Finished alive, but, oy the chafing.

My older daughter has been participating in this program Girls on the Run for about two years now, with each year having a sping and a fall session.  The grand finale of each session is running in a 5K here in town.  Last fall, my wife participated, and this spring, the 5K was the same weekend we had already planned to go out of town to Republic.  This time though, there was nothing saving me from being volunteered to accompany my daughter. 

Because I was in a state of denial, I did nothing to get ready for this 5K, and for once, not getting my way saved me.  One of my...issues with the Girls on the Run program is it's more about 'girl power' and less about the running...they don't really 'push' the girls to run any faster or further...it's all 'do your best at your pace', which is fine I guess...it's just not how boys were taught to participate when I was growing up.

Talk about a life-saver.  If my daughter had been really running for 2-years, I would most likely be dead somewhere out on the course.  As it is, I was able to let her set the pace, with me doing some very light 'prodding'.  We probably ended up doing about 1/3rd running, 2/3rds walking, and I was never once the limiting factor, more through shear 'mental toughness'.  No way was I going to let my 10-year old outrun me, which meant I had to push on through some hellacious chafing.  I can't even begin to imagine what kind of physical discomfort marathon runners put up...it's beyond my comprehension how anyone can enjoy running.  Back in high school, I used to run to cut weight...but never once have I ran because I 'enjoyed it'.

In the end, we finished, we were in the middle of the 'not taking it seriously' pack, and we had enough strength left to smile.