Groovy Girls Go……. Late
Who knows exactly what I am? I suppose it depends on what time of day you ask me, or meet me, or teach with me, or run with me, or drink with me, or or or…..
If you had asked me on July 4th before I started the half marathon; you would have called me LATE!
Professionally, I’m a teacher, so everyday you find me exactly NOT LATE. My life – and then my professional life – has always been signalled by the sound of the bell…..or in my running life; the sound of the gun.
But, as in all things in my life, I love being a bit different and despite all the rules I love breaking them enough to laugh out loud a bit too loudly! And so, as I ran up to a now mat-less, fan-less, and certainly starting gun-less, start line. I shouted out to the people who seemed to be in charge if I they would even let me start. They looked at their watches, each other, me – and said, “go ahead, you’re about 15 minutes behind”…..well, isn’t that just a bugger!
On the course I came up on the first volunteers who were already in their cars or packing things up and they jumped back to their posts, cheered me on in a befuddled way, and most importantly, pointed me in the right direction. And so I ran. I ran so hard I could hear my beating heart above my inappropriate and loud music thumping in my earbuds.
I took them out to thank the volunteers for their help and then put them back in, turned up my jams, and ran…….I didn’t have a watch because I had seen that some fast girls were there and my plan was to either stay on their shoulder until I blew up or go around them. It seemed like a simple plan, except there was no shoulders to stay on anymore and so all I had left was to go around and around and around people I came up on.
Despite the obvious, this was an absolutely liberating run because let’s be honest……so many people in today’s running world are looking for flat and fast courses….. ugh…..could our sport get any more predictable or boring? I’ve run for running since I was about 10 years old and I can’t imagine taking the easy way out. I ran track on a red-scorio-rock track and busted out some decent times – so taking the easy track isn’t in my shoes.
So what was my lesson in this? Humility maybe? I had gone there to win and I was in more of a racing mind-set than I have been in years….and yet it wasn’t in my cards. I’ve been late for a race exactly 0 times so there was a force bigger than me calling the shots and so I did what I do best….I just ran. I ran so fast it felt AmAzInG. I ran those hills like a beast and I just kept getting faster and faster.
I was so liberated. The wind, the heat, the hills, the sweat, the isolated back roads…..it….was……me.
I was meant to be my own reward……Finally, by being late, I was right on time.
Groovy Girls Go…….Late…..Yet, Right On Time
Late…but there is proof:
Groovy Girls Go.............. 