DoNt HiDe YoUr TiMe bEnEaTh A TrEe

They say you shouldn't hide your talent under a bushel, but what about behind a tree? A few months ago I got an email through groupon for a discounted entrance fee for the 5K/10K Caribbean Sound race in the district. I emailed a bunch of friends to see if they wanted to do it and after some encouraging words back and forth, by days end there were ten of us signed up for the 10K . Since I'd never done a 10K (did I mention I hate aimless running) I marked it on the calendar and printed off a running schedule leading up to the big day.

However, there was a small problem with the schedule: smack-dab in the middle of it, I was traveling for work! I packed my shoes and a pair of clothes in hopes I would have time to run while away. Yet true to form, since I did take clothing, I got home at 11pm every night with no time to use them. By the time I got back from my trip, I hadn't run in way too long and I only had a bit to try and gain it back. As I tried to do this, I was also instructed by my doctor to tone it down and go to a dietitian in order to figure out how to adjust my pump, what to eat, how often to eat etc., while I'm running in order avoid constantly going low and the energy-zapping high.

I was still going to try and do the 10K but one of my friends wasn't feeling it. They were going to back out of the race entirely, so I said if they would at least walk it, I'd do it with them. After a few subsequent "I can't do this" attempts, I locked them in. However, this process was made even more difficult on race day when we woke-up to POURING rain. Not a light drizzle, not a mist, but sheets and sheets of rain. I texted all my friends to see what they wanted to do; in the end adventure won out with only three {cough} guy casualties. We decided to go to the race, see how bad it was raining and if it was really bad, we'd leave. When we arrived, we noticed the "sold out race" was missing a lot of people. Apparently they had the same thoughts as us!

We collected our packets, I put on my crappy don't-care-if-they-get-ruined running shoes, dug a hat out of my trunk and began to stretch. 30 minutes after we were suppose to start, we still hadn't. But good news was, the rain had settled down a bit, which made us all happy. I suppose true to the island ways, we started 45 minutes late and right as it began pouring rain...again. My friend (mentioned previously) wanted to do the 5K walk instead. I agreed on the 5K (I was wearing glasses after all) but said we should run it. I will admit I was secretly happy because the only time I do love aimless running is in the rain. We ran to the "loop" (a small neon-green poster board sign on the side of a two lane path), turned around and got almost to the end when we realized we had a slight problem... you know those little timer chips? Yeah, ours were programed for the 10K.

I think it's pretty obvious I'm not a star runner and therefore couldn't run 6.2 miles in approximately 30 minutes, so we decided to wait until the top few 10K women came through and jump in behind them, thus giving them the glory they deserved. Since it was still raining really hard, we found a tree and just kind of hung out (about 60 yards from the finish line) waiting for the first few to come in. After ten or so minutes, one of the officials came over and said, "Um, why are you hiding behind a tree?" We sheepishly told him why and laughing, he said, "Just a second, I'll go figure it out." A few minutes later he waved us across the finish line with all the other officiators laughing and clapping.

I was still nervous they'd count us in the 10K, but I should have known that as unorganized as they were, it wouldn't matter anyway! Our friend Gregory--who was doing the 10K--came in right behind us and was the #1 spot for guys, BUT only because the #1 guy got LOST following the officiating bike. Pretty organized race, aye? We sat underneath an umbrella and waited for the rest of our friends, enjoying the freebies of coconut water and... a box of brown rice??? When we'd all come in we were tired, sick of the rain, and (after a picture) quickly went our separate ways.

Today I got the results email and as I opened it, I couldn't help but laugh, thinking what my time could have been had I not hidden under a tree.

It's okay, I'm signed up to actually run a 10K in the fall. Pray for good weather, please!