This past Saturday I woke up early to meet up with some of my girlfriends for a race. It was colder than expected. (I think like 9 degrees?) But I was excited for the race so I dragged myself out of bed and got into some cold weather race gear.
The five of us ran the Diva Dash 5k in Aksarben. We were the Pavement Princesses. We had a tutu making party a month ago. They were glitter-tastic.
The race was packed. I loved how it was all about girl power. There were tons of tutus and crowns and pink. The race started off with some huge hills and ended on one long downhill. It was a great race course with people out cheering us on. All of our guys came which was super sweet, especially considering the cold.
I really wanted to have an amazing run but I wasn’t feeling this race from the start. My lungs were sore and I was tired. My legs felt frozen and it was hard to get moving. About a half mile in when I was starting my trek up the first hill my shoelace came untied. I’ve never had a shoelace come untied before while running a race. I stopped to tie my shoe and had a hard time starting back up again afterwards. I pride myself on never stopping to walk during my 5ks (as slow as my running may be) but I quickly found myself needing to walk during this race. When my second shoelace came untied and I still couldn’t feel my feet I decided to listen to my body and walk. I walked until the last few feet of the race which I ran to get it over with. I did not cross the finish line very happy. I was frustrated at myself for not having stronger will power and angry with my body for not feeling better.
I didn’t feel up to posing with my medal until later in the afternoon. And it’s an awesome medal (and cute tech t-shirt!). But taking 38:48 to cross the finish line made me feel like I didn’t earn it. But my husband and friends are awesome and made me realize that participating in a race at all is something to be proud of. And that I did earn it. So I posed with my medal, and I celebrated the fact that I had finished another 5k race. I’m sharing this with all with you just to say that sometimes something you love doing can suck. And that’s okay. I’ve been running for nearly two years now. I did not love this run. But I still love to run.
Question of the Day: Did you ever have a race not turn out like you had planned?
YES!!
yesterday 🙂
with the eight year old…
You are such an inspiration to your daughter, I love it.
I have had many not go as planned and that makes the ones that went better than planned even sweeter. There isn’t any shame in walking during a race. You listened to your body and did your best!
Thanks so much Betsy. I really appreciate this comment. <3
Honestly Erin, this post really bums me out. I’ve RAN entire 5Ks in longer than it took you to “walk” this one and reading about how poorly you thought of yourself and how you didn’t even want to post with your medal afterwards sends a really awful message. I get that you were disappointed in your performance, but what about your audience who HAVE to walk during their 5Ks? Pretty frustrating to read.
I’m so sorry to disappoint you H. That perspective didn’t even cross my mind when I wrote this post, and it should have. It’s like when my skinny friends complain about being fat and I just want to give them side-eye. I’ll try to be more aware in the future.
You should be so proud! Getting up, being active, and having FUN while doing it is a win. Plus the time with your friends will be a memory you won’t forget, and you got a cute medal 🙂
Thanks so much Kim! That is a great perspective!
A 5K is a 5K no matter how you accomplish it or how long it takes to get to the finish line. I understand being frustrated on your performance but it was 9 degrees outside. Give yourself a break. If you crossed the finish line, you earned your medal.
Thanks Jodi! I really appreciate it.
Did you lighten your hair? If so I love it.
I just did a race a month ago and my time was 13 minutes longer than a race coach projected and when he asked what happened… I laughed and I said I don’t know.
Lol I could have made 10 different excuses for why I blew it.. but those wouldn’t have made me any faster and the negativity would not have helped anyone. I think you need to get a massage and facial which will give you a fresh start.. Trust me it will help. Running is all mental and when you have a fresh face and loose body.. You will take it less seriously and really feel like you need to run.. Since you treated yourself.. It’s almost like you owe it to yourself to get out there.
It’s in the past:)
Thanks so much B. This was a really sweet comment. I did lighten my hair! I figured it would be fun for the warm weather.
I took your advice to heart and just booked a massage! I’m really looking forward to it.
LOVE the tutus and the medals. Don’t feel about about walking. You listened to your body and did the 5K 🙂
Thanks Lauren! 🙂
Oh absolutely! I got a severe stomach cramp for the first time while trying to better my pace from the same race the year before. I continued to try to push through it only to find that it made the cramp so bad I had to stop and lay on the side of the road struggling to breathe for several minutes and had to walk most of the remainder. I was devastated and angry but had to get over it. I had to remind myself I run for my health and for fun, not for money and one crappy race isn’t going to ruin my life.
A+ perspective Tiffany! I’m going to remind myself of this next time I find myself struggling on a course.
Great job! I’ve had a few races that haven’t gone as planned… 😉 You rocked it and your tutu, finisher medal and t-shirt are awesomesauce.
Thank you Rachel! I am obsessed with the medal!