I'm Not Content

Topic: I Saw Minute Maid, Then I Got Angry
Key Words: Chemical Rush, Dry Mouth, 4AM
Word Count:438
Tomorrow's Topic: Renting vs Buying

I owe you a topic on renting your home versus buying; tomorrow. This morning's 5k begs to be written about.

Yesterday, I said I was content as a runner. I followed that up with staying up until 4AM and taking part in activities that would ensure my back would really, really hurt. Then, I went to go run a 5k at 7:45AM! As I stood behind the start line, I declared that I had low expectations for myself, I was only running for the fun of it.

When I race, I set three goals; it's a habit I think all runners should take to. One goal is the "beat this time if all else fails" goal, then there's the "you should be able to make this time" goal, and finally, the "run of your life" goal. For the 5k those times are 26 min, 25 min, and 24 mins respectively. I fully expected to have no shot at 26 minutes for the above reasons, and ran hard, but not all out, to a first mile of 8:23 and a second mile of 8:21. Then .... I got water and walked. I never do that in 5ks. Ever. You don't really need water in a 5k, but my mouth was dry ... time be damned, I wanted water!

So off I went, to finish the race, and then I saw Minute Maid park; our finish line. At the same time, I became not very content with my effort. I knew I still had a shot at 26 mins, even with the walk break. All the sleep deprivation and back pain seemed to go away; I started picking runners out of the crowd and pushed myself to pass them; I wasn't content to lolly gag, I wanted that time. I reached "I think I'm going to puke" level of exertion right as I crossed the finish line, gathered myself, and checked my watch; I finished in 26:05 .... I'm content with that.

I realized today that although the time goals I set for myself will change, I still need those goals. That rush of accomplishment, even when it's accomplishing something less than your best effort, is probably the chemical reason I got into running; my brain likes that rush. After all, when I ran my best 5k in 23:48, was that any better than the 70 year old completing his 100th 5k in 33:30?