“It’s not a big deal to me how we do, as long as we’re not last.”
These words came from one of my amazing teammates at a recent competition. I nodded in agreement, and I’ve said them, too.
Flashback to my very first 5k “race.” Run Your Cookies Off – a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts. I was probably 80 or 100 pounds heavier than I am now, maybe more. I had no idea what I was doing. I was a slow walker / jogger as I approached the start line in terror. But as long as I am not last I’m ok, I thought.
I wasn’t last that day, but I was close. I could see the last person behind me by maybe 30 yards most of the time. I kept looking over my shoulder, fighting to stay ahead. I gasped and choked as I stumbled across the finish line, maybe 5th to last out of a few hundred runners. But, not last.
Fast forward eight years or so to only a few weeks ago, the line comes into my head again. A CrossFit competition. Looking around at some of the fitter people I’ve seen in recent memory, our direct competitors. Some twenty or more years younger. But, we will be fine as long as we are not last.
After the first workout, we were second to last. So, not last – a win! And then, after that, for the rest of the day, workout after workout, it happened. We. Were. Last.
Yup, I was finally on the other side of the “as long as we’re not…”
And I looked at my teammates, two fierce, fit, incredible women, working their ever-loving asses off. All three of us had been sick that week, with some of that sickness lingering on competition day. All three of us were super nervous. But we showed up, and we brought our best. And we cheered for each other. And we pushed as hard as we could, pushed beyond what we thought we could do. We pulled together and fought like heck for every rep, every lift, every jump and burpee and pushup and calorie.
And with all our fight, all our heart, all our effort, we still came in last. (We actually tied for last with some of our good friends who made up another rockin’ team from our box, which made it all the more sweet.)
So, you may ask, what are the after effects of coming in last? Honestly, not much different than coming in higher on the board.
I’m proud of my teammates, as I should be. One rocked her first competition ever, conquering move after move, challenge after challenge. The other overcame huge obstacles to PR her snatch not just once but 5 times that day. 5 times!!! I still smile when I pull out my team shirt and shorts. We had a great and memorable day for our squad. Weeks later, no one remembers what place we came in.
I’ve held onto a line I heard once many years back when I was just starting to get my health together. It still serves me on crappy running days, and those inevitable afternoons when I just would rather not go to the gym at all:
As long as you show up…”you’re lapping everyone on the couch.”
No matter what place we finished in, we showed up. There are many who are less fit, and even many who are more fit, who didn’t have the guts or the gumption to just show up, put themselves out there, and see how they measure up.
There’s an old saying that nice guys finish last…now I also see that good people, people who work hard, train hard, and put forth tons of effort still do finish last sometimes. In fact, that effort may represent a huge personal triumph no matter what the leaderboard says. One that should be applauded. Still, for better or worse, it’s just one day. One memorable day full of proud moments.
The real after effects of coming in last are what we choose to do moving forward. What matters most is what comes next. Nothing stops us from continuing to train and get better and cheer for each other. We’re already signed up for more races, more challenges, more adventures. Who knows where we will turn up next?
2 Chicks and a blog 