The Race

On Saturday, September 4th I participated in a 4 mile road race in my hometown of Kewanee, IL. I was hoping to finish the race in under an hour...preferably without dying.

I finished. I so totally finished. I finished in 46 minutes and some odd seconds. That's a little under a 12 minute mile. HOLY MOLY.

Push yourself...strive for something a little outside of your comfort zone. You will be amazed at how amazing you feel when you accomplish that thing you pushed for.

Here are a couple of tips I figured out at my first ever organized race.

• If the race provides a chip for your shoe for "official" times, attach the chip HIGHER (toward your ankle) instead of lower, toward your toes. Why, you ask? Well, it is possible that the chip will wedge in your shoe in a spot and press down on your toe, causing your big toe (maybe even the one on your right foot) to go totally numb. (Can you tell I learned this from experience???)
• Don't get frustrated when what seems like the entire field of participants passes you before the first 1/2 mile! I was really getting bummed out, but I ran at my own pace, and finished in about 12 minutes less than I had guessed. Don't get frustrated...you're out there...you're doing it. Who cares of you're the last one to cross the line? You crossed it...that's more than most people can say!
• The race packet includes a bib (participant #) and 4 safety pins. Hey, guess what Einstein...they give you 4 pins for a reason. It's irritating if while you're running the bib flys up and hits ya in the face if you were too stupid to pin it at the bottom...I'm just sayin'...
• Some rockin' music is a great asset you respond to that kind of stuff...just make sure your headphones are secure (as in maybe UNDER your shirt) otherwise they're gonna get tangled in your hands and nothin' hurts like ripping the ear bud outta your ear several times!

And, most of all, have fun. Give yourself some credit...you're doing it. You're rockin' it!