Monday, September 14, 2009

The runner is BACK

Many of you remember my early waddling days when I disocvered the inner runner in me.

Yesterday I made a come back & I ran my first 5k in well over a year & it was for TWO great causes. The first was Komen's Race for the Cure and the second was to revive the penguin runner that I know & love. Who in their right mind misses EXERCISE??!! I know it's weird but what can I tell you? It's true. Although I discovered my love for running late in life, I was missing it so much as if a part of me had been lost in the midst of being a mom to the peanuts.


Both, although not equally, are very much a part of my life (whether I like it or not) and after this race I realized I neeeeeeed to run. I find ME in running. I find time in running. I find time to reflect in running on the positives and not-so-positives things. I find mental organization, somehow. I find I can tackle the rest after a good run. There's something about hearing yourself breathe, the sounds of your feet hitting the road and way your mind can forget about all of your laundry lists and foucs on your goal . When you reach your goal, you feel like you've accomplished something great, even when nothing gets checked off on your to-do lists.


This is not to say that it was easy! I think it was somewhere after mile 2 my legs were aching, my shoulders were tight, my chest was heaving, & I was sweating, in a not-so-pretty way. Sometime after mile 3 I hear my name & turn around to see my team captain (bless her for setting this up for us AND still having the energy to SPEAK), and I remember thinking if I have to say one word I might just collapse right here & now. So all I could manage at that moment was a wave or maybe it was more of a lifting of the arm, like in the movie Awakenings, to let her know I hear you & I see you but I'm about die but not until after the finish line. The only thing that kept me going was looking back at the people I was passing & feeling like I was going to WIN! Really, you don't WIN anything but you do finish & that feels pretty incredible.


If I did win something, my acceptance speech would go something like this. I'd like to thank my Race For the Cure Team. You guys are great atheletes with gracious hearts! Racing with you ladies was an honor & I do hope our contribution will help find a cure for cancer one day. I want to also thank my DH & my peanuts for supporting me today even if it meant waking up SO early on a SUNDAY. I promise we can have pizza for dinner tonight. YUM. And I hope to see more races in my future not only for me but I want my girls to see that mommy can do other things besides laundry, floors, feedings, & fixing all boo boos. Thank You!

Some of my running buddies...
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My kids reeeeeally excited about my race...mmm NOT! Or maybe they're thinking "what's up with the getup mom?"
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And me SO HAPPY because I'm about to EAT :)
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