I lined myself up in the middle of the pack. The gun went off. We entered the bike trail and then... what?? We're turning right? We're running up this steep hill?
"Well, at least we are getting this hill out of the way at the beginning of the race," I thought. I realized I must have looked at the wrong course map.
We looped back down to the flat trail. I felt quite good, so I pushed the pace to where I was working a bit harder. Little by little, I edged ahead as I passed people. Finally, we got to where I could see the final big bridge overhead and I planned to really push it to the end, as the finish line wasn't that far away.
As we approached the bridge, I realized with a shock that the course was turning LEFT to do the hill again. What the heck?? I had to climb that hill - unexpectedly - for the second time.
I pondered what I should do, as I was feeling quite tired. I decided to walk up the hill. I had pushed myself hard enough to where running up that hill would result in a side stitch and I didn't want to spend the last few minutes of the race feeling miserable.
We often encounter unexpected hills in our journeys to better health and fitness. Some are bumps in the road, others are short but steep, and others are a long haul up a mountain. We have to assess every situation as it presents itself and decide the best way to proceed. Currently I'm rehabbing a stress fracture in my hand (the long haul). I also think I'm coming down with something, as I've started coughing this afternoon and I have the "shaky leg" feeling I've gotten since childhood when I get sick. Hopefully it's nothing more serious than a bump in the road. I'll have to wait and see.
In the end, my efforts today were rewarded with an extra "up," - a good kind - as my time of 26:01 (8:24/mile pace) was enough to snag the 3rd place award in my age group. A friend of mine came in 4 seconds ahead of me to get 2nd.
Here's to wishing positive outcomes to all Sparkers battling any kind of uphill!
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