Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Spring Fun Run & the lesson it taught me

me & a friend before the Land Conservancy Spring Fun Run in April. it was the run that did my knee in. im happy that i finally got my much awaited physical therapy appointment booked  &  hope to be back to trail running soon.

this run was so far my worst time & performance, but the most inspiring. it taught me alot about keeping my running & other things in perspective. my knee hurt early on going downhill, but i had to keep going to make it to the finish. while pulling up the rear i met a older man who was clearly having a rough time. amazingly he had never run before & this 5K was his first running attempt. slowing down,  i was able to talk & listen to him. encourage him to finish & he did the same for me. i could have easily left him back there & pressed on to a strong finish despite my pain. but NO we both struggled together & crossed the finish line together. i was able to focus my attention on helping & inspiring this new friend to accomplish his goals. coming in 5 mins slower than i planned, now meant that i had that extra time to spend with a new friend, instead of meaning not reaching my goal. my competitve self imposed personal best goal became meaningless after this experience.  this all reminded me of the joy that can be found in running & not to lose sight of it. (and sadly for months following, it reminded me to listen to & respect my body)

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