Next time - pay the registration fee

After a hard week - an hour on any surface is welcoming and has become my custom. Usually, Friday, I leave work and race home to put on my tennis shoes and grab my anxious dog, Grendel for an hour anywhere.

Then, usually, on Saturday, I rest. But, this Saturday, my good friend convinced me to lace up and race a 5k with her. Since I have limited income, I am choosy about what races to run, so I decided not to pay the registration fee and just run. My thoughts were: I have not raced in a while, I won't do well - the usual self-defeatist labels. However, this Saturday I won for women overall. Whooops - I forgot to calculate my recent reading of Born to Run - which had caused me not to replace my lost watch; my new desire to run faster than usual when I am feeling good; training at altitude (including the treacherous 18 mile Shut-in race); and lots of caffeine that morning. Pre-race my mind did incorrect calculations, and I had forgotten that I can race well, sometimes.

With this background, an outsider would have assumed I would not performed well; however, my body and mind were in parallel that after the first mile when my lungs were breathing well, ie,I could still talk, and my legs had the ideal turnover, and I took off. I left my friend and several men and ran; I ran like I had no time to beat and every time to beat; I ran as though this was the most fun I had had in a while; my breathing kept smooth - my legs did start screaming towards the end - from the lack of training for this type of torture, and then I had to drop out before the very end, but I knew I had run fast and well. I enjoyed the feeling at the end of a good race regardless of a trophy or verbal recognition. But, next time, I may register... Or, not... Have to save my money for the good races - Red top Rumble?!