June 2004

Gillian Woodburn • Running Out of Time

Spring is a time of unusual weather patterns. I think the heat has been turned off and on about five times in the dorms so far. It was just starting to warm up again, then it snowed on me this Sunday when I went to see friends in Madison. I walked out of church in sandals and a short skirt and the world looked like a snow globe, huge clusters of snowflakes drifting down.

In general, though, the weather is getting nicer, and it’s the perfect season for my newest hobby-- 5K’s. I’m not much of a runner. (I’ve only been running on a regular basis for about a year and a half.) I’ve completed four 5K races and never finished anywhere near the front of the pack. So why do I do it? To keep in shape? To enjoy the camaraderie of the other runners? No, I do it for the T-shirts. (And the bagels and fruit at the end of the race.)

Even though I technically pay for the T-shirt with the race entry fee, it still feels like I’m getting a free shirt when they hand it to me at the race. And, it makes me feel like a real runner to have a lot of road race shirts. I earned two this month, from the Eyes on the Prize 5K through Parkview church and the River Run 5K with Riverfest. My goal is to rack up at least five shirts this summer!

I’ve already got one of them planned, with my first triathlon this summer. There’s one in Pierre on August 7, so I’ve got a couple months to train, and believe me, I’m going to need it. First there’s a half- mile swim, which is not so bad. I was on the swim team for seven years in junior high and high school, so I’ve got a little experience, though I haven’t swum regularly since high school. The swim will be in the Missouri River, so I’ll need to practice my open water swimming this summer. We finish the race with a 3.5-mile run. I know I’ll be slow, but I think I’ll be able to finish it.

The part I’m worried about is the 18-mile bike race. I’ve cycled very little in my life, and I don’t even have my own bike right now, so I’m going to need to first get a bike this summer, then use it.

School is finally winding down, and I’m trying to keep ahead of the game. I had a paper due this week, and for the first time… ever, I think, I had it partially written more than a week before it was due. Granted, I wrote the rest of it the night before it was due and finished it that morning, but it was still a great improvement. I’m much more comfortable with tests than papers, which makes Chemistry a great major for me.

I’ve only got one more week of classes before finals. I’m not panicking yet, but I’ve got a movement exam in ballet on Thursday, a test in organic lab on Friday, and one test a day for the first four days of finals week. (At least I have no more papers.) Meanwhile I’m trying to figure out how much of my stuff I’m going to store here over the summer, how much will fit in my car, and if I should have my dad drive down to get me or just ship the rest of it home. I feel like the end is miles and miles away, but it’s closing in faster than I can keep up.

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