RunnerGirlBlog.com

Race day dissapointment x 2

There are many reasons I love race day…yea, that list is crazy long.  Two of the biggies are the sense of accomplishment I feel upon completion of a well ran race and the camaraderie that comes along with a good race. There is something great about a race atmosphere and the excitement and energy that people exude. 

I left my last race sadly disappointed in my two favorite things.  Number one was all on me.  I ran a bad race.  There was no reason I couldn’t have met my goal of 10k in under 7’s per mile, no reason.  I turned out 7:04’s out of sheer lack of will.  I caved.  I could say it was the pouring rain or the scattered training because of my hip but those were the excuses I told myself that day to feel better about the fact I failed myself.  Real truth is just that, I failed me.  I had it in me.  My mind quit and my “pain cave” just isn’t big enough yet.  I learned a lot that day so I am not hating myself still but dang! that did stink.

Disappointment number two….mean girls.  What the heck?!  I noticed before the race there were a lot of racing shimmels similar to mine out there…not the same team but the same brand/color.  Hard to not notice awesome orange NB jerseys! J  They were running for a Lansing team that shall remain nameless as a courtesy.  I ran the majority of the race surrounded by a number of the girls and a few finished ahead of me.  Upon completion I went up to them by the water tables and said, “hey! great race!  What an inspiration you guys were, totally impressed.”  They looked at me, gave me a look, each had there own snide mean girl look and then started conversating as if I hadn’t just spoken….I thought, ok, they didn’t know how to handle nice people…after a little time passed and I was waiting for the 5k to finish I saw the pack o’ mean girls stroll by and I smiled and said, “great day for a run huh?!” insert sarcasm as pouring rain…again, not one word just weird looks.  I was a bit taken back as I am out of high school and thought that they were too.  You see I am sponsored by a store and shoe company, I am sponsored because I am a fairly good runner and they believe I would be good representation for their companies.  These girls were sponsored too, only difference is they were horrible representation for the store they were sponsored by.  Unless the attitude that the store wants to convey is that of rude unfriendly runners….doesn’t much make me want to drive the hour to run that race again and SURELY if I were living in that area I would not be frequenting that store or there run clubs or clinics.  It’s a shame really…running is a beautiful sport; perhaps they just don’t know it.