New Year's Day 5km...He nearly beat me edition

Hello Dear Reader,

Just as I said I would, my lovely Ethiopian and I (actually) woke up on New Year's Day, to run the New Year's Day 5km race in Chicago. We woke up super late, and almost bailed on the event because of it. Luckily, we were staying two blocks from Lincoln Park, so there would have been no real excuse to offer you (and ourselves).

Chicago: ridiculously cold and windy for no good reason! Me...with my snazzy new running clothes on. My Ethiopian: a t-shirt, track pants, and a pair of Sketchers on. Both of us getting in a pre-race run (read: mad dash to the park because we were late) to the park, arriving just in time to register and line up.

My lovely guy and I started off in the middle of the pack. Running across the way from him, I yelled, "Go Haile! Go!" (As in Haile Gerbersalassie...the best long distance runner...and Ethiopian extraordinaire). Perhaps I said that a little too much, because before I knew it, my boy took off running. I had to duck and dive other runners just to catch up.

Finally, after a little over a mile, the runner that could started to slow down to a walk. Even though I hadn't run much at all since I'd been home, was cold, and tired, I couldn't go down like that. I had to leave my guy behind. Kicking it up into high gear to recover lost time, I passed people left, right, front and center. No cold, out of shape body, or flat Chicago street was going to make me cross the finish line over 30 minutes! Not.a.chance.

I could drag this story out, but it would be unnecessarily longer than a 5km deserves...so long story short, I crossed the finish line at 27 minutes...and by golly, my lovely, out of shape, no running since September, Ethiopian crossed at 30 minutes. What? What just happened here? Lawd, take the wheel! I'm comin' home to Jesus!

The only thing that distracted me from the fact that, I'm in much better shape and for all intents and purposes, he beat me, was the guy who came up to us and told my guy how he'd been trying to catch up to me the whole time. He said, "Man, you're competitive!" Yes, yes I am!

Being the humble guy he is, my Ethiopian didn't say a word about the 3 minute time difference. He pleasantly ate his brunch at the neighborhood cafe, and we enjoyed the rest of our day. It was only until he returned home and reenacted his 3 weeks of fun in the US over coffee with his friends like he was at a LARP festival, did the bragging start. He admitted that he told his friends, "If I can run that fast and not train at all, and she's been running for a long time, I wonder how good I'll be if I actually worked at it. Being Ethiopian has its benefits!" (I took artistic liberties in reconstructing his statement. Sue me.)

Soon, my lovely guy will be relocating close enough to me that we can schedule a rematch. Until then, I need to hustle to get back on my running game. The outcome of the New Year's Day 5km can never happen again!

The End!

So until next time...you know how it goes...one foot in front of the other...keep it movin'!

Yours in (What? I still can't believe it) training,

Dani