I followed my usual pre-run routine and consumed a good breakfast. I laced up my sneakers and said a prayer. I headed out the door to meet my friend, Amy, at her house. She had graciously agreed to drive. At the early hour of 0545 (still dark outside!), we left TC for the town of French Lick. Rain slowly fell on the windows and I was uncertain about the day. I had never run in rain. I didn't know how to mentally prepare for any condition other than a sunny day. Crap! I could feel the butterflies flying around my stomach. As we got closer to our destination, this was all becoming real to me. There was no backing out now. We were getting closer to our 6.2 mile adventure. And, I was in desperate need of a paper bag. I felt like I could vomit, and I didn't want to get Amy's seats dirty!
Finally, after a 45 minute drive, I saw the French Lick Casino through the front windshield. For the first time, it seemed twice as big as I remember. My heart started to race. I needed to catch my breath. I was telling myself, "breath in, breath out". After all, it's JUST 6.2 miles, right? Right. One step at a time. We picked up our t-shirts, visited the bathroom countless times, laid on the floor of the resort to stretch our bodies and waited. And, waited. The waiting was pure torture! I wanted to start. NOW! Waiting just made me doubt myself and my abilities. That "lying slut", whom I thought I had left at home, decided to show up and start mouthing. "Emily, you are completely ridiculous. You can't do this". I was cussing her, but she wouldn't shut up. At that moment, the sun started to peek out from behind a cloud. After all, God had to get a front row seat for this event! Luckily, my parents showed up just in time to wish me luck and see Amy and I start the race. We took off and I felt great. Piece of cake, right? In our minds (according to what we had read), the course was flat. And, fast. A great combination. Well, what they failed to mention was that the 5K course was FLAT. NOT the 10K course. About a mile into the race, I noticed that the road was gradually going up. Hmm, maybe people in French Lick don't know the difference between flat and hilly. As we got farther into the race, the road kept getting higher and higher. WTF? Suddenly, I stopped. I wanted to flag down the first car and high-tail it out of this town. Flat my ass! I started chanting "French Liars". Amy kept saying, "Keep going. You've come too far to give up now". My legs were aching. More than they ever had before. My mind wandered to all those people that were probably wishing for me to fail. That "lying slut" started talking to me again. "See? I told you so. Give up. You are not a runner. What are you doing?". That's when I dug deep. This hill was not going to defeat me. So, I started running again. Then, the hill got even higher. Crap, I stopped. I started walking. What was I doing? This was a running race? Not a walking race. I didn't pay to walk. I hadn't trained to walk. So, with MUCH encouragement from Amy, I ran. And, I ran. And, I ran. Finally, what goes up must come down. And, down we went. When you are clumsy, going downhill at a pretty fast pace is not a very good idea. But, I kept on going, thinking that, if I fell, at least I was out there. I had seen an ambulance at the start of the race. Surely, all the cops along the route would radio them and they would come rescue me.
After realizing that I might need medical attention, I started that dreaded walking again. We were knee-deep in the woods of French Lick. Hell, I hated this town. I hated these people for lying. I hated myself for walking. I hated the fact that I doubted myself. After walking about five min a total of three times, I found the will to speed it up. Mostly, because Amy told me, "Get moving. You can hate me now and love me later when we're done". Minutes later, I looked down and saw the "mile 5" marker. Holy shit! Only 1.2 miles to go. Amy was doing her best to distract me from thinking too much. Talking to me, telling me I could do this. Telling me were were almost there. Doing everything she could to keep my body moving. Around this time, we saw a cop along the side of the road, listening to his scanner. I could hear someone on the other end saying something about how a few walkers were still on the course. Um, no. I'm a runner. So, I started running again. There was a guy behind us, in awe of what he had heard, too. When he caught up to us, he said, "well, I guess that means we have to finish.". He looked tired. A few seconds later, he actually told us he had run the 5K, too. Show off.
After what felt like hours, I could see the resort in the distance. At mile marker 6, I was running on empty. I had already surpassed my longest run to date. I stopped. I could hear that voice again. Yes, two-tenths away from the finish line and I was about to give up. I had nothing left. That's when Amy said, "think of all those people cheering you on at home, praying for you, sending you good vibes". That's right. I had a fan club and I couldn't let them down. So, I ran. I ran fast. And, I ran right to that damn finish line! I could hear the cheers of the crowd, most of whom had no idea of my journey to this point. They didn't care. Most of them had already finished long before I did. But, they were there cheering me on like I had just won the Boston Marathon. My mom was snapping pics at the finish line, as was a college friend, whom I hadn't seen in years! My time? 1:22.53. Probably not impressive by most people's standards, but it was a HUGE victory for me. I finished.
Throughout my 6.2 mile journey yesterday, I learned A LOT! I learned that I can do anything. I learned that a little sweat never killed anyone. I learned that I am unstoppable. I'll never be the fastest runner out there, but at least I'm out there. Giving it all I've got. Leaving it all on the pavement. I also learned that Amy and I should really going into the "inspirational and funny quotes for t-shirts" business. We came up with some good ones! One of the best? "EVEN JESUS LOVES TURTLES".
So, maybe I'm a turtle. Oh well. In my dreams, I run like a Kenyan :)
"Whether it's a 14 minute mile or a seven minute, at least it's a mile" ~
