Ahead and Yet Falling Behind

Firstly, sorry I was such a slacker last week on the blog. No good reason--I just didn't get around to it. Sorry about that--this week will be better. As a matter of fact, by virtue of this post it already is! Isn't it great to set low expectations?;)

But on a much more productive note, I had a fabulous weekend. Saturday we ran errands and hung out. And Sunday morning we had a race--the 17th Annual A Most Excellent Race. I was pretty nervous about it for several reasons.

Ever since I started running 3 years ago, I've had a goal of finishing a 5k under 30 minutes. This isn't a particularly fast time by any stretch of the imagination, but to me it was a challenge--and obviously a difficult one as, 3 years later, it still stands. I thought I had a good chance with this race because the course is about a mile from our house. It's the same streets that we run every day. They're flat, and I know them like the back of my hand, which can be a huge psychological advantage, I think, when you actually have a sense of where miles 2 and 3 will come up.

However, I've been sick and pretty much out of commission for 2 weeks prior to the race. On Wednesday morning, Beckett and I ran the course to get an idea of what to expect. Shockingly, we finished in 28:50--clearly under 30 minutes. Even granting that I may have been slightly off in my route plotting (e.g., cutting a corner here or there), the test run showed that I should be able to finish in under 30 minutes.

I kinda did the test run to show myself that it wasn't going to happen, and take the pressure off for race day. But obviously, I had the opposite result. Luckily the weather on race day was gorgeous and it all went well. I managed to keep up a good pace and finished in 29:14. Yay for me!!! I finally met my running goal--which is also another check on the New Year's Resolutions list.

Of course, being the person I am, as we sat in the shade by the side of the course, waiting for others to finish, I felt a little bereft. Adrift. What would I do without that goal? I suppose I have to come up with another one now. But doesn't this mean I can never again be satisfied with a race over 30 minutes? I just don't know how to feel!

Other than the angst of a goal-reached, it was a fabulous day. Especially the part where we walked the dogs and stopped for some gelato. Mmmmmm .... so last week I fell behind on the blog, but met my running goal for the first time ever. You can't have everything, right?

P.S. And everyone should wish Keith a "Happy Birthday" today. Now he's old, just like me!