When I ran in the Fontana Days 5K in June, I got a gift bag that came with assorted goodies. Among other things, it came with a medal. I didn't get anything of the sort from the Mud Run. So when I found out that I could get a medal for running in the Mission Inn Run, I was excited.
The first 100 finishers get a medal. So all I have to do then is finish in the top 100.
Well, after I saw results from last year I don't think I'll be getting a medal. The winner ran the 10K in 33:10. That's just ridiculous. Of course, I don't fancy myself as being in the lead or anything like that but the top 100... well, that may be a goal I thought I could have strived for.
Last year, though, 100th place finished the race in 46:15.
Originally I thought perhaps under 50 minutes would be a good time. So I'd have to shave five minutes off of that just to medal, five minutes off a time I thought I had a chance of running if I ran hard.
Needless to say, it's not going to happen. But it's actually a good thing. I want to finish the race, finish it in a time that I can feel good about but mostly finish the race. If I start thinking about running it in a certain time or beating a certain amount of people, it won't do me any good.
It's never been about time for me. Running races or just running whenever has never been about time. Sure, I keep track of my time. And I set goals and things like that. But I don't feel like I'm competing against the clock or trying to win something or whatever. My first goal is to finish. Now, that also entails other things - running continuously, maintaining my heart rate at a certain pace, etc. - but mostly it's to finish. A distant second is time. I figure if I'm going to run I may as well do it in a respectable time. Now, respectable means to me. I don't want to think I'm better than those who finished after me and I certainly don't feel like less of a person than those who beat me.
So medal or not, I'll be satisfied with having run in and completed the Mission Inn Run.
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