Chasing Pavements

"Ohhhh, ohhhh, should I give up, or should I just keep chasing pavements....even if it leads nowhere????"

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Adele, anyone? You know you went there, too. I, personally, think that Adele is incredible and I love her range and the amount of control she has over her voice (and her accent, let's be honest), but that could be a whole post for another day.

I wanted to share a HUGE accomplishment that I recently achieved. I ran.

Okay, I realize you probably thought there was going to be much more in that weighty tease of a sentence, but seriously, that's it. I ran. For those that know me, I love a good trend every now and then and running has certainly managed to become one in recent years. For me, though, this was one bandwagon that I just could not bring myself to hop onto. Don't get me wrong, I respect everyone who is a good runner or those who really l o v e running, or even those who understand the health benefits of running. For this gal, I get winded running to my mailbox or playing with my dogs, and the only way you'll find me booking it is if someone is chasing me with a sharp object.

So, it may surprise you to know that I decided to challenge myself this year by signing up to be a member of my company's team in the 40th Annual Genworth Virginia 10 Miler/4 Miler race! I know it surprised me. I figured I'd start with the 4 Miler (since I didn't have a death wish) and I really thought I was going to train and do this thing!

Well, here come the excuses - life got in the way, I was busy at work, I was exhausted by the time I got home every evening, I am not a morning person, it's raining out, it's getting chilly, I don't want to get sick, after all....

I didn't train. I should have. This is where the power of God and community steps in.

On race day, two of my colleagues and I had developed our strategy. Pace ourselves. Start out with a slow jog with the goal of making it to a certain point down the street. Then, we get our Oprah power walk on. Then, we jog across the finish line at the end of 4 miles. Here was our view at the start.

Yep. There we were, standing like bulls in the shoot before a wild rodeo ride with more than 3,500 other people from our community and even other states. And, BOOM! The game changed. The last 10 seconds were counted down. The horn went off. The crowd starting moving. And we started running.

And I ran.

Photo Courtesy of TriDuo - Official Race photographer

And I kept running. I ran past the point we said we wanted to make it to. God and all of the people who lined the streets and cheered you on, rang bells, and shook pompoms just lifted me and somehow a non-runner found the strength and endurance to run.

I did have to power walk three times during the race, as there were some CRUCIAL hills on this course, but after I got up the hills, I continued to run and push myself past the limits I knew I had.

The funniest moment in the race was right after I had hit the two-mile mark. A pack of people on the side of the road started going bananas, so everyone in the pack of runners with me thought they were trying to encourage us, so we pushed harder. Then, we were able to see the real reason they were cheering - Julius Kogo, who ended up winning the 10-mile race for the second consecutive year, was hitting MILE 8 in the time it took our pack of people to reach Mile 2. Seriously. And he wasn't even winded. And he was smiling. He finished 10 miles in 47:34. Ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome.

His fastness and ability aside, I had to stay focused on my own performance. Somehow the other runners/walkers and I continued to encourage one another. We ran together. We power walked together. There were people pushing children in strollers and wheelchairs. There were husbands and wives encouraging each other and keeping pace with one another. There was an 85-year-old man running named Bill Draper who was the only person to run the 10 Mile race every one of the 40 years it has existed.  There was real and honest community happening before my eyes at every point of the race. And guess what?

Photo Courtesy of TriDuo - Official Race photographer

Photo Courtesy of TriDuo - Official Race photographer

I FINISHED!!!!!! I RAN/WALKED MY 4 MILE RACE IN 

54 MINUTES FLAT!!!

And I didn't even come in last place! I actually beat 234 people in my race, and I simply could not believe it! The sense of pride and accomplishment I felt completely outweighed the insane amount of self-inflicted pain my body would endure the next few days because of my lack of training.

The moral of this story? Do not fail to try to do something you sincerely think you cannot do. You will be blown away by what a little faith, prayer, and community can raise you up to do! And also, please, for the love of everything holy, TRAIN BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. Learn from me and avoid stupidity!

Have you ever "done the impossible?" I'd love to hear what you did!
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