First Day, Last Place

I am not a morning person. Still, when I have something important to do in the mornings like a flight to catch, a final exam, or the first day of triathlon class, I pop AWAKE exactly on time (this rule never applies to work or class). My morning went a little something like this:

6:45 - woke up, brushed teeth, pulled on various spandex items of clothing, and threw up. My day was off to a whizz-bang start.

7:30 - pulled up to the training group at the park. For our running classes, we're joining with another training group in town. There were maybe 50 people there. I am ashamed to admit it, but there were two really large women there, and I was really relieved to see them. It's one of women's worst truths: we never want to be the biggest girl in the room. We welcome fatter women, because it makes us feel less self-conscious. Sad? Sick? Yes.

7:45 - We all walked over to a track for our warm up. I thought this might involve some stretching. Nope. We ran half a mile. Then we did ten minutes of sprint drills. THEN we stretched. This might have been when I noticed that the two really large women...had left. Damn.

8:15 - This is when the real action started. Time for us to break into groups and run a 5k!! The point was to figure out what your time is, then find the pace group you fit into. Super. This part I know how to do, thanks to my "Become An Athlete 2005" campaign. Last year the formula went something like this: Chronic Overachiever + Unrealistic Expectations + My Friend Jenni = MARATHON!! Those are stories for another day, but the point is that I surely know how to run with a pace group.

8:20 - Things start sliding downhill. Now, the brochure clearly stated "WALKERS WELCOME!!!". I did feel welcome. There were, however, no walkers. The slowest pace group was for an 11 minute mile. So, by default, this was my group. We're off!!

8:22 - My group is quickly leaving me in the dust.

8:35 - My group is off in the distance. It's just me. And one super old dude way behind me.

8:45 - I hear the pitter patter of old man feet behind me. That's right!!! I've been smoked by the elderly.

9:03 - So my goal was to finish under 45 minutes. I was going to be happy with that, remember? I can see the finish line, and I'm right on track for that. It doesn't feel good, though, because I am totally the last person. THE LAST.

9:05 - I finished in 45 minutes and 30 seconds. Not great, not bad. Kind of what I expected. In the context of this group, though, I just SUCK.

9:10 - While I sip Poweraide back at the start line, I hear a group of the runners assembling to do an 8 mile run. You know, to really work out, since everything we've done that morning doesn't count.

So there you have it. I finished in the time I expected, but I was straight up last.

Here's my reality, and I'm going to have to be ok with it: in this class, I suck. In this class, I am the girl everyone is relieved is there, because it means they will never be last.

But here's the reality as well: sitting at home this morning are tons of people too scared to try.

So, I'm just going to have to be happy with that accomplishment: I got out of bed and I finished. Last.