So, it was the summer before my senior year of high school. I was 17 and I had a car. I didn't care about anything but my friends, the mall and my tan lines. I mean hello? Those were the only important things in the world! I spent the whole summer roasting by the beach, driving around town, going to the mall, doing high school things, right? In other words, not working out or caring about exercise of any imaginable kind.
And then pre-season started and I was out of shape (along with almost everyone on the team) and Coach told us to run this 5k 3 days into pre-season so we did.
I didn't do too badly being 17 and completely out of shape and having never run more than a mile in my life. I finished in 31:04 at a 10:21 pace and place 32nd out of 40 in my age group. So, not terrible.
But Christy...how is that a confession? So you didn't do too hot on your first race, what's the big deal, you ask?
Well...I finished that race, yes. But I didn't run the 5k. I cheated. *Gasp*
At least I didn't cheat Boston a la Rosie Ruiz!
That's right. I cheated the first race I ever ran. It was a standard out and back loop and I was running with 2 of my friends and at about Mile 0.25 we were absolutely dying, so we cut through the park and walked toward where the race started and snuck back into the race and crossed the finish line pretending we ran the whole race. Looking back on it now, I think it's hilarious. In our defense, it was pretty stupid of our coach to make us sign up for this race when none of us had ever run any kind of distance before. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that to feel better about it.
I'm not proud of this moment, so it was time to confess. To be honest, I think it's funny that I cheated my way through 3.1 miles because I hated running when 7 years later, I'm a running enthusiast who just set a new Half-Marathon PR.
There's my confession! Do you have any running or race related confessions? I'd love to hear them!
