I've been competing my entire life. I grew up with athletic parents and three brothers, so needless to say I know how to fight for what I want. I've been playing all types of sports since I could walk, and have developed a strong passion for competition. I thrive off the daily drive to get better, love the feel of a good sweat and hard workout, and nothing can replace the thrill of a big match against a tough opponent.
This madness sadly ended for me in mid-December, as my volleyball career of 12+ years came to a close. In an attempt to somehow fill this void (ha!), I decided to take on long distance running. And when I say long distance, I mean 13.1 miles long. On May 6th, I will be trucking around the streets of Lincoln in the Annual Half-Marathon. I hadn't run "long distance" since my track days in middle school, but I always enjoyed a good jog in the off-season. Training this winter has been a good challenge, and I've FINALLY built up a substantial amount of endurance. Like anything else, running is a process that must be taken on with a large amount of patience. Each day, you just have to build one more bridge and finish one more workout. As my good friend Johnny Wooden always said...
“Make each day your masterpiece. You have control over that.”
This past Saturday was my first "official race", the 10K Wilderness trail run. (That's 6.2 miles for you Metric System illiterates.) My running buddy Kelly and I headed out to the course and were greeted by all types of green, shamrocks, and crazy socks thanks to St. Patrick's day. I don't know about you...but running with any sort of beads, doily headbands, or shamrock earrings is just out of the question for me. Either way, it provided great entertainment and gave us a couple laughs.
The race began soon after 9 and when they said "trail run", they literally meant a trail.
In the woods.
Single File.
Out of civilization.
I hopped over logs, climbed up slopes, and tried not to eat it when I was brave enough to pass someone. Some random thoughts that came to my head during the race...
C'mon skinny ankles, don't fail me now.
I'm going to need to check for ticks after this.
I will NEVER complain about cement again.
I feel like Katniss Everdeen.
Am I going to need to pull out my iPhone compass anytime soon?
I swear I ran by that tree before...
Soon enough, I found myself in a rhythm. However, when I was about halfway in the race, something bizarre happened. As you can see by the map below, there's a loop in the path that you're supposed to go around once and then head back. Upon reaching the end of the loop, I was directed to the left to circle again. Yet once I started down this path...all I saw were blue flags. 10K runners follow the orange flags, half-marathoners follow the blue... kept resounding in my mind from that morning's directions. I didn't have anyone around me at that point in time, so I did what I could and just kept running. Once I reached the beginning of the loop again, I was sent back towards the starting line. I high-fived Kelly and then passed a girl I SWORE I had passed already.
Then another.
And another.
At first I thought I was crazy, then borderline delirious, but then I eventually realized what happened.
Pretty soon, my Nike+ app says "Congrats, you've reached your goal of 6.2 miles."
One problem...I was still in the woods.
Turns out, my little mistake cost me an extra half mile...making my total race of 6.87 miles in a time of one hour. After crossing the finish line and talking with some fellow 10K'ers, I found out that "blue flags" were indeed not my path and I went around the loop twice instead of the required one time. Of course I was happy to get a little extra workout in, but my competitive side came out when I saw my flawed "split time" on the final sheet (9:43), compared to my actual split time (8:46). Kelly and I had a good laugh of my little adventure, and of course it came down to following simple directions.
At the end of the day, it was a great experience for a first race and great practice and confidence builder for the Half. I loved the adrenaline rush as I crossed the starting line and the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Also, it was great to be apart of the Run for the Bridges (ironic!) fundraiser. They raised a net total of $8,561 to be put towards the reconstruction of the bridges around Wilderness Park. It's a great organization, so feel free to check it out and even try out the trail run next spring!
Our next "race" is the State Farm 10-mile in two weeks, so we'll see if I can follow directions a little better. As for now, I'll just keep running and keep Building Briges! Hope everyone is having a great Spring Break :)
Brigette
A little verse about running to keep you going on those long runs and long days :)
"But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31
