To Flake Can Be A Win

I'll come right out and say it.

I flaked on my 5K today.

This is where I ran (well, walked and ran) instead.

It happened at about 5:30 this morning, after the alarm had gone off twice and I had made a quick bathroom trip. The coziness of my bed overwhelmed all the other inconveniences of participating in the Race For The Pennant.

Don't get me wrong. I had my reasons. Once you see these, I think you will agree with me.

First came the money issue. Now, things can't be all about the money, or at least that's what I tell my husband. But this was strongly steeped in it. To run in this race would have cost a total of about $40 dollars, between the entry fee, the parking, and the gas and wear and tear on the car. I don't mind spending that money, and have proven this in the past, if I can run the race my way. My way is to run it fast, run it hard, and run it for a PR. Because of my current ITB problems, that way would have been impossible today.

Secondly, if I did race, even assuming having to hold myself back to avoid further injury, the pressure of having thousands of just-as-obsessed runners around me might have resulted in me pushing myself harder than I have a right to with my injury. Hence, in itself running the risk of further injury, both physical and mental.

Third, and probably most important, why spend early Saturday morning (my sleeping-in day, mind you) driving all the way downtown in the dark, hassling parking and thousands of people I don't know and probably wouldn't like anyhow, to run a race that I have no possibility of finishing with a PR and will most likely injure myself further?

All of this was not worth $40 to me.

In the end, though, I did win a PR.

I saved $40.

I saved further damage to my Achille's Leg.

I saved my sanity and my pride.

I preserved my early morning serenity by running in a quiet, unoccupied space.

I'll take a win like that!