Crim there, done that

My good friend T and I ran our first Crim this past Saturday. For those of you not from MI, the Crim is a REALLY big running race in Flint. They have a 10 mile race; a 10K run; 10K walk; 8K run; 8K walk; 5K run; 5K walk; 1 mile run/walk and the Teddy Bear Trot. T and I thought about doing the Teddy Bear Trot, but we forgot our bears at home. Next year, I'm Killing those pre-school snots!

My final time was S-L-O-W. Finished in 40:02, my average mile was 12:58. Here are my list of excuses for this one:

1) 75%+ humidity
2) Aunt Flow
3) Rain in the last 1/2 of my race
4) Haven't trained regularly in a couple of weeks
5) I suck ass at going faster

My time makes me ask myself: Why do I race? This pace is truly a jogger's pace. Why do I bother signing up for these? I think I do this not for the pace or what place I come in. I do it to stay motivated; to stay the course on my running. If I have nothing to "train for"then I'm afraid I will give up. I've already made a concious decision to mix up my workout options for the winter time b/c the Dreadmill will kill my enthusiasm quick if I can't run outside. So I'll try another race in October for sure, and maybe squeeze one last race in before the end of the year. Gotta keep my head up, and keep focused on what is important: keeping up my exercise and working on my overall fitness.

Some observations of my first real "runner's race":

1) I wanted to give the hard core male runners a sandwich. They looked like they could use one or fifty;
2) The hard core female runners look like men;
3) The sweat was a-flyin' due to the humidity;
4) It's hard to drink from a paper cup while you're running;
5) I spit like a mean goose in the last half of the run (good thing I'm looking out for passers on my spit side);
6) Running with a friend makes the time fly by a LOT faster than being by yourself.

I'll keep plugging along at running, even though there will be no medals on my shelf any time soon. My rewards are in my personal progress...I am my own measuring stick.

-K