Last Saturday I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K and I think it’s my favorite race of all. The fresh spring air detoxing your lungs from winters grasp, the course is beautiful taking your through the art district along the river in Minneapolis and they have chocolate treats along the way with a play / bounce area for the kids at the finish line. It’s always amazing to me to see how many people will actually, “run for chocolate”.
My goal was to arrive early enough to stretch and mingle. This would be my first race without my crew and I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet some fellow runners. When I looked at the map of the race on Friday night I noticed that the start line and finish line had been moved. My normal parking spot for this race was WAY out of the way and I didn’t want to deal with the extra walking. I sweet talked my family into dropping me off at the start line and then parking and meeting me at the after party. I figured the kids could run and play in the post-race area and jump until their legs were rubber like mine would be in the bounce area that was set up. Things didn’t exactly work out as planned. Getting four people ready to go just isn’t as slick as getting 1 person ready. The kids wanted to play outside in the early AM instead of get in the truck.
Once everyone was in and we got close to the start line the start time came and went. We could see people running but driving wasn’t that easy since cars were parked everywhere and nothing was marked. I saw some other 15k-ers get out of their vehicle, logically the best decision (I thought at the time) was to follow them even though my husband advised me to wait and drive up a few more block. The girls looked like they knew where they were going; I went against my husbands advice. My men were going to take care of parking and meet me at the end, so I jumped out and followed the ladies. Which leads me to mistake #1 – I left my sweatshirt on and I over heat when I run. The ladies were pretty far ahead of me but they stopped to ask for directions and I was able to catch up, we ran for what felt like forever before we even saw the starting line. It ended up being almost two miles before we even started and I was literally the last person that was allowed to start.
The good news about starting last is you pass a lot of people. The bad news is, when you run about two miles at almost your max just to get to the start you’re a little beat and mile 1 never seems like it will be in sight. When you look at your heart rate monitor to see if your past your normal max out and realize you did even start the dang thing, well that doesn’t make this one SUPER happy and throws the results off, this is mistake #2.
Around mile 3, I’m not going to lie, I wanted to quit. I work in a tax office and along with the extended hours and needed family time, I didn’t allot enough time to train. I ran a couple miles a couple times and that is it. Here I am, already 5 miles in with over 6 more to go I definitely wanted to quit. While I was arguing with myself on whether to keep going or quit I looked up and saw an eagle. This eagle was flying in the direction I was going. I believe in signs and this was one. That eagle was leading me in the direction of freedom. Freedom from my hold backs, freedom from my fears, freedom from that voice that wanted me to quit, freedom from me. That sign was enough to keep me going.
Did I run the entire thing, no. Am I upset, no. I did what I could do and I’m proud of that.
The miles I ran gave me time to think and dive into myself. Lessons were learned the hard way, through the discomfort of my mistakes. Mistakes I won’t make again!
When I did reach the finish line, my men were there cheering for me and waiting for me to get done. That was worth everything. On the ride home my husband said he learned a few things too. 1. Running doesn’t make you fit. You have to lift weights too. 2. Yoga pants don’t look good on everyone. 3. Squats make a difference, DO them!
Much love,
Jes xoxo