Raise your hand if you like to run. This year, I had an opportunity to participate in the downtown St. Louis Saint Paddy‘s day 5-mile run. It was back for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. A friend of mine was registered, and I invited myself along, with full transparency that he would likely have to wait a while for me at the finish line. I had done the race several times before, but it had been several years since my last one. I had not trained much through the last couple years, and with my last-minute registration, I didn’t get a lot of time to train for this one. I was just happy to be planning to get back ‘into the race’, so to speak.
Race day came, and true to Midwest weather uncertainty, it was ridiculously cold. The race atmosphere is just so neat, seeing all those people pushing themselves in that way. I finished, slower than I had hoped but faster than I realistically should have, coming in at a turtle’s speed of one hour and 12 minutes. My personal best time for this race is just under one hour many years ago but alas, this year it was not to be. My knee started hurting in mile one, and the wind brutally blowing on my face did not do me any favors running up the continuous inclines of the first 2+ miles. The anticipation of free beer, and my playlist helped me through the first 4 miles, but I’m not gonna lie – I had a hard time getting across the finish line. I did races regularly for many years at different points in my life. This one, not surprisingly, was one of the harder ones.
Afterwards my friend and I got our one free beer (wink, wink). Then like many other participants, we went to Ballpark Village and watched some sports and had another couple of drinks to celebrate. We are both trying to get back into running, and it felt so great to be there, neither of us wanted the morning to end. If I want to continue running, I’ll need to go to an orthopedist for my knee. I’m not winning any awards these days, and I was a complete waste the rest of the day, but it was 100% worth it. I took the first step. I am proud of myself for getting my fat covid butt out of bed on a brutally cold day and finishing what I started. I’m not gonna lie – I didn’t want to.
Maybe there’s something you’ve been thinking about getting back into doing. Maybe there’s something you’ve been wanting to try, but for whatever reason you haven’t pulled the trigger. Maybe it’s an excuse – maybe your knee hurts, maybe fear is holding you back. One of the amazing things about this life is that we get to make our own choices. Do you push yourself outside of your comfort zone and sign up for that race, or do you sit on the sidelines and watch life go by? I am sending this challenge to you today. Go run your race. The finish line is waiting.
