One of the best experiences of my life! I did 10 weeks of training on an indoor treadmill listening to the 5K 101 podcast. As I trained I had a mini cheerleader to do stretches with and several times she stood in front of the treadmill yelling "go mama go". We often talked about my race and what to expect.
The 5K started at 7:30am and I had concerns that my husband would not have Lauren at the finish line. I really wanted her to share that experience with me. I decided to stay in a hotel downtown the night prior to the race. The hotel was just 5 blocks from the starting line. Perfect for a warm up walk!
We all had a blast on the club level the night prior to the race. We relaxed and had a glass of wine and dessert as Lauren terrorized the club lounge. Actually, I ate too much dessert and that was after the cheeseburger! I wondered if I would pay for that on race day.
Back at the room I set out all my clothes, and Lauren's too, in preparation for race day. It was raining monsoon style. Apparently I was going to get drenched! I was debating on what to race in...I purposely picked up some moisture wicking clothes, just in case. I decided to wear my Komen race T-shirt.
I tossed and turned all night. It was loud downtown and Chris was snoring. I forgot my ear plugs!!! Lauren kicked me in the head all night and Chris flopped around. Every time he did my side of the bed would catapult me up in the air a little...
I arose at 5:30 a.m. because I was tired of staring at the ceiling. The plan was for me to get ready and sneak out at 7:00am to start the race at 7:30am and then they would meet me at the finish line around 8:00am. I had been running on the treadmill and it was taking me 38 minutes to run 3.15 miles. So they should have sufficient time to get there.
Just as I finished getting ready I put my head phones in and listened to some music. I was standing in the bathroom and I backed up bam, right into Lauren. Uh-oh! I started explaining that I needed to go because it was race day...she started crying and freaking out, clinging to my legs. My husband was laying in bed still.
I had to go in and tell him to get out of bed. Then I started yelling, you know what??? Get up, get ready!! I will get Lauren ready. I need to fucking leave this room in 15 minutes. I want a cup of coffee. I need to warm up and stretch. I need to find the starting line. Hurry up!! His response, "what did I do?". (Exactly!) In a tirade I yelled, "just fucking hurry up!!!!!"
He moved at a snails pace....and there it was - the scene I was trying to avoid. The one I had experienced over and over again. Why? Why did it have to be this way?? I got Lauren ready. I went in the bathroom and he was standing in the steamy hot carrera marble foo foo shower, arms folded, twirling slowly back and forth as the warm water cascaded over him from the rain shower heed. "Fucking hurry up I need to leave in 5 min!!!!" I screamed!
After that, every couple of minutes I whipped out some additional f-bombery and delivered a count down. We didn't leave the room until 7:10 am. I was fuming. I was a wreck. I didn't get my coffee and since I walked with them to the starting line I didn't get to warm up either. In my head I was calling my husband every name in the book.
I found the starting line and relaxed a bit. I asked Lauren to stretch with me. I looked at my husband and said, "do you think you could take a picture of me - prior to the race?". He snapped a couple of pics before I went to the starting line. I lined up in the back of the pack at the "over 10:00 min mile sign".
Some people were running in pink wings and tu tu's. Funny how I was so worried about what to wear. The announcer called out - 1 minute til race time! I started my playlist and put in my ear phones. The race started, the crowd began jogging in place and then stopped. There were so many of us. It took nearly 2 minutes to reach the starting line and cross the chip timer. Boom, I was off!
I bobbed and weaved through the crowd and paced myself. It was uphill! I clung to the outside and avoided potholes and max line tracks. Eventually, I found a decent pace and reached flat ground. I already had a stitch in my side, was that the cheeseburger and desserts? I pushed on and told myself to buck up!
About that time I looked up and saw an on duty police officer I knew, standing at attention. I weaved over to the side and lined up for my high 5. We exchanged smiles and then, Smack! I pressed on.
I ran passed drag shows, dread locks, cheerleaders and many things that made me smile and gave me inspiration. Each moment created a new snapshot in my mind. My heart ached for the people wearing the "in memory of" banners and I kept telling myself I had nothing to complain about. Was it her mom she lost, her aunt?, I thought, she is so young.
As I ran and pushed and breathed and paced I re-played the past nine months in my mind. Last November I had a huge fight with my husband where I got in the car with Lauren and drove to my sister's house. I needed the separation. It was the turning point that motivated me to face reality and re-build myself.
I began setting goals and facing fears. I lost some additional weight with Hcg, went skiing again, planted my first organic garden, ran over the Golden Gate Bridge, got my braces put back on, enrolled Lauren in pre-school, found a job and now I was running my first 5K.
Next weekend we are taking our first adult trip (to Vegas) since Lauren was born. I will be jumping off the stratosphere hurling myself away from what was and towards the next chapter in my life. I am excited to be able to re-start my career. To re-gain the financial independence I had worked so hard for. I snapped back to reality.
As I ran I listened to my playlist so I knew how long I had been running. I had memorized the times and the order. My last two songs were Veronica's Untouched and then ACDC Thunderstruck. Songs I placed at the end knowing I would need the accelerated tempo to press on. I was getting really fatigued, I started praying, "Lord lift me up and carry me".
I turned a corner and ran under a bridge looking ahead. People pushing baby strollers were passing me! I could see the balloons from the starting line waaaaaay down the street. Oh crap, that is a long way still. Veronica's were on, would I finish within my goal of 38 minutes? You can do it, you can do it, I commanded! Push, Push!!! Lauren is there waiting for me. I picked up my pace.
Just then, I realized. The finish line was 5 blocks from the starting line. I saw a crowd coming up ahead. I started sprinting!!! I was frantically searching the crowd on both sides of the finish line for my girl's sweet little face, where is she?, where is she?, where is she??? I want to burn a memory of empowerment into her mind. I want her to know she can follow her dreams and achieve them with hard work and tenacity.
I am still on the Veronicas so I know I am a full song ahead of my goal. I have a chip timer on so I am more concerned about finding Lauren than my race time, I don't see her. I see a sign, "Survivors finish left", I shift to the right, catch a millisecond glimpse at the timer, 33:47, cross the finish line....finally there she is on the right. I scream yea!!! At her....and I'm done. I think, holy crap did that say 33????
The 5K started at 7:30am and I had concerns that my husband would not have Lauren at the finish line. I really wanted her to share that experience with me. I decided to stay in a hotel downtown the night prior to the race. The hotel was just 5 blocks from the starting line. Perfect for a warm up walk!
We all had a blast on the club level the night prior to the race. We relaxed and had a glass of wine and dessert as Lauren terrorized the club lounge. Actually, I ate too much dessert and that was after the cheeseburger! I wondered if I would pay for that on race day.
Back at the room I set out all my clothes, and Lauren's too, in preparation for race day. It was raining monsoon style. Apparently I was going to get drenched! I was debating on what to race in...I purposely picked up some moisture wicking clothes, just in case. I decided to wear my Komen race T-shirt.
I tossed and turned all night. It was loud downtown and Chris was snoring. I forgot my ear plugs!!! Lauren kicked me in the head all night and Chris flopped around. Every time he did my side of the bed would catapult me up in the air a little...
I arose at 5:30 a.m. because I was tired of staring at the ceiling. The plan was for me to get ready and sneak out at 7:00am to start the race at 7:30am and then they would meet me at the finish line around 8:00am. I had been running on the treadmill and it was taking me 38 minutes to run 3.15 miles. So they should have sufficient time to get there.
Just as I finished getting ready I put my head phones in and listened to some music. I was standing in the bathroom and I backed up bam, right into Lauren. Uh-oh! I started explaining that I needed to go because it was race day...she started crying and freaking out, clinging to my legs. My husband was laying in bed still.
I had to go in and tell him to get out of bed. Then I started yelling, you know what??? Get up, get ready!! I will get Lauren ready. I need to fucking leave this room in 15 minutes. I want a cup of coffee. I need to warm up and stretch. I need to find the starting line. Hurry up!! His response, "what did I do?". (Exactly!) In a tirade I yelled, "just fucking hurry up!!!!!"
He moved at a snails pace....and there it was - the scene I was trying to avoid. The one I had experienced over and over again. Why? Why did it have to be this way?? I got Lauren ready. I went in the bathroom and he was standing in the steamy hot carrera marble foo foo shower, arms folded, twirling slowly back and forth as the warm water cascaded over him from the rain shower heed. "Fucking hurry up I need to leave in 5 min!!!!" I screamed!
After that, every couple of minutes I whipped out some additional f-bombery and delivered a count down. We didn't leave the room until 7:10 am. I was fuming. I was a wreck. I didn't get my coffee and since I walked with them to the starting line I didn't get to warm up either. In my head I was calling my husband every name in the book. 
This was it. The weather cleared and it was perfect. I looked around at all the people from different walks of life - many with "in memory of" banners on their shirts- loved ones they had lost. I choked up and got very teary eyed remembering why I had chosen this particular race. Hard to feel sorry for yourself looking at that! I used it for inspiration the entire race.
Some people were running in pink wings and tu tu's. Funny how I was so worried about what to wear. The announcer called out - 1 minute til race time! I started my playlist and put in my ear phones. The race started, the crowd began jogging in place and then stopped. There were so many of us. It took nearly 2 minutes to reach the starting line and cross the chip timer. Boom, I was off!
I bobbed and weaved through the crowd and paced myself. It was uphill! I clung to the outside and avoided potholes and max line tracks. Eventually, I found a decent pace and reached flat ground. I already had a stitch in my side, was that the cheeseburger and desserts? I pushed on and told myself to buck up!
About that time I looked up and saw an on duty police officer I knew, standing at attention. I weaved over to the side and lined up for my high 5. We exchanged smiles and then, Smack! I pressed on.
I ran passed drag shows, dread locks, cheerleaders and many things that made me smile and gave me inspiration. Each moment created a new snapshot in my mind. My heart ached for the people wearing the "in memory of" banners and I kept telling myself I had nothing to complain about. Was it her mom she lost, her aunt?, I thought, she is so young.
As I ran and pushed and breathed and paced I re-played the past nine months in my mind. Last November I had a huge fight with my husband where I got in the car with Lauren and drove to my sister's house. I needed the separation. It was the turning point that motivated me to face reality and re-build myself.
I began setting goals and facing fears. I lost some additional weight with Hcg, went skiing again, planted my first organic garden, ran over the Golden Gate Bridge, got my braces put back on, enrolled Lauren in pre-school, found a job and now I was running my first 5K.
Next weekend we are taking our first adult trip (to Vegas) since Lauren was born. I will be jumping off the stratosphere hurling myself away from what was and towards the next chapter in my life. I am excited to be able to re-start my career. To re-gain the financial independence I had worked so hard for. I snapped back to reality.
As I ran I listened to my playlist so I knew how long I had been running. I had memorized the times and the order. My last two songs were Veronica's Untouched and then ACDC Thunderstruck. Songs I placed at the end knowing I would need the accelerated tempo to press on. I was getting really fatigued, I started praying, "Lord lift me up and carry me".
I turned a corner and ran under a bridge looking ahead. People pushing baby strollers were passing me! I could see the balloons from the starting line waaaaaay down the street. Oh crap, that is a long way still. Veronica's were on, would I finish within my goal of 38 minutes? You can do it, you can do it, I commanded! Push, Push!!! Lauren is there waiting for me. I picked up my pace.
Just then, I realized. The finish line was 5 blocks from the starting line. I saw a crowd coming up ahead. I started sprinting!!! I was frantically searching the crowd on both sides of the finish line for my girl's sweet little face, where is she?, where is she?, where is she??? I want to burn a memory of empowerment into her mind. I want her to know she can follow her dreams and achieve them with hard work and tenacity.
I am still on the Veronicas so I know I am a full song ahead of my goal. I have a chip timer on so I am more concerned about finding Lauren than my race time, I don't see her. I see a sign, "Survivors finish left", I shift to the right, catch a millisecond glimpse at the timer, 33:47, cross the finish line....finally there she is on the right. I scream yea!!! At her....and I'm done. I think, holy crap did that say 33????My net chip time was recorded as 32:16! No wonder I had a stitch in my side and I was so fatigued. That's 6 minutes faster than I was running at home. Maybe it was the cheeseburger?? :)
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WOW! That is a great story! Congratulations on the run and BEATING YOUR GOAL! I'm so glad your daughter was there at the end to see your accomplishment. I have to admit, I giggled at all the f-bombs you dropped! You have got to be over the moon. You've crossed the finish line in so many ways.
You told such wonderful story, I loved it!
Congratulations on everything you accomplished by doing this race. You are a strong lady! I am so proud of you!
You did it !! Your daughter will be inspired greatly by this and you have the pic to remind her of it. You did it despite all the stress of the pre-run fiasco - I swear I could take the same chapter from my own book of those morning scenes! You are accomplishing all the goals that you have set one by one and should be SO proud of that. I can tell that you are. Kudos and hugs to you!
I'm so proud of you and so happy for you! Thank you for sharing this experience with us on your blog and know that we always knew you could do it! ;)
OMG, I just found your blog and read it today. It made me cry. You must be so very proud. I lost my grandmother to breast cancer, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for your efforts. I can't wait till I am fit enough to do a run. Currently I do the 20 mile walk for Hunger and can barely finish. I love your blog name too!
Go you!
You guys are sooooo cool! Thanks.
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