It was the best of races, it was the worst of races

Things did not start out well. When I woke up it was snowing quite hard where I live. But I checked the weather where the race was (about an hour north) and it said they would just have rain and cold, not snow, so I figured I would just make the trip and see what happened.

Twenty minutes into the drive I realized I had left my Ipod at home. I pouted some, but then decided I would just have to get through it. I did consider only running the 5K at this point. The drive there only made me worry more, it was really snowing hard and the wind was blowing it everywhere and it was still dark, so visibility was very poor. Not a good start to the day.

Anyhoodle, so we finally get there and locate the start line (which was not marked and we only found it after much meandering around). Once I was at the start line, I realized I might have a pretty serious problem, that being because the weather was so awful (it was indeed raining, and it was indeed very cold), the only people who were there were hard core types, who typically run pretty fast.

And then there was me.

So, we finally start off and things are going okay, although I am immediately at the back of the pack. Some guy on a bike is riding with me, and we are chatting it up, which was fine, and at some point I said "yeah, I'm sure I'll be at the back for the duration of this race" (I think he had asked me how I was doing, and I told him I run in intervals), and he was all "okay, then you're my girl." At that point, I realized he was a volunteer of the race, who was to ride his bike through the course, at the back, and in this way the rest of the volunteers would know when to pack it in, after he passed (I'm sure there is some official name for this person, but I have no idea what it is). He dropped back behind me after telling me I was his girl, and I didn't see him for a while.

So, about a mile in, I look back thinking perhaps some other people had joined late, and who happened to be as slow as me..... but no. The only person behind me was the guy on the bike. At that moment, I really started to appreciate that old Kris Kristofferson song, about freedom being just another word for nothing left to lose..... because people, I had nothing to lose. This was when I also realized that I was having a pretty good time, and a pretty good run! I was doing perfectly well! Twelve minute miles, and things were going fine! I was just last.

The first four miles were perfectly wonderful. The course was nice, and I enjoyed myself despite the cold and despite the lack of tunes. We ran through this farm and there was a big pumpkin patch and other stuff growing, and it was really pretty. At one point I looked over and realized I was about five feet from two huge black cows. While they gave me a start at first, I was glad to see that there was something on the course that would move even slower than me. Probably.

At the first water station:

Water Lady: "Oh, you have your own"

Me: "Yeah, well, when you run this slow, you have to carry your own!"

Water Lady: (awkward laughter), "you are doing great!"

Then, about four and a half miles in, things started to get kind of awful. The entire two last miles of the course were huge hills that I quite literally could not run up. I ditched my interval timer and adopted a strategy of running downhill and walking up hill. And this was fine. It was right around this time that I passed someone. This poor girl was young, blonde and pretty slim. She probably had no idea just how bad her race could get until she got passed by the middle-aged chunky redhead. There was no triumph, as I could feel nothing but sorry for her.

Things managed to get worse from there. I passed the second water station and about a quarter of a mile up from that is a place where you just had to turn around and come back. So, I get there, turn around and pass the second water station again. The ladies at that water station were evidently too busy packing it up to tell me that I had turned the wrong way. And keep in mind, I had no earphones on, if they had hollered at me, I would have heard them. They did NOT. So, I am running through this freakin' parking lot and I'm thinking "geez, I really don't remember going through a parking lot before", and meanwhile the poor girl that I had passed was now following ME, because the water ladies evidently did not bother to correct her either! And keep in mind, there is NOONE around, we are literally the only two people on the course, the other runners were not even in sight and had not been for at least two miles.

Eventually, right when I was about to turn around on my own and go back to the water station to ask directions, bike guy shows up again, and directs me through some grass to get back on the trail. And now I have the last mile, three quarters of which is up a huge and monstrous hill, that goes all the way up to the finish line.

So, for the first time in any of the races I have done, I walked through the finish line. And Rachael, may the Goddess bless her precious heart, who had gotten up early with me, driven an hour through the snow and then stood for longer than that watching everyone finish up the race, was there at the finish line, cheering me on. She was chilled to the bone, but she stayed there and waited for me.

Ultimately, I finished in 1:21:32, 13:09/mile. Not a great race for me, although the only other timed 10K I have is the one I completed while doing the half marathon last year, and I did beat that time by four minutes. So, still a personal best! And I came in second-to-last. Blonde girl never did catch up, mostly due to the fact that she didn't seem to be able to walk very fast, and when I was walking, I was walking like I walk, which is kind of a hustle, and I was perfectly accustomed to walking up hills and was still able to do it in good enough time. She and the friend she came with practically ran to their car after the race, I think she was pretty embarrassed, poor thing. It did not, of course, even occur to me to be embarrassed and in fact, I was thinking that the race director should be embarrassed to have such low participation! I mean, I know the weather was bad, but I've never done a race where I was the only slow "penguin" type runner, there have always been at least a small group of us.

I have another 10K scheduled in two weeks (since I told myself I would do two this year), and I am just hoping to god for a flatter course and better weather, although I honestly don't see how it could possibly be much worse than today, there is truly nowhere to go but up from here.

But enough of that! There were good things about this race and learning experiences to be had! To wit:

1. We stuck around after the race for the raffle prizes and I won a $10 gift certificate to my running store!

2. It was kind of a nice experience going without my Ipod. I actually talked and interacted with the volunteers on the course, rather than feeling like they were annoying distractions. That was nice.

3. There was literally zero stress with this race. Even at the beginning, I had no nervousness or anxiety at the start line. With the weather being what it was, I had already decided that all I needed to do was finish, and I quit worrying about anything else. It was very freeing, and I'm hoping that it is a sign that my goal in doing more races this year (getting more accustomed to the experiences and the distractions, etc. and not letting my nerves get the better of me and fall apart) is working. The more I do, the more accustomed I become to them and the less stressed I am, which can only be good for my next half marathon.

4. I wasn't last. And I got it done, so really, I won.