It's Monday night. My race was Thursday night. I think I have finally recovered from the race and am ready to start training for the next one. But before I do, I want to look back at that race one more time.
The Joliet Sundowner 5k fell during yet another heat wave. The temperatures had been in the upper 90's with humidity almost as high all week. The sky actually threatened to storm for awhile, but by race time the sun was back out and the humidity had returned.
The race went off without a hitch and thanks to some great planning by the Joliet Park District, the water stations were fully stocked even for us slow ones. I finished the race with a time of 46:32! My best time so far! I met my goal of running a 15 min mile and fell short of my overall time goal by half a minute. I'm pretty happy!
Daisy said the heat got to her around mile two. It probably would have gotten me too if it wasn't for a few other runners on the course. One gentleman stopped to walk with me a few paces then as he started running again shouted back to me, "If I don't make it, tell them I died happy!" This made me chuckle.
There was a mom and daughter in pink shirts that had been close by since around the first mile marker. They had remained just in sight in front of my for most of mile two. As the second mile marker approached, the little girl started to lose it. She was ready to quit! Frankly, so was I. As I ran passed, I shouted to her, "You're two thirds of the way there. Not far to go now! You can do it!" In my head, I was saying the same thing to myself. The pair stayed nearby the rest of the race and even passed me when I suggested we race to the finish. Encouraging her was like encouraging myself.
The last and greatest part of the race was the end. (Of course!) Not for the reasons you would think though. As I came into that final stretch and the mom and daughter pair took off, one final song came on my ipod shuffle. Right before my cheering squad could be seen and heard I hear in my ear, "It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!" Yep, good ole R.E.M. is there to sing me to the finish line. So, while my friends are cheering, I'm singing in my head, "It's the end of the race as we know it, and I feel fine!"
So, here I am at the end of the race, feeling fine. Where are you at the end of your race? Do you feel fine? Are you like the guy who said during the race I died happy? Are you the little girl needing someone to tell you to keep going, the finish is just around the corner?
I know runners are always comparing running to life, especially our spiritual lives. So if this season of life right now was a race, where are you? Are you running happy? Are you chasing someone/something that is just out of reach? Are you ready to quit and need a little encouragement? Are you the one shouting encouragement to others? Where is your cheering team?
Thursday night, I was feeling fine. Monday night, I'm back at the second mile marker needing some encouragement as I go about the task of setting new goals for the next race.
Thinking about goals,
Lisa
