Beat It. Just Beat It.

I ran this weekend. Well, that’s no surprise really. But I ran in my very first race. Not a big one or anything. Just an 8k. But it was fun for me. The whole point of this race was to raise money for diabetes, which I have a connection with because my grandma had it. But I wasn’t doing it to raise money. I was doing it to see if I could run almost 5 miles without passing out and going into convulsions.

The race was called Beat the Bridge, because at the 2 mile mark, the Montlake Bridge, which you were to run over, would go up. It’s that kind of goal that makes you want to run faster so you don’t end up standing next to a grandma on the loser side of the bridge.

I was in the slowest group, because I’m just so new at the whole running for real thing. Back in Detroit, I could barely run 10 minutes without gasping for air. Sure, I worked out all the time, but the running got me every time. I just couldn’t do it. So I trained for the last few weeks, and hot damn, I was getting good. Not smoking helps. Breathing helps. Staying positive helps.

Because I was in the slowest group, I had to run that much faster to beat the bridge. That meant I had 10 minutes per mile, which is a piece of cake for me. But when you take into account that there are hundreds of (slower) people all around you, you just can’t run as fast. It’s impossible really. Even when the race started, I didn’t actually start moving my legs until a minute after the fake gun shot.

But the good news is I hauled fucking ass to that bridge. I was more determined to get to that bridge than I was graduating college. I swerved, and jumped and did whatever it took to beat the bridge. And when I did, I totally thought I could stop now. No need to keep running. But I just couldn’t. My legs wouldn’t let me quit. I did slow down, and kept a better pace for me. I was in some kind of weird groove where my breathing was normal and I was very clear headed. I kept looking around, at the people, hearing their random conversations about the day, about the race, about maybe it’s time to walk now. I saw houses I’ve never passed before, water, bridges, the beautiful, perfect 72 degree and sunny day. And then I saw the finish line.

I made it in 40:52.

P.S. I just found out I came in 50th out of the 529 people in my chip group! And 189 out of the 2041 women that were there!!