30 April 2011

The Very First Race I Entered...

...didn't happen. Not for me.

my high school besties are identical twins... and they are still friends of mine :)

When I was a senior in high school, my best friends and I used to convince each other that not-so-fun things were actually really fun... like going out for the soccer team when none of us had ever played before...

SOCCER
I'm in the back row, next to the goalie who is in all black. My two besties are also in the back row, one next to me and the other is third from the left.

or going out for the field hockey team when none of us had ever played before...

FIELD HOCKEY
JV, baby :) My buddies made varsity. We sucked so badly. I am back row on the far left... goober-girl.
What you don't know is that our school colors were red and gold... those poly/nylon blend sleeveless shirts were a hideous shade of yellow and our lovely kilts were scratchy red.

or running in the 7.5-mile San Francisco Bay to Breakers when none of us had EVER run before... aside from the running we were forced to do for the above-mentioned teams.

GYMNASTICS
Front row, left... with all the hair... and taller than everyone else :P
My buddies are: second from right, front row and the one with the braces holding up her head.

I think we were using it as an excuse to delay heading off to gymnastics practice (another of our bonding sports... but they were actually good at it, and I was not :P ).  The three of us were not crazy about the new coach, and "training" for the B2B was a legit 'out' of going to practice... for a couple of weeks anyway until the race.  Our "training" consisted of going out to the school track and starting to jog, making it about a quarter of the way around while telling jokes or complaining about various teenager-y things, bursting into laughter that made us literally fall down and roll around in the grass of the football field until we nearly (or did) pee in our pants.  Laughing so hard that no sound comes out. I love laughing that hard. But it is not conducive to training for a long running race.

We signed up to do a Jog-a-thon somewhere in the middle of the training... as many laps as you could do in an hour... money pledged for each lap... money to go to a charity, I forget which one. I think we all ran 5 miles in that hour. We felt pretty freakin' awesome for just doing it... and pretty freakin' wiped and sore because we were totally NOT ready for that.

All the stress from the not training must have compromised my immune system because I got bronchitis within a week of the race. I planned on giving it a shot anyway... 'cuz that's how I am ;-)  But my mom flipped her lid. And since I was still a kid and needed to listen to my folks, I didn't run :(  But my friends did! They said it was awful and that they wished they'd had bronchitis, too. They said I was lucky to have bronchitis. Whew. After that race report, I was soooooo glad I had been sick :P

Ironically, the next time the Bay to Breakers entered into my life was when I had just moved back to the San Francisco area after being away for most of my young adulthood. I entered the race and did not run a step prior to the race. I did all my training on the StairMaster!  lol  I finished in 70 minutes and then raced off to work, where my legs seized up and I was pretty much useless for that whole day and several after it!  (= boss not happy )

Third time's a charm, right?

Here I am... poised on the edge of another trip to San Francisco to run up and over the Hayes Street Hill and then fly through Golden Gate Park (I'd say 'streak', but there will actually be streakers and I won't be running naked). This time I have trained. This time I will be ready. I might not be superfast, but I know I can finish it without losing my job... or, most likely, my breakfast!

I had set a time fantasy goal for myself of one hour flat. That would mean I'd run 8:02 miles the whole way. I am not that fast. I accept that. And someone reminded me that this is the 100th Anniversary running of the race ... there are 50,000 competitors and countless bandits and infinity meddling interested bystanders to contend with so speed is going to be very, very relative :)

Two weeks more weeks of prep... the focus will be on staying healthy and having fun! I want a new experience for this race :)

14 comments:

  1. This is such a cool post! You were so athletic even in high school!
    Good luck running again this year!
    :)

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  2. So awesome! Totally cracking up that you guys did all that! Had to be some kind of school record. ;) Love it!
    You'll have a blast at B2B! Can't wait to hear about that one!

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  3. I found your blog through a blog hop and am now following you with FB & GFC. I'd love it if you could stop by http://moneysavvymichelle.com and follow me back. Thanks and have a great weekend!

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  4. I'm envious of how athletic you have always been. I have never been. Such great pictures you have!

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  5. How exciting! I tell myself I want to run... but then reality sinks in ha ha. Good luck! I hope you'll tell us how it goes.

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  6. Love it! Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Marjorie! I actually forgot that you didn't run it (but I do remember our striped dolphin shorts). Good luck in the B2B this year and I'm thinking you'll keep up your 8:02 and maybe even break your hour goal...you've never been one to back down from a challenge!

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  7. Are you sure about the "au naturel" running? Heck even this month's Runner's World has an article on it. And in San Francisco, who would notice one more nekkid person?

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  8. Those are some great memories! I thought I was the only one crazy enough to do some of those things in high school...well, we did different crazy things. =D

    Love the photos- B & W!!!
    Get ready for the race- it's gonna be awesome!

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  9. Haha, I love all those photos. What a fun memory to relive. And I am sure you will do great this time around. Looking forward to hearing all about it in a few weeks here!
    I am so glad that you linked up to the Storytellers Blog Hop! I now get a good chance to have a look at your site :) All the best!

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  10. Your newest follower here from the weekend blog hop. Hope you could follow me back. Thanks! http://aimee-girltalk.blogspot.com

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  11. Good luck to you - I'm sure 3rd time will be the charm :) If not, just enjoy SF! :)

    -Stephanie
    henry  happened

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  12. Thanks for finding me that I may find you! As for this post...well, you're pretty awesome just for trying!! Wishing you the best :-))

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  13. Love it! I had to read Kim's post before writing mine, so that I didn't repeat everything she said, but ditto on hers anyway! We'll all want to see photos/videos of your B2B, so be sure and sprint between photo ops to keep up your race pace! Have fun!

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