I send a text a few days after our first date. “Look
what I just signed up for, do you think I’m crazy?” laughing at myself, because,
well, I am. A little. Fifteen minutes pass and I get a
response, “Nope, sounds cool. I just signed up too!” Fast
forward about ten weeks and I’m meeting the boyfriend we now know is as crazy
as me in the parking lot outside the state park. We jump into one car and
head towards the parking lot our race will end in. Poor guy didn’t know
how much anxiety I could go thru until I had accomplished everything I needed
to in plenty of time before the race starts. There’s just too much to do
and not enough time to do it! (editorial note: you really can inherit this trait?) Start by picking up our registration
packets, t-shirts, and the magic bracelet in the gazebo (the one that says you
are old enough to drink). Also hanging out there is a live bluegrass
band. Perfect! A quick stop in the bathroom and back to the car to
put on braces, oils, numbers, sneakers…you get the idea. Then stretching
(highly recommend not doing a lower leg workout the day before a race, what was
I thinking???). Time for one more bathroom stop before the pre-race
meeting. It’s a small field, 72 runners. And as a group, we all
walk the half a mile down to the race start as the sun sets. A young kid
(14?) passes us on the walk. I nudge the boyfriend, “he will be the
winner.” Called it, kid kicked everyone’s butt. Never fails.
Two minute countdown, headlamp on, gun fires, and off
we go! My boyfriend is a hiker, I haven’t run in weeks, and I was able to
jog his walk pace and felt like I was sprinting thru the dark when he ran,
trying to watch for the little rocks and roots hidden just beyond the
light. Every tenth of a mile was a little tea light, glowing along the
path in the woods. In order to prevent hunting for mile marker signs in
the dark, there was bluegrass music playing from speakers. I loved the
music idea! You could hear it approaching and the pace would pick
up. But I also had that movie scene in the back of my head, where banjo
music in the woods was not a welcome sound. My excitement over a mile
completed quickly washed that away. The volunteers were great, helping to
guide us, and places on the trail where there was a small chance you could veer
the wrong way were clearly marked. As we approached the finish line, we
could hear the other runners hanging out and the live bluegrass music
playing. Sprint towards the end! The boyfriend bolted, his sprint
was kicking my butt. Maybe this is wrong, but when a girl fell on the
sidewalk (yep, she managed to find her way thru the little trips on the trail
only to be taken out by pavement) and he was a complete gentleman, stopping to
help her out, my thought was “Yes! I can catch him!” I know, not very
nice. Cross the finish line with the race leader (I think, was watching
my feet trying to avoid the evils of pavement running) calling out names and
cheering you in! Best part about the end, moonshine in a mason jar!
Choices were cherry cola and peach tea. Food was banana halves, fun sized
candy bars, granola bars, pretzels, and popcorn, yum! I managed to win
second in my age group and received a cute mason jar, few rocks in the bottom,
candle, and homemade metal handle. A backwoods lantern! (We won’t
discuss out of how many in the age categories). Super proud of the
boyfriend who also won a lantern, coming in third in his age group in his first
ever 5k. This was the most fun 5k I have ever been around/participated
in.
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