I will begin this blog with a brief history of why I ran the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. For at least 8 years now I have wanted to run a marathon or something to the effects of a marathon. After several “attempts” and “failures” to get in marathon shape I gave up on the goal to run any kind of race……
Back in January of this year I decided it was time to get in shape. I wasn’t trying to loose weight, I just wanted to tone up and be healthier. Kayla and I started working out in my living room to work out shows I recorded.
When spring finally arrived we started going out to the park to walk and run a few laps. That’s when I decided now was the time to run that race I’ve never had the discipline to train for and run.
I have trained all year long to run the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure 5K that’s held in Texarkana every year. During the summer I made myself get out of bed and go to the park to train, and I have continued to train even with the weather being as bad as it’s been lately. I’ve trained at the park and on my in-laws’ tread mill. The closest I’ve gotten to running 3.1 miles was 2 weeks ago and I only ran 2.5 miles and it took me 40 minutes to do that, so I’ve been very worried that I wasn’t going to be able to complete the race.
Morning of the Race
Yesterday, my sister, Kristian, and my 2 cousins, Kara & Erin met at my house at 6:45am to make the trip to downtown Texarkana to “run” the race. Erin & I were going to run; Kara & Kristian were going to walk it.
We got there really early, I thought the race started at 8am but it really didn’t start until 8:30 so we did a lot of walking around trying to stay warm (it was about 40-50 degrees yesterday morning).
Finally, it was time for us to get in line to start the race….the anticipation begin to build….I was so excited and nervous all at the same time. When the gun went off….it just about scared us all half-to-death…but then, we were off. We all started out running so we could break away from the pack, but about ½ mile into the race Kara & Kristian started walking. Erin & I were off…we had a good pace going and I was feeling good. Erin is only 14 years old and she has really long legs so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to sustain her pace for the whole race but I was going to try.
It seemed like we had been running forever and I hadn’t seen a marker telling us how far we’d ran. I asked Erin if she knew how far we’d ran and she said, “we past the 1 mile marker a long time ago…we’re getting close to two miles.” I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that because I thought I was going to die if we hadn’t already gotten to at least one mile…I was hurting! Finally, we saw the 2 mile marker….I knew we were getting much closer…but I was really hurting by then! The whole time I kept thinking how bad I wanted to stop and walk, but I didn’t, we just kept running.
Finally we saw the 3 mile marker and knew it was almost over….then the finish line came into sight I think we got a spurt of energy because we sped up to pass some people at the last minute. When we crossed the finish line I asked a woman what time it was and she said 8:57…. I thought, dang, that took us 57 minutes to run….but then, I remembered…the race didn’t start at 8:00…it started at 8:30! We ran 3.1 miles in 27 minutes!!!!!!! I was so happy I almost started crying!!! We both couldn’t believe it!!!
If it weren’t for Erin….I don’t know if I would have reached my goal and ran the whole race…I defiantly know I wouldn’t have ran it in 27 minutes! She was the BEST partner ever!
Back in January of this year I decided it was time to get in shape. I wasn’t trying to loose weight, I just wanted to tone up and be healthier. Kayla and I started working out in my living room to work out shows I recorded.
When spring finally arrived we started going out to the park to walk and run a few laps. That’s when I decided now was the time to run that race I’ve never had the discipline to train for and run.
I have trained all year long to run the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure 5K that’s held in Texarkana every year. During the summer I made myself get out of bed and go to the park to train, and I have continued to train even with the weather being as bad as it’s been lately. I’ve trained at the park and on my in-laws’ tread mill. The closest I’ve gotten to running 3.1 miles was 2 weeks ago and I only ran 2.5 miles and it took me 40 minutes to do that, so I’ve been very worried that I wasn’t going to be able to complete the race.
Morning of the Race
Yesterday, my sister, Kristian, and my 2 cousins, Kara & Erin met at my house at 6:45am to make the trip to downtown Texarkana to “run” the race. Erin & I were going to run; Kara & Kristian were going to walk it.
We got there really early, I thought the race started at 8am but it really didn’t start until 8:30 so we did a lot of walking around trying to stay warm (it was about 40-50 degrees yesterday morning).
Finally, it was time for us to get in line to start the race….the anticipation begin to build….I was so excited and nervous all at the same time. When the gun went off….it just about scared us all half-to-death…but then, we were off. We all started out running so we could break away from the pack, but about ½ mile into the race Kara & Kristian started walking. Erin & I were off…we had a good pace going and I was feeling good. Erin is only 14 years old and she has really long legs so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to sustain her pace for the whole race but I was going to try.
It seemed like we had been running forever and I hadn’t seen a marker telling us how far we’d ran. I asked Erin if she knew how far we’d ran and she said, “we past the 1 mile marker a long time ago…we’re getting close to two miles.” I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that because I thought I was going to die if we hadn’t already gotten to at least one mile…I was hurting! Finally, we saw the 2 mile marker….I knew we were getting much closer…but I was really hurting by then! The whole time I kept thinking how bad I wanted to stop and walk, but I didn’t, we just kept running.
Finally we saw the 3 mile marker and knew it was almost over….then the finish line came into sight I think we got a spurt of energy because we sped up to pass some people at the last minute. When we crossed the finish line I asked a woman what time it was and she said 8:57…. I thought, dang, that took us 57 minutes to run….but then, I remembered…the race didn’t start at 8:00…it started at 8:30! We ran 3.1 miles in 27 minutes!!!!!!! I was so happy I almost started crying!!! We both couldn’t believe it!!!
If it weren’t for Erin….I don’t know if I would have reached my goal and ran the whole race…I defiantly know I wouldn’t have ran it in 27 minutes! She was the BEST partner ever!
This is us before the race.
This is Erin & I after the race….much warmer and red faced.
This is Kara & Kristian after the race.
They walked/jogged the course in 40 minutes!
These are the amazing women I know that have had, fought and beat breast cancer. It was such an honor to wear their names on my back.
Girls, we have to take care of ourselves….watch your breast and check them every month! Go to the doctor if you notice any changes….it might save your life!!!!
And one more bit of advice….don’t ever give up on your hopes and dreams! It might take you 8 years to finally bite the bullet and do it, but I promise you…when you achieve something you’ve wanted to do…it’s the greatest feeling in the world!
l-o-v-e this!!!!! so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you!!! Now I have to put the bag of candy corn away.
ReplyDelete