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Colfax

 I identify as a runner.

Not a great runner, mind you. Just a runner. For most of my life running has been an important part of most days. Not always the best part, just a part.

Recently Gabe has been bitten by the running bug. Like all things Gabe does, he needs a competition. He wants a start, a finish, and preferably some awards at the end. I have spent years trying to get Gabe to run with me and now all of my dreams have come true. My brother, Joel, recently pointed out that I am so lucky as to have an adult child who CHOOSES to spend time with me running, I should probably get my act together and really lean into it. 

It was guilt that pushed me to enter the Colfax marathon with Gabe. It was not altruistic motherhood, or a genuine joy in competition. Instead, guilt made me do it.

Guilt and perimenopause. Perimenopause is kicking my ass. I am not really ready to talk about it, except that it is pretty much all I can talk about, so here we are. For the last three months I have thrown myself into my copied-off-the-internet-free-training plan. Despite feeling more than a little ambiguous about my race, I went all in. I have to fight off the perimenopause slide, I am doing it hard core. Nic has sat back entertained as I have run all over the neighborhood, our town, and our park. Gabe and my friends have timed me and cheered me and warned me to rest, eat, and be gentle.

When at last the day of my race arrived, it dawned very, very early. Because I do not believe in paying for hotels unless absolutely necessary, I chose to drive down the morning of the race. Gabe and I had planned to meet up before the race - except he was a running a full marathon, and I was only doing the half. Furthermore, Gabe can be a little 'anxious' and does not always want his mother standing there making him take selfies with her before the race he is planning on winning.

Gabe's race day plan:

Wake up early and fuel his body with protein and rich, healthy food.

Be at the park at 4:45a.m.

Go to the bathroom.

Warm up.

Stretch.

Jog about.

Breath.

Go to the bathroom again.

Run.



My race day plan

Roll out of bed, throwing on dirty clothes, gulping coffee as I race out the door.

Drive one hour to Denver. 

FORGET I am running the Colfax marathon and try to drive down Colfax.

Make Jamie get out of bed and drive me to the park.

Arrive at 5:45 a.m.

Do not go to the bathroom.

Do not stretch.

Do not breath.

Instead, run for the start because traffic was a nightmare.

Frantically try to find Gabe so I can take a selfie with him.

Do not find Gabe.

Wait.

Run.


I also forgot a post-race plan. This meant that Gabe, Jamie, and I all wandered around City Park in Denver aimlessly looking for each with no cell service and no plan. Gabe could barely walk because he was trying to win a marathon. I could barely walk due to the sprint I had before my half. Somehow we found each other. Our next task was remembering where Jamie parked the car. 

The good news: He was positive he had parked somewhere on Colfax. The bad news: Colfax is a very long street. Sweating, starving, and trying hard to hold it together, we wandered down the road, confident that the next parking lot held the car. It did not.

In desperation, Gabe flopped down in front of a weed dispensary/pizza shop declaring he could not walk another step. I persevered and guess WHAT?! We found the car!!

Then we drove 30 minutes for a burger - at which point my AC decided not to work. And then thirty minutes back, and then an hour home. Where I finally laid my head down and let my legs convulse at will.

I feel like I should mention, but I am sure it is pretty obvious, that while I identify as a runner, I do not identify as a planner. However, if I ever run a race again, I hope these little notes will help remind me to stretch, breath, and go to the bathroom before I run.

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