Today I participate in a
5k run/walk in Kennebunkport, Maine. I
learn many things. Here are twelve of
them.
1. It is okay to run if it’s 18 degrees
Fahrenheit, so long as it’s not windy.
2. The fewer people participating means the
walkers look silly after the joggers leave us in the dust.
3. If I let too much distance get between me and
the other participants, I might (WILL) walk off the course by about a tenth of
a mile.
4. My Achilles tendonitis hasn’t healed yet.
5. Cars drive too fast in Kennebunkport.
6. Cars drive on the race course in
Kennebunkport. (It’s hard not to – the roads
are all interconnected, and alternate routes are blocked by the ocean. It is fine – just weird.)
7. Vegetarian lasagna is good.
8. I walk faster than some people jog but slower
than I expect to and finish about ten minutes later than I hope to.
9. My sister and brother-in-law’s minestrone
soup is outrageously delicious.
10. If my right tendon seizes up while walking, I
will fall over.
11. It is absolutely possible to sweat my
freaking ass off in 18 degree weather, so long as it’s not windy.
12. This race course has spectacular views.
I actually don’t do too
badly. I jog a little, maybe ¾ of a
mile, but my calves simply will not allow me to do anything more than walk with
attitude (for about two miles – three is pushing it). Do I wish I could jog/run more? Sure, but truly, my split time isn’t
horrible. Checking the phone app I use
when I hit the streets in my sneakers, I can see that despite elevation
changes, I keep my pace steady for the whole course. Not bad for someone who crosses the road into
a parking lot to throw out a water cup rather than just drop it, someone who
lost the course for a short while because of walking alone, and someone whose
right Achilles tendon cramps so rapidly at mile #2 that she almost falls over
in front of a sign advertising lobster rolls.
I don’t think my running
mates, who finish long before I do, truly mind waiting around for me. At least, they cordially pretend it’s okay
that I’m a straggler. I’m not sure if I’ll
do it again next year. I am more of an
off-roader than a paved course kind of gal.
This is only my fourth 5k. The
first one involved trekking on both street and through the woods. The second two included off-roading trails,
multiple obstacles, and tons and tons of mud pits.
Today’s views are
spectacular, but the only obstacle I encounter is my wrong turn. I am surprised when I get to the finish line
and I’m simply sweaty rather than picking caked mud out of orifices I didn’t
even know I had. I meet some truly nice
people along the course route, chat with other runners/joggers/walkers, wave to
people, and slow down long enough to take some great snapshots.
I may not be jumping over
tree stumps and errant roots today, nor slogging through goop while trying not
to lose my sneakers (which is how I gave myself Achilles tendonitis in the
first place), but I attempt my first real, entirely-on-tar road race. I fail miserably at pacing, but I finish. Like several immobile race volunteers remind
us late-comers, it’s further than they are racing today.
The scenery today,
though? Unmatched.
And I get a free long-sleeved
t-shirt and a goody bag of stuff. I am a
winner, after all.
