I ran my second 5k this weekend, and while it was not everything I hoped it would be, I still RAN MY SECOND 5K THIS WEEKEND. That sentence in and off itself is kind of surreal. I'm not a natural runner. There are people whose bodies are "born to run" and who "crave the run" and who love to run. And I, well, I am not one of those people. I run because it keeps weight off of me like nothing else. I run because when Doug got laid off I quit the gym and strapping on sneakers and running outside is free. I run because I like a challenge and it is something I never thought I could do.
The race was far from perfect. It started an hour late, in the freezing, freezing cold. It was an hour away from my house, and the traffic getting into the location was awful. It was disorganized and somehow the organizer reversed the course. They had 20,000 people running on these narrow roads that you could barely walk on. My time was 5 minutes behind my first 5k, and while at first I was incredibly disappointed by that, I realize that it had very little to do with me, and everything to do with the course. You could not run the whole thing. I COULD have beaten my first 5k time. I know I could.
Running is a little bit like writing. When I don't know what to say, I show up here and do it anyway, and I never regret it. When I don't want to run, I lace up my sneakers and I do it anyway. Both fulfill me in very different ways. Both get my mind and my heart racing, and both keep me moving, to something.
Both have given me this.
Stacy, me, Diane, and Elena, after the race.
(And congratulations to my friend Jodi, who ran her first race, a 15k! Go her!)
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Years ago I heard Joyce Carol Oates talk about writing and running. She runs for real – 10 miles a day – at least then. And she said she writes her books as she runs, so that when she sits down, they are all planned out, essentially already done. That, she said, is how she’s been so prolific, writing in her head as she writes.
Just a little something this post made me think of.
Now – I’m off to the gym! (aka my living room with a dvd!)
Very very well said. And what you just wrote possibly might convince me to keep writing, because like I told you, I don’t feel like doing it anymore but like running, I usually feel better when I do.
Congratulations runner!
When is your THIRD 5K?
I’m kidding, a little, let’s do an easy one close to home next spring, m’kay?
I love running. I got away from it for a good number of years, but happy to be back. Nothing shapes my body like running. It is phenomenal exercise. But all of the gear, especially the cold weather running clothes are expensive.
Woohoo! It is no small feat that you finished this race! It was a complete and total Charlie Foxtrot in terms of parking, traffic, shuttles, the course and organization. You came, you conquered, you ran. Awesome!
I think that the best lesson that I’ve learned from running is that the best plans don’t always work out. You might be hoping for a PR, but if it’s too hot and you’re feeling a little woozy, you need to slow down.
Not every race can be perfect, but that’s almost part of the fun.
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