Third Place
I was somehow registered to run the race. It was a track meet, and the event was hurdles. There were only two people registered for that event, and so it looked like I was in a good position to get second place.
We started off. I ran with everything I had, jumping those hurdles like I was determined to prove to the world that I was not a rotten egg. Alas, the girl I was competing against was no rotten egg either. We were neck and neck, except she must have been a giraffe because she was ten feet in front of me. My strength was sapped, my energy leaking away. I had nothing left in me. But wait! Apparently neither did the either girl, for she suddenly collapsed, her body completely spent she had nothing left to give. I thought that looked like a pretty good deal, so I collapsed as well. We'll lay here for a while, I thought to myself, then maybe get up and finish the race when we're feeling better. That was my plan. Until, unbidden, some completely foreign emotion began to creep over me: competitiveness. I could win this I realized. There were only three or four hurdles left to go, and she was laying there, unmoving! It was my time to shine! Since I didn't actually have any energy left to complete the race in style, I got up on all four and half crawled, half dragged myself up, over the hurdles, and across the finish line.
I had won. First place! And yes, that was the dream I had last night. Is it sad that I am so tired, even in my sleep? Hmm...
On Friday we found ourselves driving to Omaha to drop Devin off for the Market to Market Relay Race. He and five teammates would embark the following morning on an 86 mile run from Omaha to Lincoln, following back roads, country roads, corn fields, etc. They managed to come in 33 place out of 233 other teams overall, and they came in THIRD place in their own category.
Because I am still feeling that competitive spirit from my dream last night, let's compare:
1. Devin came in THIRD place, whereas I clearly came in FIRST
2. Devin had a team to run with, meaning he got breaks every few hours before he had to run again. I was running solo, there was no one to back me up!
3. Devin was just running up and down hills, where the slope is very gradual and easy to maneuver. I had to actually jump over a couple hurdles, three feet tall!
4. He was running in the middle of the day, with the bright sunshine and warm (ok, extremely hot) weather to keep him energized and focused. He had access to power bars and bagels to replenish his energy levels. I was running in the middle of the night, with no access to brownies or cupcakes or anything to keep my energy up (apparently my dream self didn't think of providing it).
I think, all in all, you should be really impressed with my first place win. I know I am.
We started off. I ran with everything I had, jumping those hurdles like I was determined to prove to the world that I was not a rotten egg. Alas, the girl I was competing against was no rotten egg either. We were neck and neck, except she must have been a giraffe because she was ten feet in front of me. My strength was sapped, my energy leaking away. I had nothing left in me. But wait! Apparently neither did the either girl, for she suddenly collapsed, her body completely spent she had nothing left to give. I thought that looked like a pretty good deal, so I collapsed as well. We'll lay here for a while, I thought to myself, then maybe get up and finish the race when we're feeling better. That was my plan. Until, unbidden, some completely foreign emotion began to creep over me: competitiveness. I could win this I realized. There were only three or four hurdles left to go, and she was laying there, unmoving! It was my time to shine! Since I didn't actually have any energy left to complete the race in style, I got up on all four and half crawled, half dragged myself up, over the hurdles, and across the finish line.
I had won. First place! And yes, that was the dream I had last night. Is it sad that I am so tired, even in my sleep? Hmm...
On Friday we found ourselves driving to Omaha to drop Devin off for the Market to Market Relay Race. He and five teammates would embark the following morning on an 86 mile run from Omaha to Lincoln, following back roads, country roads, corn fields, etc. They managed to come in 33 place out of 233 other teams overall, and they came in THIRD place in their own category.
Because I am still feeling that competitive spirit from my dream last night, let's compare:
1. Devin came in THIRD place, whereas I clearly came in FIRST
2. Devin had a team to run with, meaning he got breaks every few hours before he had to run again. I was running solo, there was no one to back me up!
3. Devin was just running up and down hills, where the slope is very gradual and easy to maneuver. I had to actually jump over a couple hurdles, three feet tall!
4. He was running in the middle of the day, with the bright sunshine and warm (ok, extremely hot) weather to keep him energized and focused. He had access to power bars and bagels to replenish his energy levels. I was running in the middle of the night, with no access to brownies or cupcakes or anything to keep my energy up (apparently my dream self didn't think of providing it).
I think, all in all, you should be really impressed with my first place win. I know I am.
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| Devin and his team. And ok, seriously, we are really proud of him. |
This was a great post. One question though: If you are running in a dream, are you still burning as many calories? If so, I am totally switching to this diet.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. :) Devin is so impressive, Ames. :) And so are you!! (At first I thought this was going to be a HS flashback ha ha.)
ReplyDeleteWas it a random dream girl? or someone you knew? Just curious...
ReplyDelete