Put down that late-night snack you were about to inhale and listen up: I lied to you.
In my initial post, I pointed out, rather self loathingly, that I was very much average. On and on I went, sentence after sentence (and even in my sidebar "about me"), trying to prove to you - dear readers - that I'm blatantly mediocre and not really that good at anything.
Today, I'm pleased to tell you that I lied; I'm really not average at all. In fact, I'm jut slightly above it.
(you may now resume eating said snack as you soak in both my superb ability to lie and the revelation that I might just be a bit above average.)
Before you think I'm getting too high on my high horse, let me explain. The hubs and I participated in a 5k this morning with a friend in Kalamazoo. While our very much also above average friend ran a PR-setting half marathon, K and I shot for our PR's in the 3.1. Though neither of us hit said PR's (K ran a 21:14, while I completed it in 27:35), we were both happy to have finished strong.
Still, I was initially really disappointed with my time. I needed to run at least 26:39 to PR, but some tricky rolling hills (and perhaps a sluggish mind) slowed me down. Additionally, I found myself pacing a running group led by a woman who insisted on yelling out overly positive comments a la a 1992 Denise Austin aerobics tape ("Come on, ladies, we can take this hill!" and "Half mile in! We can DO it! Keep those legs moving!") I hate perky runners.
But I digress. As the hubs and I waited for our friend to stride down the 13.1 finishing chute, I secretly chided myself and my aching quads for my time.
Later, however, my outlook changed. As we perused the official results, and I saw how I lined up compared to other runners, my mood lightened a bit. Out of a 1,685 5k participants, I placed 501. Out of 978 female racers, I was number 156. And for my age group (25-29), I found myself sitting on 22 of 150.
While I know I probably won't ever be a Number One on any of those lists, seeing myself in at least the top third for each felt pretty awesome. When I'm racing I always say that the only person I'm competing against is myself and my own times, but seeing how well I competed against others today made me feel a little less average and more... good?
Sorry if I sound like a gloaty little girl right now, but since deep down I'll always feel pretty average, little victories such as this must be celebrated. Plus, I definitely promised in my initial post to always gloat about happy races. :)
Today's Point Two: "The Distance" by CAKE. Great running song, plus K totally "Maurer-ed" it when he mis-sang the opening lyric as "Anxiously crouched at the starting line" instead of "Reluctantly crouched at the starting line." Cheers to CAKE for writing such a great tune, to my husband for Maurer-ing it, and to Maurer for having the ability to misquote nearly everything thus giving birth to the gerund "Maurer-ing."