Operation 2015: A May Race in June and the kindness of strangers.

Well, it's been a while. Mostly because my May race for Operation 2015 happened last night. Yes, I know it's June. Yes I know I said one race per month. But I can't control the weather and my May race was unfortunately postponed due to flooding in Texas. And I made the call that an "Act of God" meant that my May race in June still counted.

Last night was my first ever night race. And it will more than likely be my last*.

To say it didn't go well would be an understatement. 15 minutes prior to start, it started pouring rain. Luckily, it was a passing cloud and the race officials just delayed the start a bit. However, it made the humidity a little terrible. Okay, a lot terrible.

Now, I've been doing better about running regularly since the last time I wrote on here. But, my long runs have been lacking due to time, heat, and feeling sick. So I knew making it 13.1 would be a challenge. But I didn't count on the challenge it actually turned out to be.

After mile 1, the humidity was too much. I had to stop running. I wanted to quit. I wanted to quit so so so so badly. But I couldn't. Because this race was for Sarah.

Now, some of you may remember me talking about Sarah in my March recap. And those of you who know me may have known Sarah too. Long story short, I had a friend named Sarah who got sick earlier this year and died last Monday. She was 25, too young, and the funeral was yesterday. I couldn't make it to Virginia for it, so instead I ran for her.

But after the first mile, I wanted to quit. But I couldn't because I was running for Sarah. So I kept one foot in front of the other and found a group of walkers to hang with. Eventually, their pace was even too much for me and I lost them. For a while I was alone and it was dark and creepy and I wasn't enjoying myself AT ALL.

And that's when I was passed by Emily. I caught up to her and I asked her if she was walking and she said yes. And I asked if she wanted company. And thankfully, she said yes. And she and I kept each other going for the next 7 miles (or more). She was the only reason I finished. Someone made sure we found each other to get each other through.

I like to think that someone was Sarah.

I finished. It was ugly, it was near the time limit, and I was second to last. But I finished without cutting any corners or giving up. And that's what counts right?

I may never night race again*, or at least not in Texas in June. Definitely not a good idea. This week I have to recover as much as possible and get my legs ready for my June race, which is next Sunday. Not ideal, but we'll make it work.

Run on.




*The only exception to me saying this will be if I ever find myself able to run the Wine & Dine at Walt Disney World. I would make that work.