what better way to begin my 5k career than supporting the special olympics. i first heard about this a week and a half ago, and i thought sure, why not?! but as the days approached, i began to second guess my decision. i'm not sure why... i grew up running. a lot. and not just to run, but in hopes of catching a ball. i began playing soccer when i was 5 and played until a knee injury sidelined my love at 15. trying to play for a few more years, but constantly struggling with the injury, i finally kissed my cleats goodbye. (but not totally, they're in my crawl space in my fabulous green adidas bag...)
i told myself that i would start and finish the race running; the middle to be a toss up. but as never participated in a run before, i didn't realize how congested the beginning could be. and while pushing my kiddos in the jogger, i wasn't able to start out with but a s-l-o-w maneuver through people traffic. once the joggers/runners/walkers/skippers/stroller-ers got moving, i was able to pick up my pace to a nice butt-shaking speed walk. you know the kind. my breathing felt great so i started to jog. then a funny thing happened - i felt good. really good. like my mother said to me after the race, all my hiking builds stamina, just at a different level. i jogged through intersections, scooting around others, up slight inclines and all the while, feeling fabulous for not just running but running and pushing my (33 pound boy + 20 pound girl + stroller weight) 50-some odd pounds! go me!
lighting of the torch = start of the race
like i said before, running during soccer was just what you had to do to get the shiny object. my last few years playing select, i played 90 minutes with no subs and never felt winded. i kept that in mind (while also laughing that that was 15 years ago!!!) but it gave me the strength to continue running. well, that and my funny little man telling me to go fwasturr, mama! and mama, keep runnin! i half-expected him to say mush! mush!
let the race begin!
(the kid loves a good clap)
and a smooch
ok, so i didn't come in first. i didn't come in second or third. but, these were never goals. i did manage to pass the fellow with the torch - of course, i waited until i rounded a corner to see that others had too. but, you know what did happen? i was the first person to cross the finish line with a stroller. i think that's pretty great. and while this wasn't a timed event, i think the novice runner would still have timed themselves with a fancy-shmancy heart rate/watch/swiss army/mcdoodle on their wrist, but i didn't even think of it. dammit! all i know is that i felt great and truly proud of myself.
after the race, there was a firetruck waiting just for jb!
sitting in a firetruck!
