What are you made of?

I'd like to say sugar and spice and all things nice. Sugar and spice and all sore leg muscles is more like it.

So about a month ago Tim convinced me that I should try the "ultimate runner" race. It's a local track race where each participant runs the 1 mile, 400m, 800m, 100m and a 5K. There were 114 participants spread over 8 heats this year. We started at 5pm on Saturday. Tim was in the 3rd heat and I was in the 8th. They organized us by what we said our best personal mile time was, with the first two heats being the top men and top women. Tim turned my mile time in at 8 min.

Everyone getting ready for the first heat of the mile.

Before I share my times, just a little note to make myself feel better. I did not sprint the 100m as I was the last heat and had no recovery time before the 5k. These results are unofficial because they haven't posted the results online yet.

1 mile: 7:11 (PR)
400 m: 1:30 (PR)
800 m: 3:28 (PR)
100 m: ~ 0:15 or just under...may have been 14 sec
5K: 26:02

So I now have a base for track times...the only question is how badly do I want to try and improve upon those times. Honestly I think the only reason I ran a 7:11 mile was because Tim said he thought I could run a 7:15 or faster. I didn't think I could but I had a little pressure...good pressure though. Honestly after running that 7:11, I think I could have broken 7 had I pushed a little harder the last 2 laps, pacing is an art I suppose.

I was happy with the results as they were mostly PRs. The 5K time I was happy with simply due to the fact that I had a) never done a track meet before and b) I had pushed in the other events trying to see what I could do. Hopefully results will be posted soonish. We didn't get home till 11:30pm Saturday night then had to be up by 5:30 for a little local sprint triathlon this morning.

So this morning was difficult. It was a short pool swim. T1 was slow for me today and as I got to the mount line for the bike my chain came off...what the heck? Two race volunteers insisted that I stay on the bike and they put it back on for me but I lost at least 30-45 seconds...which doesn't seem like much but it's not a great way mentally to start the bike. This was a much hillier 12 mile course than 3 weeks ago. T2 again was slow for me; in all I probably left about a minute in transitions today. I was just moving slowly. The 5K was a test of will. It was an extremely hilly course. So needless to say after Saturday's events and the hilly bike course I was just out of steam. I finished 4th in my age group and 20/152 women overall and 107/358. It was a good day...a great weekend actually.

Swim: 4:38
Bike: 40:13.
Run: 27:12
Total time: 1:14:18

Ryan and Brayden helping daddy with race set up.

Back to the question at hand; what are you made of? This weekend I had 2 young kids show me what they were made of and what I'm made of now. Which is not the same as what it was 8-10 years ago. High school and college were very competitive, nasty, and borderline bad sportsmanship times for me. I wasn't rude to other athletes, but losing was something I struggled with. I beat myself up over it constantly and got the point that I didn't want to play if I couldn't win.

So during the 5K at the track meet Saturday, I nearly ran the entire race with a 8 or 9 year old boy. He was struggling to maintain pace so I started talking him through it "slow your breathing down, once step at a time...etc." He stayed with me. Then at the 2 mile marker, he cut me off to grab some water and I had to stop in order to not run into him. When he saw me continue on, he threw his cup down and entered an all out sprint to pass me and never looked back. That little booger used me...tooled me. All I was trying to do was help him and the little guy couldn't stand the thought of a woman potentially beating him...my interpretation. He really sped up when he saw his dad who started yelling "Pick it up son...sprint, sprint." I know what he's made of frogs and snails (slimy little things). Please note that I am being sarcastic and joking. I don't' really think this little boy is slimy; well just a little bit.

Today was a similar situation. I was coming up the last treacherous hill to the finish of the 5K and noticed that number 16 was a 11 year old girl who was walking. I told her "the top is the end then it's down hill and we're done. run with me." So she did. I commented similarly to her about breathing and step by step...rewind and repeat. She kept slowing down, so I slowed down with her and kept talking to her. Everyone was yelling so loudly as we were coming through the finishing stretch. So I got beside her, put my hand on her back and pushed her ahead of me and told her to go as fast as she could...and she did. Afterward she was on the verge of hyperventilating, but she did great! I was proud of her. I told her I was sorry for pushing her so much and her parents kept thanking me. She was made of determination and courage.

I'm now made of joy in watching others succeed and reach something they didn't think they could...despite if they are slimy or courageous. I'm proud to finally understand that it is not about being better than everyone else, it's about being my best and now knowing that my best includes helping others find their best. It's about them finishing strong and hearing loved ones tell them "I'm proud of you." It's not about me being able to out run them at the finish. It's about the accomplishment.

Okay, sorry for the mush and the long post. I'll stop now. But seriously, it was a great weekend.