A few months ago I suggested that Trialbee join the Lundaloppet 10k race. It’s an annual race that the city of Lund puts on and Trialbee had participated in it last year. At first, I received a really good response from the team. When the day came, it was just the 3 of us: Albin, Anders and I… so much for team spirit! LOL.
I don’t consider myself a runner. I hate running, every minute I am running is sheer pain and agony! The last time I ran a 10K was several years ago and that was because one of my best friends, Tawny, convinced me to do it. This on the other hand was just to challenge myself… not that this year hasn’t been challenging enough. I hit a slump, working too much and not getting enough time to work out, not eat healthy or do something good for myself. I felt that this would be a good jump start to trying to get back on track.
What was so interesting to me was the warm up! Swedes all warm up together before a race. It was so nice and really got everyone into the spirit. The other races I ran in the US everyone warmed up on their own. This was such a nice surprise and it really helped!!!
Daniel had joined me for the race to act as my moral support. But to my surprise as I was coming to the finish line, his brother ran onto the track to hand me flowers. Both Daniel’s parents were in the crowd to cheer me on! This was such a nice surprise and it meant so much to me. I had been an athlete in high school playing tennis and badminton on a high level, neither of my parents ever showed up to any of my games and I was number 1. Daniel’s parents showing up made up for the failure of my own family. I am truly blessed to be apart of this crazy Macedonian family.
This picture sums it up: shoes off, water in hand and banana waiting to be eaten! I was just happy to finish the race! My main objective was to finish the race, but I was happily surprised to find out that I finished in 1 hour and 12 minutes! It may not be the fastest time, but it was a major win for me.
The other guys finished way before me, but they were there at the finish line to offer their support. I am so glad I could share this experience with my teammates that I have grown to love. Overall, it was a great day! Now back to icing my legs! LOL.