beginnings

Tonight I run my first official race ever. I have a number (292, not so lucky but not so bad either) and even a computer chip. This will be the first of nine races I have to run this year in order to be automatically entered into the 2006 NYC Ing Marathon.

I was going to wait another month or so before entering any races, but the circumstances of this one were too good to resist. It seems that we are racing under The Gates at night, which is a view that very few ever will get to experience. Night in Central Park? Rare in general, I suppose. It’s only a 5K, which is just over 3 miles, so the distance won't kill me.

So here I am, planning out my time and meals before the race when a thought hits me.

What if I am last?

Like, very last to cross the finish line last? When I signed up I was aware I would probably be running slowly, about an 11-minute mile. One of my good friends who races often does a 10-minute mile and tends to place in the middle, so it seemed I would be safe.

But then I started thinking about the races she runs and the race I'm about to run. She runs the big ones, you know, with tons of entries in good climates. I joined a 2000 person race in Feb. How many non-hardcore runners are going to join? *Gulp*

Here's hoping that someone gets a leg cramp...