"Race" for Justice - An Unreasonable Embarrassment

I ran in the Race for Justice this morning, which is a 5K charity run which provides for student loan repayment for those students who want to practice public interest law, but wouldn't be able to because their crippling student loans coupled with the paltry salaries these types of jobs tend to pay. Of course, I wasn't really running the race to "help people." No, I was running it to beat people in a race (not all the people, but at least a respectable number.)

But sadly, me "winning" the race... or even "finishing respectably," was not in the cards this year. Instead, I was utterly embarrassed by my poor showing. Well, maybe not "utterly embarrassed - I did turn in a "decent" time - but my visions of glory certainly were not realized.

I started out strong at a good pace. But, it became clear that my month of inactivity since the musical has not done well for my personal physical fitness. Slowly, but surely, people began to pass me. I would have been OK with this, because most of the people that were passing me early on seemed to be in good shape, so I could easily justify it: "They just run regularly. I'd be able to take 'em if I had been running regularly too." However, as the torrent of my tormentors began to pick up, this excuse could no longer cut it. First, it was the little junior high girls who had come to run with their lawyer parents. *Ouch* Then, it was the people running with their dogs. *OUCH* But then, the most painful of all, the dads passed me who were pushing baby strollers while they were having a casual conversation with their baby-pushing friends. *OUCH* It's like they were just out for a leisurely stroll. Man, I suck.

I thought I'd do something "good." I thought I'd help out Loan Repayment Assistance Program so that hippy-type people could do good, honest legal work while I suckled at the teat of my corporate overlords. But alas, it ended in shame for this lowly blogger. *Sigh*