Race Two...

Genaro, Me and Kirk

So many things were running through my mind as I was "running" The Davis Stampede last Sunday.  First and foremost was the song from the movie "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", where Kris is teaching the Abominable Snowman how to walk, "Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out the door..."  This was my mantra while running, put one foot in front of the other, soon I'll be crossing that finish line....  I'm not kidding, sad as it sounds, it is true.  I actually "ran" the entire race, yes ALL 3.1 miles!  I actually shaved two minutes off my time from Saturday's race, so I was pretty darn happy.

The second thing I was thinking while running, was the number of participants in the race, over 3,000, it was very crowded in Davis.  But, what really kept me thinking was the people watching I was doing while running.  There are all the cool t-shirts from various races, of course I was making mental notes on the ones that sound like they could be fun to run.  Next, I noticed the large amount of family members that were out on that very cold day, running together...pretty amazing, well right up until those 5, 8, and 10 year old's went zooming past me, they never looked back, they were kicking it into high gear right to the finish line!  Meanwhile, back at mile one, I was finally passing a few people myself, yes, I flew past that mom and stroller...yippee, the wind in my face, I had to do a little Rocky Balboa victory dance (yes, it is those small accomplishments that keep me going)!

These races bring families, friends, and strangers together.  We are all out there with the common goal of crossing that finish line, getting a little exercise, and yes, that coveted finishers metal!  Runners really aren't strangers, for that one race you become a family, encouraging each other to keep going, you're doing great, you're almost there, just around the corner...I found myself within the last half mile of the finish, encouraging a five year old girl, she had tears in her eyes, the look of defeat on her face (I know because I have been there).  I turned to her and told her what a great job she was doing, she was almost there, she must be the youngest racer, what a great accomplishment!  I'm not sure if it perked her up or not, but I kid you not, the last block to the finish line, out of nowhere, here she came with her father, mother, and brother...passing me and beating me to the finish line!  She was one happy runner.

Thank you Genaro and Kirk for getting out there and running with me, I enjoyed the company for the first block!  The Davis Stampede was very crowded, but a great place to people watch while running, I give it 3 out of 5 shoes.  Next Saturday I will be in San Diego running in the Mermaid 5K with Karen, Allyson, Lindie, Jennifer and Cheryl while our husbands sit on the beach sipping Mimosas!