All right, elements outside your control are obvious- dogs are number one, then maybe traffic, then weather. Oh, and Thursdays are trash days- which is worse, the closed trashcan still full of trash or the recently emptied one with the lid flopped open?! (Trick question- the worst is to get behind the TWO trucks that are in my neighborhood- took me a long time to realize there wasn't just one truck sadistically following me on my rambling route!)
The internal control issues are related mostly to coordination- you know- fall off a curb, twist your ankle, knock out your front teeth, etc.
Some fears even combine the two: twist your ankle while screaming and running from a pack of chihuahuas or have a driver see you conducting your music because the heat exhaustion finally made you snap. Not that I have any experience in either of those fears. Ahem.
That brings me to the Harvest Run 1 mile Fun Run. Coach Harry wanted to run this one with me. It was the same day as the duathlon so I was looking for a really good reason to not run the 5k- perfect!
Harry and I lined up towards the back. He'd been talking trash in the car- he's going to run the whole way, there's no walking in running, and I better try to keep up. Yeah, ok. He was wearing an armful of Superman silly bands... The race started. We took off!
Within maybe five feet I realized that I was pushing the baby, but I didn't see Harry. Huh..seemed really quick to lose him. I looked behind me- nothing. Then I looked down. And there was Harry- looking like he decided to stop and make some snow angels on the asphalt. Well that was unexpected. And in my next surreal moment, a man behind us (who I'm sure had kids of his own cause only a parent would do this) just hoisted him back to his feet and put him next to me.
So both Harry and I had a shared out of body experience and found a new running fear- falling flat out backwards! There was nothing to do, so we just started running.
Harry did well the first quarter of a mile or so. He complained a bit about his feet. Personally, I would have gone with the "I just landed flat on the street" excuse, but whatever.
Around the halfway point, we found a friend from swimming lessons. He started chatting with Harry. Then he said the greatest thing ever: "I'm going to win, you're going to lose." Now this kid was faster and older and thinner, so he was probably right. But, he didn't count on how competitive Harry is. Suddenly the feet felt fine and we were booking it(comparatively speaking).
Harry's friend is all over the place- he's behind us, he's in front of us- just chatting with people. I think he literally ran circles around us. The kid really is oblivious just talking to people and having fun, but Harry is getting all worked up. With about two blocks left, I spotted the kid sitting on a curb with a friend. Yes, sitting.
I whispered to Harry, "Your buddy isn't paying attention... if you just keep on running, we're going to win..." He nodded at me conspiratorily, and we kept on moving. Finally, the last turn- out of nowhere, Harry threw in a sprint finish (again, comparatively speaking). I had no idea he'd saved a little kick! We finished in 12:20. Not the fastest mile ever, but we were pleased. (And yes, we totally took the distracted friend!)
After the race, we decided to watch the 5k. Harry and his friend hung out together raiding the food goodies, poking at ants, cheering, and just doing other boyish things. I think they were both pleased with the race- Harry was quietly glowing over his victory and the other kid probably knew it was a "fun" run and that he could have taken us at any point. I let the baby out of the stroller (who never said a peep during the race) so he could hang with the big boys.
And that's pretty much it. Harry has another sweet medal and I have a new running fear. Oh, and after much discussion, Harry and I came to the conclusion that the fall was caused by a silly band flying off his arm at the start- we think he tried to catch it and lost his footing. We're both fuzzy on the details...
