^^ Denver B-Day Crew
There’s something to be said about coming in last place and being able to rejoice about said “accomplishment” afterward.
Such was the case for my girl, Anna‘s 30th birthday trip this past April. A weekend celebration in Denver, Colorado that I immediately booked my flight and accommodations for, all while thinking it would a super chill trip. Because you know, it’s Denver and while I had never been before, Denver seems chill.
Little did I know that Anna would switch up the itinerary for our group of friends 2 weeks before departure to include a 5K marathon.
Cherry on top = the 5K was scheduled to take place our first full day in Denver… Fun.
^^ On the bus from Denver to Boulder for the 5K. Peep my excitement in the corner.
5K meaning 5 kilometers which equates to 3 miles and also equates to my body not being ready.
I don’t run. It’s never been my thing. I’ve gone through phases of denial where I’ve forced myself to run because “it’s good for you.” But even then, I’ve never actually liked it.
The only reason why I gave into to Anna’s 5K participation request was because:
1) It was her birthday.
2) The 5K was for a cause close to her heart. It was a memorial 5k race in memory of a distinguished fallen Air Force ROTC Alumni, F-16 pilot, Captain William H. “Pyro” DuBois Jr. All proceeds from the event went directly toward the Pyro’s Wings Memorial Scholarship fund which helps current Detachment 105 Cadets gain valuable flight experience to boost their chances of earning their own Air Force pilot slot. (While in college, Anna was in the Air Force ROTC and is currently a Captain in the Air Force. My Shero)
^^ Sent this selfie to Charles with a text saying “Pray for me.”
^^ Anna in the middle, giving me the “I see you and you better run” look.
If I’m going to be completely honest, I was secretly hoping someone from our group would bail on the run with me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case because, apparently, everyone in our group runs on the regular and had prepped for the 5K.
As for me? I was doing this run cold turkey with no kind of prep whatsoever so yea, go me lol.
At the beginning of the race, I started off pretty good meaning I kept up with the group running for about 5 minutes. After that, is when we started to separate a.k.a. I started to lag behind.
I didn’t start to feel bad about myself until an amputee ran past me… And then a pregnant lady who was pushing a stroller ran past me… And then, before I knew it, I was by myself and everyone running the 5K was in front of me.
But then I spotted my friend, Caroline, who happened to be a few paces ahead of me and when I saw the pace she was going, I thought to myself “just make sure to always have Caroline in eyesight and I’ll be fine.”
At some point, she started walking, looked back, saw me and was like “You wanna buddy up and do this together?”
Me = “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.”
And so from then on, we ran and walked and ran and walked and ran and walked together the entire race to the best of our capability considering the high altitude which had our lungs burning the whole way.
It wasn’t long before we finally saw the finish line… Actually, I take that back.
This race took foreverrrrrrrr. Everytime I saw a 5K volunteer, I asked “Are we close?” or “How much more to go?”
And then finally one volunteer said “the finish line is right around the corner” which was just the motivation I needed to keep going when I felt like giving up.
^^ Me and Caroline at the finish line. She beat me by 4 seconds lol.
^^ That’s me. Number 67 in all my “at the bottom of the page” glory. I did 3 miles in 42 minutes.
And so concludes that one time I traveled to Denver, ran a 5K, came in last place and still felt like a winner.
Because winning isn’t always about being in 1st place. Sometimes winning can be simply finishing something you started especially when that “something” is really hard like this 5K was for my novice, unprepared a$$.
Will I run a 5K again? Probably not.
But if I ever do, I will make sure to prep beforehand because, considering the results of my last run, the sky is the limit.
Special shoutout to Caroline for being my run/walk buddy. And shoutout to Anna for always making me run when I don’t want to.
Oh, the things you do in the name of friendship…
Have you ever traveled somewhere to run a 5K or any kind of marathon? What was your experience?
xo, Setarra
P.S. Linking up with Wanderful Wednesday
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