10K Fail

So far I’ve been enjoying the carb-heavy Spanish diet without doing the necessary exercise to offset its effects on my body. We all know that the best way to get back in shape is by gradually easing into a workout routine. My roommate, Brittany, and I ignored these norms and signed up for a 10K a week in advance. Our goal was to do something fun and active in Madrid without feeling pressured to finish in a certain time. A few days before the race when I had only gone on one short run, it seemed like less of a good idea. But, the night before the 10K I was actually feeling ready to go and looking forward to it!

We were not given any instructions when we got to the starting line outside of the Prado on Sunday morning. Unlike races in the U.S., we weren’t separated into different groups to start running at a staggered pace. We simply joined the large crowd waiting behind the starting line. There was a countdown over the speakers and we all started running at the same time. Gradually, people broke off from the pack and we soon found ourselves near the back with the rest of the slow runners. The first mile went well. It was around the perimeter of Retiro, so there was plenty of activity to distract us from the monotony of running. A couple minutes later, Brittany told me to be on the lookout for a bathroom. I was a little surprised considering that we weren't even two miles in, but I didn't question her. Unfortunately we didn’t see any porta potties, and I could tell her situation was dire. We decided to run into Retiro, find a bathroom, and return to the race as quickly as we could. We found a bar near the park entrance, but the restrooms were locked. At this point, the bathroom panic was starting to set in. We wandered around for a few more minutes. Just when I thought Brittany would have to resort to finding a secluded bush, we stumbled upon a public restroom. A worker was unlocking the door when we walked up. Brittany profusely thanked him and ran inside while I tried not to laugh. 

We got back to where we had left the race maybe ten minutes later. There was no sign of anyone and no markers to show us which direction to go. I pulled up the race map on my phone and we tried our best to follow it – and take some shortcuts to catch up – though we had to stop and restart multiple times. We alternated cackling and gasping for breath as we ran like maniacs on our impromptu 10K route. We hoped it wouldn’t be obvious that we were way behind everyone else. The only other runners we saw had already finished the race, so we realized that blending in was unlikely. 

The volunteers were already cleaning up when we crossed the finish line an hour and twenty minutes after our saga began. We looked particularly disgraceful because the only other people who were still there were those receiving awards. At that point we just had to laugh at ourselves. I couldn’t decide if it was more embarrassing for everyone to assume we were really slow or for them to know the truth of how much difficulty we had rejoining the race. We had a great time despite our difficulties, however, we hadn’t actually run the full 6.4 miles because of our shortcuts. We completed the remaining two by running to our breakfast destination, Religion Coffee. I can always rely on food to motivate me. Next time we run a race in Spain we’ll be sure to memorize the course beforehand!