Surprise Yourself

First time I ran for more than half an hour without anyone chasing me was last year for my company’s community 5K run. I ran liked a mad man, and half an hour later all I felt was my legs and heart pounding at the pace that made me worried.

This year when I went back for the same 5K run, I shaved two minutes of my time. That’s it, it was time for double or quits. I signed up for a 10K without losing any time.

Day 1 of training for my 10K and I buckled down after 4 miles. I limped back home. The pain in my foot didn’t subside and I found out I was suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. It is nothing but a way of saying my foot really hurts when I try to move.

I gave up training for the race. I even looked into refund policies. And now I was now going to be that guy - “No Show.”

And then something unexpected happened. My colleague, a tennis player in her past life, handed me a tennis ball and said “8 hours that you are sitting at your desk, keep rolling your foot over the ball. Ice it. Rest it. Don’t give up on the race yet.”

A couple of days later, another friend offered up a splint that would help.

Come race day, I showed up. Unsure of what to expect, I had a mantra - Run, Walk or Tumble, I am crossing that line. However, to my utter surprise, I rounded up my first mile within 9 minutes, half way mark in 30 and now I was running to beat 60 minute mark. And I beat it. 57:40.

But that is not the coolest part. You know what is really cool, I enjoyed the run, I noticed the fall that had now set in the Twin cities, noticed a guy with his guitar who was busking – singing Beatles songs, lady who was blasting Journey (Don’t stop believing)  on her front yard to support the runners, I took in the view as I came up the hill, and crossed the finish line. Oh and surprised myself – that I could do it. 

Neo