KCCC week is here! 400m

   Tonight was the first of the track events, the 400m dash. And the day was indeed a mad dash, as I lost a few competitors early on due to injuries & had to scramble to fill all the spots! In the end, we had only 1 spot that wasn't filled, so it could have been worse!
   It was a BEAUTIFUL night to run; today was much cooler than this past weekend, and the humidity was in check. A perfect night, really. Corporate Challenge is a lot of fun because although the events are highly competitive, there's no bloodlust that would dampen the mood. Every single woman in the race was greeted with enthusiastic clapping & genuine words of encouragement as she entered the home stretch—from spectators & competitors from all the other companies. That's class. And I was happy to have the honor of representing Hallmark. 
   The women are grouped into 5-year-increments by age and placed into heats of up to 8 runners. I was in lane 6 of heat 3. Which gave me plenty of time to get my adrenaline pumping with anticipation. As our race was approaching, I lined up with the other women from my heat & we chatted. Looking down the line I saw one woman in particular who was built like a gazelle. She was the fastest-looking one in the field. There goes that adrenaline again! I had my work cut out for me.
   Another woman (who may have sized me up & written me off too soon, although she was so friendly I'll never know for sure) looked me in the eye and said, "You gonna win this?" 
   "Well, I'm sure gonna try!" I responded.

   We were up next, and were first lined up in our lanes by number, then staggered so that we were all running the same distance, accounting for the inside/outside lanes. I was way on the outside, wondering which lane would give you the psychological advantage: the innermost lane, because all your competition starts ahead of you, beckoning for you to catch up? Or the outermost lane, because you start in front and can push yourself hard as you hear feet pounding the track & heaving breaths behind you? Even after running, I have no idea which I'd prefer. But lane 6 must have been my lucky lane, because I came in SECOND out of EIGHT. I was pumping so hard I have no idea what my finish time was (Jennifer guessed 1:24; official time was 1:23.395, earning 5 points), and I didn't see or hear my Hallmark teammates cheering me on from the sidelines. I effectively had tuned everything out. The one thing I noticed is that I beat the woman who asked me if I'd win. More fuel for the fire, on that theory that setting your intentions BEFORE you take action is critical to achieving them. If you don't aim high you'll always miss the mark.
   Henry, who was not running tonight but came out just to take photographs & support the team, kindly met me at the finish line with a cup of water & a huge smile. Tom shook my hand & told me that I "looked good out there; (my) form was good and (I) maintained a consistent speed around the track." He said I was fun to watch. I was walking on air after that. I actually felt like an athlete.
   Did I earn a medal? No. Am I a talented runner? Hell, no! But it felt so good to be outside enjoying the weather, enjoying the camaraderie of the athletes, and challenging myself to see what I could do. Because unless you really give it a try, you'll never know.

   Being Hallmark's women's track coordinator has been a great experience so far. Yes, it has been a little crazy & a lot of work. But I've met some cool people and am so looking forward to the events of the next four days. Janet asked me if she could count on me again for next year. And without missing a beat, Emma volunteered to assist me. How can I say no? I'm part of a great team, and what could be better than that?