We are WINNING...

I'm sorry about how this is turning into a running blog--I'm pretty sure all of my posts about running lately have everyone else completely bored, but it's kind of become a big part of my life over the past few months, and I enjoy writing about it, so....you don't have to read this if you don't want to.
But, for those of you who DO want to read this post, today was our very first 10K together!!
To be honest, I was quite frankly shocked at how nervous I was--we had a late rehearsal last night and didn't get home until 11, which meant that with taking babysitters home and getting ready for bed, we didn't get into bed until 12:30, which also meant that because we were planning to wake up at 5:00 for a race that started at 6:00, we weren't going to get much sleep, which meant that I was nervous about sleeping in, which meant that I tossed and turned for the 4 hours I spent in bed and had continual nightmares about sleeping in and getting to the race only to find out that it had already started, which meant that I had an even harder time falling asleep, because I knew how important it was that I be rested for my big day.
Needless to say, I was tired when my alarm finally went off this morning--tired of trying to sleep.
We had a dear, wonderful friend come over and watch the kids (I wasn't about to wake them all up at 5:30 AM in order to go watch us run), so we were able to get to the starting line at about a quarter 'till.  When I got there and saw all of the incredibly intense-looking runners out there, I started getting even more nervous.  I haven't run a real race since high school, and although I have been training for my marathon, I am one of those what you call "Slow-and-Steady" runners.  My fastest mile split up to this point was 9:30--and that was for a three-mile run.  For my longer runs, I'm happy to get anything under 10:30.  I know this probably means little to most of those reading this blog, but for anyone who's run long distances, they know that my times are SLOW.  Which is okay.  They're steady.
But when you show up to a race and see a ton of tiny women surrounding you in their high quality workout clothing, stretching and warming up, you can't help but feel a little bit self-conscious about your old T-shirt and basketball shorts that may or may not have grape jelly stains on them from the last time you made peanut butter sandwiches for your kids.

More than for myself, I was nervous for Steve.  He's been suffering from some major shin splints recently, and had hurt his back this week, so even though I made him wrap his ankles and back, I was worried he was going to be hurting quite a bit and have an absolutely miserable experience....or worse, maybe not be able to finish at all.
We all lined up at the starting line--I felt those familiar butterflies in my stomach--and then BAM!  We were off.

Immediately, people started sprinting ahead--I knew that most of those would either be able to keep up that insane pace and leave me in the dust, or that they would start walking almost immediately, and I tried to find a pace that felt comfortable for me amid the jostling of the crowd.
I got to the mile mark and felt good about seeing quite a few of the people in front of me turning around for the 2-mile race--Good.  That meant that we didn't have nearly as many people running the 10K as I had originally feared.
My pace was 9:10--quite fast for me, actually, but I felt pretty good about it, so I kept it up, Taylor Swift singing me along through my earbuds.
The morning was beautiful--overcast, a light drizzle just at the beginning, a fresh breeze keeping me cool--perfect.
I started getting comfortable with my stride and found that there was another one of those intense-looking women right next to me...we had nearly exactly the same pace.  Perfect.  I can always use a running buddy.
We kept a good pace next to each other right up until mile 5, when I felt like I could start striding a little more.
I had taken my ear buds out by that point, so I had no idea what my pace was, but as I crossed the finish line--"57:28."
WHAT?!  I couldn't believe my ears, and when I checked my running app on my phone to see my split times, I was shocked--9:12 per mile.
Apparently, running with other people is a little more motivating than running by yourself.  Who knew?
I went up to my running friend and introduced myself to her, only to find out that she had just had a baby a month ago.  As in, one and a half months ago, she was still pregnant--and she still nearly beat me while running a 10K.
But you know what?  Rather than be mortified or ashamed, I was just thrilled for her and thrilled for me that, no matter what anyone else's times were, I had reached my best time in years.
Steve came in, as well, and I was thrilled to see the fact that he had finished--he officially ran farther today than he has ever run in his life, and farther than the majority of people EVER run in their entire lifetimes, and he got his personal record while doing it--WITH shin splits and a sore back.  It was an incredible experience for both of us.
And when they announced the winners of the various age groups, Steve and I were both quite pleasantly surprised to hear that we had each won third place in our age groups.  Surprise, surprise!  One of the benefits to running a tiny little race in a tiny little town, I guess, but still--we got medals.

Which suitably impressed Jack when we came home and showed them off to him.
"Didja win, Mom?"  he asked.
"Yeah, I kinda did!" I happily replied.
"I told you you could win!" he confidently stated.
I should always remember to believe in my son's ability to believe in my abilities.