It was a hell of a race!

I got up and checked Steem while I was eating. Then I got picked up by 4 friends. It was around 6am. We got there at 7am, grab our bib and got ready for the 8h15 start, and there we were, all set and ready, waiting for the countdown to begin.

10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5!

But then I heard: “Your shoe is untied” The guy spoke in French. I semi freaked out, thinking I would have to bend down, tie it up, hoping I wouldn’t be mowed down by the hundreds of people eagerly waiting to start running. So, I bent down, all the while, crazy ideas were rushing in my head, thinking everything would probably be fine and at the worst I would only be 2 or 3 seconds late, but faith had decided otherwise.

Not only my shoe was untied, but there was a knot, a tight one. Unable to untie the knot and unable to tie it up, in some way, so that the laces wouldn’t touch the ground when I would be running, I became filled with horror and frustration. Tens of people were now passing on each sides of me and it wouldn’t be long before it would be hundreds. Now, the idea of people piling up on me suddenly became more real. I was screwed. I decided to make 2 steps to the left, hoping I wouldn’t be in the way, as much, and then finally succeeded to put the laces in my shoe, where I hoped it would hold.

I have no idea how long this ordeal lasted. Sure, I started running at least 5 seconds behind everybody, but it might have been 10, 15, 20. I didn’t knew. That wasn’t important anymore. I was running. My shoe wasn’t loose and within the first few steps, I had the feeling the laces would hold without problem, which they did.

I was running sure but I was running in a sea of people slowing me down, so I slightly bifurcated and began running outside of the delimited course. It was a longer route by 4 or 5 steps but so much faster than running among the sea of people. Not even a minute after beginning to run I realized I hadn’t step on the first checkpoint map which is at the starting line and began to wonder if my time would be accepted. Anyway, I told myself, I’ll see when I arrive and besides enjoying myself, I wasn’t running for any serious cause,.

After 2 minutes of running, I realized tens of people were running faster than last year’s winner. Surely, most of them wouldn’t be able to hold that pace. So, I remembered what my coach said, and I slowed down, as I also was running faster than what I was aiming. It didn’t took long, before I began passing at least a dozen runners. I couldn’t see the leader, which was Abdoul, my coach. I didn’t knew what rank I was, but I was running. I was happy! Thoughts of steem came to my mind. What would I be writing on Steem? Would my time count? What would Steem think? Anyway, I was running.

It was though. I was hurting and I was wondering why I was doing this race. Why was I doing those races? Those questions come up, when I run.

After 10k, I felt like I might be in a good position to beat my PB. I estimated I might have been in 6 or 7 position or even 8. I didn’t really knew. I didn’t cared much. I was pushing myself and that’s what mattered.

I think I hadn’t pass anyone since the 8th kilometer nor did anyone past me. In fact I didn’t saw anyone since I passed the 10k mark and somewhere after the 15th kilometer, I picked up some speed which was unexpected. I don’t know where that surge of energy came from. The course might have been going down or I might really have had a boost of energy.

Then came the last kilometer, where I really slowed down. Two runner pass beside me in the last 500m. I had given up on the idea of finishing behind them, but then as the second one pass me I convince myself I hadn’t come up all the way here to be pass so easily without try one more time. In fact, these guys hadn’t been behind me for more than 20k for no reason. I found some strength left and re-accelerated to past the guy that had just past me and began chasing the other one. I was close and closing in but in the end I finished 3 seconds behind him.

By that time, I just had heard the announcer welcoming the 3rd participant had arrived, so I gathered that I must have been in 5th place.

Two of the three persons who were with me that day, also had podiums. One was the 2nd girl to finish (1st in her age category) and the other one 3rd in is age category and 11th overall. The other person succeeded in finishing her first half-marathon with great pride and Abdoul got on to win with a PB of 01:10:34. It was an awesome day. Race day are always so much fun! And there are so many more things I could say about that day.