Monday, August 5, 2013

Our last run together

Our last run together.
South Salt Lake was hot and there was construction and it was noisy - and it was awesome.
The street, the dip, and the light...
Stats: 3.1 miles in 37:33 for a 12:07mpm pace

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Corporate Games, 2013 - our last race together

This race was part of the Salt Lake County Corporate Games. I was on the team with Russell, Ethan, Paula, and (of course) Carol. This is probably the last race we'll ever run together. We both say that we're going to meet up and run together again, but I just don't see it in the financial cards. I hope so, but it's not very realistic. So, it was an emotional day.

Carol and I met up very early and stretched. Then, we volunteered to help with the set up and got the assignment of marking the course. I can't stand this course, and this year's changes made it even worse (if that's possible).
When the race started, I took off and kept a very good pace for 2/3 of the race. Ethan and Russell are very fast, so they were obviously our top two runners. Then, Paula passed me and I passed her and she passed me and etc. Finally, I decided that I didn't care. Paula had this, and it was her first-ever Corp Games race. I let her have it. It was more important for me to finish the race with Carol than to finish third for our team.

I simply stopped and waited for her to catch up.

When she caught me, she asked how I had done (assuming that I had finished and had come back to cheer her on). I replied that I hadn't finished yet. "Oh, Kaye - you didn't need to do that!" With tears in my eyes, I replied "Yes, I did. You know that I did." So, we ran and walked to the finish line. There were times on the path where we had to run single-file, and I was in front of her. It was during those times that I had a hard time breathing because of the lump in my throat. I wiped the tears away several times.

At the finish line, our co-workers cheered wildly for her - knowing that it was her last event with the company - and her hubby and sister did the same. We were side-by-side to the actual finish line. Right before we crossed, I stopped in my tracks and let her finish in front of me. That probably wouldn't have meant anything to anyone else, but it meant something to me and it meant something to her.

Afterwards, we made our way to the water and got some icy bottles. Our co-workers came over and congratulated us/her. She told them what I had done, and we both cried. Then, she left to find her hubby (and dry her eyes) while I continued to cry. Russell hugged me, and I managed to pull myself together.
I saw her one last time in the parking lot. We hugged and cried again for a couple of moments, and that was it. Our (probably) last race together.

Stats: 3.2 miles in 31:00 for a 9:41mpm pace