So Much Happy

"Take pride in how far you have come, and have faith in how far you can go"


Confidence. Believe. Smile Smile Smile :)

The gun goes off and so does some little mechanism in my brain that's been out of order for some time now. Maybe it was the sound of a starting gun (ok it was actually a horn) or maybe it was that this is exactly what I needed to refocus myself, or maybe I just had to be in this exact moment to remember what I was missing.

What I expected while racing was a lot of things. I expected to be sore. And miserable and slow and tired and scared and frustrated. But once I started running, once the race actually began, the only thought that came into my mind was this: so. much. happy. I was so happy to be running and the feeling of racing and the excitement at the beginning of it all.

I set out this afternoon to the Milwaukee Lakefront to run the Super Run 5k. I picked this race for my first one in which to get over my fear of racing because it seemed small and harmless and hopefully no one I knew would be there. I even entered as "Katherine" instead of "Katie" you know...so  no one would know for sure if it was me or not.

The race takes place on top of a bluff right next to Lake Michigan and includes the hills to get  up and down that bluff. Unfortunately, not even my careful preparation to pick a low-key small-ish road race prepared me for the giant hill that I had to run up right after the first mile marker.

I didn't plan on actually trying until right around a mile and a half. I know what you're thinking "How can you not try in a race?" I know it sounds bad, but please, hear me out. I went into this thing really fearful about how I would react mentally. I mean, considering that the last race I entered I passed out halfway through and broke my foot. I just didn't know if my head would get in the game or not. So I started out super easy as if I was just doing a fast training run. But then I started passing people and I thought maybe this might not be so bad.

I had a couple initial thoughts of dropping out. But I kept trucking along at my not-quite-race-pace-but-still-quick speed. Eventually I heard people calling out places and realized that I might actually win something. This is new territory for me. In college you don't get to win things. They give you t-shirts usually or sometimes medals. In real life they give you stuff. And I wasn't going to let my fear of breaking my foot talk me out of getting stuff. Because....I mean...we all know how poor I am. Seriously.

Long story short I crossed the finishline of this hot, hilly, course in a less than impressive time but still the second woman overall. So they gave me this:

.....Which entitles me to a free pair of shoes. HOORAY!!!! So if you're keeping up with the math:
-$25 entry fee
-$5 in gas
+25 T-shirt (entry fee money)
+$5 (free socks)
+$130 pair of shoes.
+ Unlimited free beer after the race.....

Luckily forking over the original entry fee was worth it because now I don't have to pay for my next pair of shoes.  All in all this was a good day. Not necessarily what I wanted to run for a 5k, but for the heat and the hills I can deal with it.

And finally, after the race the entire field of Milwaukee-natives partied it up as only Wisco runners know how to do. Miller provided unlimited free beer and I saw many a runner beeline straight from the finish to the beer table, skipping over the water. Now....I myself am traditionally a drinking something fruity with an umbrella in it kind of girl but...when in Rome...So I grabbed a beer and downed it with a couple of my friends before I left on my cool down. I can't say for sure, but I had already run 7 miles and was working on my final three. I've never had alcohol in conjunction with running before, but how awesome I felt on my cool down suggests that maybe the two work better together than I thought.

Oh stop it. I only had the one and then it was back to vitamin water zeros and other electrolyte-enhanced beverages.

I may have won free shoes today but I think I won back something even better. I nearly broke down after the race realizing that I can in fact still do  this, still race, still love running. And THAT was the best part of all.

So much beyond happiness