My Name is Lola L-O-L-A Lola

I got a huge boost to my marathon mojo when I ran the Mother's Day Classic in Langley Park last Sunday. After my unbroken 5km run at the Around the Bridges in April, my goal was to do this event (an 8km run) without walking. I really didn't think I'd done enough to achieve that but was most happy to prove myself wrong, running the entire 8km course. Hoorah! (Now to just do the 8km five and a bit times...)

Unlike the Around the Bridges run, which was one 10km lap, the Mothers Day run was two laps of a 4km course. I had promised myself that I would complete one whole lap at which time I would allow myself to walk if I needed to. The first 2 kilometres went by without incident (high!), other than to have the disconcerting feeling of what seemed to be the entire field run past me (low). I got some verbal encouragement from Nana Shuffling James at the 2km point (high!). I was almost at the 3km mark, when something shot past me - a VERY fast runner (and, funnily enough, one of my students, who did at least have the decency to go on and win the event). I got lapped (low). At the 4km point I told myself I could get to 5km since I'd done it before. At 5km (high!), I told myself I could get to 6km and then I could at least say I had beaten my previous best. Just before 6km, my 42 year old knees (which I had forgotten to truss up in their support garments) started to really hurt (low). And then I spotted Lola.

Lola was struggling but running with a VERY encouraging friend. 'Come on', said Lola's Encouraging Friend, 'youre almost at 6km and you haven't walked at all. THAT IS SO COOL, LOLA!!!!'. At which point, other disturbingly fresh runners who knew Lola bounced over. 'You are a STAR, Lola!', they screamed. 'We are SO proud of you, Lola!!! YOU CAN DO IT, LOLA!!'. From 6km to 7km I ran right behind them and in the slipstream of their encouragement. It felt vaguely like an intellectual property theft (is there copyright in encouraging words? Should I have paid a licence fee? Am I an encouragement pirate?) but by pretending my name was Lola for a kilometre, I made it past my own little mini-'wall'. Once I got to 7km, I callously charged ahead of Lola. Because by then I was so close to the finish line that my legs could have been dangling from wispy tendons and I would still have run. And I just really wanted to feel that I had beaten someone. (Sorry, Lola.)

Just after I finished (Mary here had finished WAY before)


Thanks to some wonderfully generous donations, I am now only $370 away from the $5000.00 mark I have promised to World Vision by the 14th of May. So, (you know where I'm going with this, don't you?!) if you have been thinking of getting behind me by donating to WorldVision's SEE project now would be the most wonderful time! Any amount large or small is tax-deductible, doing so much good and SO much appreciated! You can donate online at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/kate_offer. Thank you!