Racing in Spearfish...............................................

By the time we had pottied, and walked down to the start line the sun was up and the weather was perfect for running. The atmosphere of the group was relaxed and supportive. This was my second "all women" race, and again I was struck by the difference in the nurturing level, much higher than in a mixed race.

Random and I took our comfort spot at the back of the pack. Since this was her first half, I wanted to share in some of it so I decided to do the first mile with her. We walked a little, ran a little, and laughed a lot! At mile one I was itching to run and see what I had in me so with one final hug, and a, "See you at the finish line," I picked up my pace. The strangest thing happened...

I began passing people! Ya! I know! The people at the back of the pack were walking. Of course I would pass them. But I kept passing people. Here, one MUST understand, I get passed. I don't pass. This was an amazing mental boost let me tell you.

Like I said, I took lots of pictures along the way. A couple of times I would snap the back of my next "victim" just before overtaking her. Not in a mean way, but in a "I have to get proof of this because I don't know why it is happening and it might never happen again way. See...

As I approached a woman to pass her I would say something to her, if she didn't answer I figured she was busy focusing, but if she smiled I would pull up beside her and holler, "Photo Op", hold the camera in front of us and snap a picture while we continued to run.

Remember how I have said in the past if I'm not having fun then I am not going to be out there? We didn't have many spectators, but the few we did have did a fab job of cheering us on. One guy suggested that I "had w-a-y too much energy so I flung the above line on him. A few miles up the road (they would get in their cars and drive up ahead) he saw me running with a partner and hollered out, "If you are running with her, you are bound to go faster." And just in case there is any doubt, yes he WAS talking about ME! I WAS PULLING PEOPLE! Fantastic thing number four (if I remember the correct count from yesterday's post).

Me, who is always the one trying to let the energy of the gal/guy in front pull me. I was pacing people and getting them to the next water stop before they took a walk break. I was encouraging them, and telling them, "Don't talk, just listen and I will entertain you with stories and keep your mind off your struggle." IT WAS AMAZING!

And the miles literally flew by. I really wasn't keeping track of time (no surprise there) but the mile markers seemed to just pop up one after another until it was kick time. During the last 3/4 of a mile I got emotional, and started sobbing I was so proud of myself as I passed one more person. I didn't care that I was crying so loud, but I was a bit concerned that someone would think I was crying because I was in distress so I pulled it together as I heard, " The finish line is just over the bridge." As I came around the corner and reached the top of the bridge I could see the finish and I swear I almost had an orgasm it felt so good. I finished strong in 2:36:33 (chip time if I am remembering correctly), only a couple of minutes better than my last half, but I felt like I had done it much faster and I think this is because of what happened out on the road.

I saw Elaine a bit later and she ask me how the race was. I told her it was the most fun I have had to date during a race and went on to tell her the reason was because for the first time I was helping others reach their goals instead of using them to pull me to mine. We both started to tear up as she said, "Yup! It's all about the giving back." and she was exactly right! When I have long since forgotten my time, I will still remember the interactions on the course and hold those ladies near and dear in my memories. No one can take that away from me.

So onward to tomorrow when I am doing the Crim, ten mile race. There will be thousands of people, the race will have a totally different feel, and I will be out there,running my race, in my way, smiling, laughing, having fun. Who could ask for more than that?