Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bar

This past weekend, I once again donned my homemade sparkly green headband in celebration of St. Paddy’s Day and participated in Flanagan’s 5K in downtown Dunedin. I don’t believe I have ever attended as many St. Paddy’s events as this year. I’m not usually one to “get in the spirit”, but I’m working on getting over my fear of looking silly and finding it quite enjoyable!

The race was a small, fairly unorganized event. My husband, participated in his first duathlon put on by the same group. So we figured, while I was there supporting him, might as well run! Afterwards, we’d check out the street party, have a little Irish food, and maybe find a green beer at the bar with friends.

I went in completely unfocused. My breakfast timing was off. I didn’t mentally or physically prepare. No other women seemed to be wearing only their sports bra - I’m the oddball! I had to go back to the car several times for forgotten items. Waiting too long to get in the port-o-potty line left me with the only option of finding a bush in front of my car - is poison ivy 3 leaves or 5? The lady announcing the race start could scarcely be heard. My Garmin watch didn’t find satellites in time for the start.

Well whatever, I heard “GO”, so I’m just going to goRun. I followed the group, ignoring the now useless data from my GPS watch. My husband and a friend were farther back at the starting line than me. Soon I realized they weren’t overtaking me even though they are much faster. How fast was I going? Who cares, just run and enjoy. I found a few interesting people to pace behind - a man with beautiful tattoos, a man with terrible tattoos, a kid about 13 with bouncy blonde hair, a brother motivating his young sister - and I let my mind wander and enjoy the beautiful day. Before I know it, I’ve turned and I’m heading back.

Towards the last 1/2 mile, I begin to feel tired, hot and winded, and I’ve been passed by a woman who appears to be around 75 - my mind isn’t taking that so well. And then my husband showed up at my side. Just the motivation I needed to keep pushing and cross the finish line together. But what’s more - it was a PR! And by 2min and 10sec better than my previous best. How did that happen? I was just trying to get to the bar and the after party.

After the initial excitement wore off, I began to really wonder “how did that happen?” How did I PR at a gun time, fun race that I didn’t prepare well for and didn’t focus on? What’s the take away here? Being unprepared would normally have me in a fit of anxiety, but not today. Perhaps running without data is more freeing than I realize. Perhaps it’s because I was relaxed and unstressed. My body and mind didn’t waste energy on worrying and was able to channel it into my run. While I certainly wouldn’t advocate shunning preparation and planning, I’ll remember this day and try to not sweat every detail.

Unexpected things can happen (like PRs!) when you let go, relax and just goRun.




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