The Runner Comes Alive

It's starting to happen. I can feel it in my legs and the way my shoulders are starting to drop into a relaxed posture. My breathing is no longer ragged, it's lengthened and evened out. I'm taking the big hill without hesitation.

The runner is staring to wake up.

Happy New Year!!

It's been 9 years since I've been in a race and today I took the plunge. I saw the New Year's Day Resolution Run in Lackawaxen, PA online and decided not to overthink it and just do it. I knew nothing about the race. I wasn't even sure how to get there. I wasn't even sure I could push myself to sustain a steady race-pace. What I did know was that I wanted to start the year off running.

I was out the door with butterflies and a vague sense of where I was headed but I was out the door. I found the race with a little over a half-hour to spare. There were about of 20 of us hardy souls out there. Me and another guy were the only two running the 5K. As a certified-midpacker, I was a little intimidated by the low turn-out. I was used to races in NYC where attendance averaged at least 500 and I could be one of the many faces in the crowd crossing the finish line. I took a deep breath, wished for the best and beeped along with the other watches as the race started.

Before I left the house my 11 year old, wished me luck and hoped I'd win the race. I thanked him and told him how I wasn't going to win, I was just running to be out there. I explained how the winners of these races train hard and run every day. He said, "But you train hard, and you run everyday." Then he chastised me about my defeatist attitude.

Well what do you know! I actually won the 5K. I won my first race 9 years older and 30 pounds heavier. What a way to start the New Year!!