In February, OFCU was a sponsor of a local charity event, the CHINS/SERTOMA 5K Freedom Fun Run. The proceeds from this event go to help several worthwhile causes in the Alamogordo area. In the past, OFCU has always had a good turnout for this fundraiser. This year, we had 16 employees sign up. One of those 16 was myself. One of our staff members, Steven, said he was a sprinter in high school, and if I wanted to make a friendly wager for lunch, that he would OWN me, as I was way too old (43) to beat him. I said sure, just to make the day a little more interesting. Well, at the next exec. meeting, that wager was brought up, and our other OFCU blogger, Tamra, stated she wanted in on that wager. Now the fun begins, as our VP of Finance, Evelyn was willing to wager that Tamra, being way younger than I, would beat me as well. Now, I don't want anyone out there to think that all we do at OFCU is gamble on 5K runs. Some of us actually do go to the casino in Mescalero and wager the legal way, in an attempt to help the local economy, and maybe, just maybe, hit the big jackpot.
OK, so I now have the task of racing not one, but two, twentysomethings. I was a soccer player in high school, as well as playing several other competitive sports, but as Tamra stated "what was that, like 25 years ago." That and the fact that our VP of Finance, was willing to wager against me, was all the motivation I needed to really start training for this event. I start going to the gym that very evening, as I had only 3 weeks to train. The phrase, "no thank you, I'm in training" was heard frequently around the office as I put in the miles for this event. Every night I would run at least 30 minutes. Every night I would run a farther distance in that time. Within 10 days of the event, Tamra would text me and tell me she ran the 5K (3.1 miles) in 29 minutes, 45 seconds. Strangely, her times were always very close to the times I was running. I knew I had my work cut out for me. Three days before the big race, my bum left knee started acting up. I knew I was in shape for the race, so I laid off the last two days and rested myself, drinking large quantities of Gatorade to fully hydrate myself.
Race day is finally here! I put on my new Adidas running shorts and my black Nike headband(donated by what seemed like my only in-office supporter, VP of Human Resources, Elsa)and headed for the race site. When I arrived, I saw many high school cross-country runners and immediately realized my chances of winning the overall category were slim and none. Who knows maybe I could win the Seniors division, as Steven liked to call it, or my actual age group, 40-49.
As I stretched and lined up at the starting line, I felt an adrenalin rush that I had not felt in what, like 25 years. As the race started, I bolted to an early lead on my competitors, and was actually near the overall lead for about half a mile. I felt like I had a good pace going, but I was too scared to turn around and look back for my two twentysomethings. At the one mile mark, I looked at my stopwatch, and realized I had run a 7 minute, 20 second mile. Way too fast for me to keep that up that pace. As I got to the uphill part of the race, my time definitely slowed down, but I still ran the 2nd mile in 8 minutes 15 seconds. Still, way faster than I had anticipated, and yes, I was still too scared to look in my rear view mirror for my two competitors. When I completed the uphill part of the race and started the last 3/4 miles towards the finish line, I finally looked back and realized I had dusted my competition and victory was in my grasp. I pushed myself hard towards the finish line, and my immediate goal was to pass the two gentleman in front of me. I was able to do that, just barely, and when I crossed the finish line, I looked at my watch and realized I had run the 3.1 miles in 24 minutes 44 seconds. And to top it off, I actually won my age group!
Looking back on this event, I told our President, Juanita, that I don't want anyone placing a wager on this race next year, as I really don't want to have to train so hard again.
I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!
P.S.- Steven, I'm still waiting on the lunch you owe me.
OK, so I now have the task of racing not one, but two, twentysomethings. I was a soccer player in high school, as well as playing several other competitive sports, but as Tamra stated "what was that, like 25 years ago." That and the fact that our VP of Finance, was willing to wager against me, was all the motivation I needed to really start training for this event. I start going to the gym that very evening, as I had only 3 weeks to train. The phrase, "no thank you, I'm in training" was heard frequently around the office as I put in the miles for this event. Every night I would run at least 30 minutes. Every night I would run a farther distance in that time. Within 10 days of the event, Tamra would text me and tell me she ran the 5K (3.1 miles) in 29 minutes, 45 seconds. Strangely, her times were always very close to the times I was running. I knew I had my work cut out for me. Three days before the big race, my bum left knee started acting up. I knew I was in shape for the race, so I laid off the last two days and rested myself, drinking large quantities of Gatorade to fully hydrate myself.
Race day is finally here! I put on my new Adidas running shorts and my black Nike headband(donated by what seemed like my only in-office supporter, VP of Human Resources, Elsa)and headed for the race site. When I arrived, I saw many high school cross-country runners and immediately realized my chances of winning the overall category were slim and none. Who knows maybe I could win the Seniors division, as Steven liked to call it, or my actual age group, 40-49.
As I stretched and lined up at the starting line, I felt an adrenalin rush that I had not felt in what, like 25 years. As the race started, I bolted to an early lead on my competitors, and was actually near the overall lead for about half a mile. I felt like I had a good pace going, but I was too scared to turn around and look back for my two twentysomethings. At the one mile mark, I looked at my stopwatch, and realized I had run a 7 minute, 20 second mile. Way too fast for me to keep that up that pace. As I got to the uphill part of the race, my time definitely slowed down, but I still ran the 2nd mile in 8 minutes 15 seconds. Still, way faster than I had anticipated, and yes, I was still too scared to look in my rear view mirror for my two competitors. When I completed the uphill part of the race and started the last 3/4 miles towards the finish line, I finally looked back and realized I had dusted my competition and victory was in my grasp. I pushed myself hard towards the finish line, and my immediate goal was to pass the two gentleman in front of me. I was able to do that, just barely, and when I crossed the finish line, I looked at my watch and realized I had run the 3.1 miles in 24 minutes 44 seconds. And to top it off, I actually won my age group!
Looking back on this event, I told our President, Juanita, that I don't want anyone placing a wager on this race next year, as I really don't want to have to train so hard again.
I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!
P.S.- Steven, I'm still waiting on the lunch you owe me.
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