Free Socks

I swear, I am SO lucky! At the race today, they drew random numbers and gave away prizes. I won socks. Smart Wool socks to be exact. I won socks last year also. I guess it's good that I've got a thing for nice socks.

What makes me Really lucky is that the gods of running races created this race just for me. Then watched over me while I ran, and made sure that my snails pace of 30:16 was good enough for second place in my age group. Now, it might have nothing to do with "gods", I'll admit it. I'm in that 40-49 age group which explains something right there. (I thank my lucky stars that I don't have to compete against those youngsters!) Most likely, the women with a reasonable amount of fitness chose to run the longer and more scenic 10k trail run. Everyone that's left, including me, is slow, chubby or both.

I went into this run wondering if I would measure up to more than I was last year, that is, would I crush my time. Isn't it all about setting a new PR? I started the race thinking so, but I finished the run knowing that my time was truly meaningless.

I ran hard. I challenged myself. I was in a beautiful enviroment... single track bordering the Spokane River. While there were times where I felt discomfort, there was nowhere else I would have rather been. I accomplished my goal of finishing strong. I was 16 seconds slower than last year... and I still came home with a little red ribbon. Motivation for another year. If the race gods are listening, thanks for the experience... and the free socks.