quitter, what?

Niketown 5K done! Notable: We finished together at 35:46, and I DID NOT FOLD! I stopped once to tie my shoelace, and maybe twice slowed to a walk for five to ten steps, but other than that, I ran three miles without wussing out.

I ran by a bunch of parents badgering their kids to run the whole way, telling them that they were quitters if they started walking (this was about 3/4 of the way through the course. I somehow don't think that's the greatest way to motivate your six-year-old to the finish line. Neither do I think parents should yell at their kids (from the sidelines or in the van on the way home) for missing a shot during a game. Kids' sports are their sports. I could get started. But I won't.

So, we came, saw, and conquered - and finished together, which was sweet of S. since I know he was dying to turbo it for the last kilo or so. ("Wanna run hard for the finish?" he called. "I AM running hard!" I shouted, gasping for air.) Lying in bed last night we were talking about the aforementioned parents pushing their kids against their will to run all the way through. S., tired and a little intoxicated from a wedding reception from which we'd just returned, said that maybe they were just trying to push the kids past a mental block. I agreed that it was okay to encourage the kids past their comfort zones, but not to make them feel bad if their little (SIX-YEAR-OLD) legs could not run three full miles.

"I mean, if my ankles gave me trouble [as they sometimes do] and I had to walk the last quarter, would you have called me a quitter?"

Silence. A really long, deep silence reigned as he thought this over. During this silence, I started to stew and steam because even though I have no plans to remain a 5K creampuff, the drill sergeant approach would not have worked with me.

More silence.

Finally, I rolled over and said, "HELLO?!"

"Wha - Huh - What?!"

I poked him. "Would you have called me a quitter?"

"Oh my gosh, I fell asleep. I'm sorry. What was the question? Quitter, what?"

Anyway, the conversation was pretty much over after that (but not until I insisted that he answer the question, and his answer was "Well, no but if I knew you could do something I would tell you so"). That's good, because I usually know what I'm capable of (and sometimes overestimate, in fact, and then have to go ten superhard to save face) but in those rare blue funks, I'd have someone to remind me of what I've already done and should be able to do.

Posted some pics on flickr - just a few, though. I thought about whipping out the cam for a finish line shot but didn't want to sacrifice the seconds for the slowdown. Having both discovered that running in a group helps us not hate running, we have planned to try out the Niketown training runs (Wednesdays and/or Saturdays), starting this week.

I love me a good excuse to buy new shoes!