- no t-shirt, because I'm not feeling worthy.)
But I didn't leave. I walked and jogged a little, and my right hamstring and my hips were so tight. "I am so old, " I keep saying to myself. "This is ridiculous." More ridiculously fit and athletic people show up. "Maybe I just should have done the 5k. Because there are certainly no walkers in this group."
So it's time to run, and I'm feeling defeated before we've even begun.