Last week, we got the Libertyville Gazette* in the mail...I typically don't pay a lot of attention to it, but this week was different. Right on the cover of it was a full page advertisement for a 5k, complete with a picture of an unbelievable 10 year old running last year's race....this flooded me with memories of last year's race.....
It was almost a year ago that I ran in the Twilight Shuffle (in Libertyville, IL). It was a somewhat unique race because it started at 6pm, but I was looking forward to running a race that was so close to my house. Despite a hilly course and a warm afternoon, I was running very well, passing a lot of people, and on pace to set a new PR (Personal Record). Just after the 2 mile point, a kid blew past me like I was standing still....I'm not talking about a high-school kid, it was a kid who looked like he was 7 to me. I thought - that kid must have just jumped in to catch up with someone....but I watched him continue to run and fade into the distance in front of me. Who was he, did he really run the entire race, how is he really (please say he's just a small 18 year old)....so many questions.
I ended up setting a PR with a sub 7:00 per mile average, and was very pleased with that. However, the questions of the kid still lingered. The next day, I anxiously awaited the 'official' results. There it was, I had officially set a new PR, however, several runners above me was that kid - a 10 year old from Libertyville. How could that be? A 10 year old shouldn't be able to kick my butt....
A year later the 'pain' of having my butt kicked by a 10 year old has faded, and I have signed up for the race once again. The difference is that this year I'm mentally prepared for the kid to pass me at some point - not that I'll like it, but I certainly won't try to keep up with him....
Get out there and run!
*The Libertyville Gazette is a small 'magazine' put on by Main Street Libertyville, an organization of Libertyville businesses
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