the "in-betweeners" of 5k

Its funny to me that i've yet to really sit down and share my experience from Saturday's Free to Breathe Lung Cancer Awareness 5K.

The thing is i've been so busy running my mouth sharing the news with everyone that i think i've run out of energy to write it...but i shall give it a go!

So - I RAN the entire 5K. Yes, the 5k that I was pretty sure I could only run 1 mile of 3.1. Turns out I was wrong. Here's how it played out...

...I got to the race early. Picked up my registration stuff, did my stretches and anxiously awaited the start. I was filled with nervous energy...racking my brain..."can i really run a whole mile???" - somewhere deep down i knew i could...but deep down, the WHOLE race...NO, I did not think i could do it. I wasn't even sure if it was safe to try. Cut to...starting line...

Registered runners at the front. Walkers at the back. Those of us that weren't sure which we could do, were in the middle (which i like to call the "in-betweeners"). And may I mention, if you are contemplating running your first 5K, its the perfect spot. Lots of room to walk/jog/run. And there is a sense of support amongst this particular group of "in-betweeners" because you can tell we all WANT to do more than walk, and it motivates one another.

And in my case, I became motivated to run approximately 40 seconds in. As soon as the bell rang or gun fired or whatever it was, off in a flash went the "runners"...and then there was lots of open space for us in-betweeners.

A little ways up in front of me was a young, stocky woman in black pants and red shirt, within 30 seconds of the start she broke into a jog/run. 10 seconds after I had seen that, I broke into my jog/run. I kept my eye on her sort of as motivation, I thought if she can do this, if she's motivated enough to start the race as a run, so can i.

*Please note - i am not competitive by nature. EVER. Except, for running. I know this now. bizarre!*

Cut to...the approach of mile marker 1! Yes! "I did it" I thought to myself, smiling. And I felt good. Nothing hurt, my legs felt strong, my breathing was in time and the view in the park paired with the music playing through my earbuds was enough to move me past mile 1. And more importantly, the girl in the red shirt was still on the run. Ha, get it? Anyway...

I continued...toward the middle of mile two, there was this thing I had never trained or prepared for...it was called "a hill"....[insert here the sound of me laughing].

Not just a little hill, but a somewhat steep hill, especially for someone that was not trained for this thing, this hill. But i kept the girl in the red shirt in my vision line and although she slowed half way up, she kept going.

So I kept going.

Next thing I knew, I was at the MILE 2 marker. "Holy crap!" I thought to myself. And then the blaring realization, "i need to finish this race running...i've already done the bulk of it". There was no turning back and I felt strong enough that I could actually do it.

Middle of mile 3 - i nearly "hit my wall". There was another "hill". Though this was not just a "hill" it very well could have been a mutha' flippin' mountain. This wasn't a straight shot up and then a level off, this was a winding hill that moved upward with no level off point until you made it all the way to the tippity up.

Good Lord.

Keeping my eye on the girl in red, who was STILL running by the way, I pushed and drove and pleaded with my legs to get me up the mammouth mountain of a "hill". I went as slow as humanly possible while still maintaining a technical run...i did not break into a walk once...not once. I had lost sight of the red shirt girl but when i rounded the final curve of the hill, I saw she had started to WALK.

Here's the competitive part. You've been warned.

I became super-duper-charged with energy at the sight of her walking. Suddenly I had a burst of energy (i think its called..um...competitive adrenelin...yup...i'm guilty as charged). I pounced at the chance to pass her, finally. FINALLY.

And I did.
And before me was the 3 MILE marker. Nearly there!

The rest of the .30 miles were mostly down hill and it was a fantastic releif to my poor little legs that hadn't know what hit them. I saw the signs for the "Carousel" which was the start/finish for the race. Tears streaming down my face, my heart pounding from sheer JOY and mostly PRIDE...I did this run for my mom...the woman who shared one of her last dreams to me...that she was RUNNING. I did this for her, in her memory...as her daughter, I ran FOR her, in her place...and then...I also ran for ME. To conquer fear, to test my strength, to build my courage...to KNOW that I can do anything I set my mind to.

I had no friends or family there to cheer me at the finish...but that was okay...there were people yelling and clapping for each of us that came down the final stretch. I threw my hands up, yelling to them..."this is my first 5k running!!!".  The clapping and "woohoos" got louder.

I finished the 5k in 39 minutes, 47 seconds. If I had registered as a runner, I would have ranked 76 out of 88 runners. To some that may sound horrible, to me its beautiful.

And as I recall it now, my eyes fill up again...I can not explain how POWERFUL this accomplishment is for me. For all the people that supported me, donated, encouraged me...i'm eternally grateful. It was a very powerful day for me. One that ranks up there with my solo trip to London and the day I moved my life to New York City back in 1997.

Yesterday, I ran for the first time since the race and did a very respectable two miles without much issue. Amazing.

It stuns me that I have become this person. But oh...it feels so amazing. Its something I want to share with everyone I meet, which is why its inevitable that there will be a career change for me at some point. But for now, I want and need to learn more and just keep sharing the power and strength of taking control of your health.

Oh...and yes, I will be registering for MORE 5ks...in the early Spring...and I'm encouraging folks to come along and do it with me. If I could do it...trust me...so can you.

It was a gorgeous day for a run
in Roger Williams Park.
October 20th 2012