The Rhythm of Race Day
Running is looking forward to that big event that takes place once a year, in the very heart of your home city. Running is dedicating everything to the goal of putting in your best time ever, every time you participate in a race.
Running is about not being able to think about anything else—or do anything else, for that matter—on race day, even if that race takes place in the evening, wasting the rest of the day as a result. It's about arriving at the event way too early because you couldn't hold back any longer and had to go, just to make sure you at least arrived on time and that being too late wasn't going to be an excuse.
Running is meeting your fellow mates and doing a warm-up together, all while continuously covering yourself with possible excuses in case your race result is not what you hoped it would be.
Running is being extremely nervous just before the gunshot signals the start of the race—and it's about all those nerves magically disappearing after that.
Running is about a time-per-kilometer pace in the first couple of minutes that is way too fast, because you just couldn't hold yourself and your enthusiasm back.
And then sometimes, running is about surprising yourself by being able to hold that pace that seemed way too fast, and putting in that record you've been working towards for quite some time.
I've had those days. But not yesterday.
And all the while, looking back, I still enjoyed the energetic city that lit up in all its glory.