Today was the big day! Race time.
The Run for the Cure was this afternoon. It was the perfect day for it - cold and rainy - perfect for testing your dedication and will power. It wasn't a total down pour but it was nice and steady rain. The temperature was chilly to stand in but perfect for running.
It was my first Run for the Cure and I was impressed with the crowd, location and set up. There was music playing, women giving speeches and plenty of vendors handing out goodies and food.
Runners were dressed in all sorts of themes. I think The TaTa Troop was my favorite. I wish I had thought to wear a pink tiara. It would have been so appropriate considering my mom is constantly reminding all of us that she is The Queen. I'm okay with that because if she is The Queen then I'm in line for the thrown and all of her jewelry.
Girls were rockin' some serious shoes to honor those they were running for. Sorry mom, but I didn't go the extra mile and destroy my running shoes for you.
I did however, deck myself out in pink. I think the socks were the icing on the cake. Don't ask my why I own hot pink athletic socks. I just do. I'm sure it has something to do with camp. Don't judge. They were perfect for today and that is all that matters. Stylish and warm. A win-win, if you ask me.
Even Hobie got in on the dress-up action. As we were leaving The Canadian asked if I thought we should bring a dog with us to the Race. Maple had just gotten into the trash so she was in time-out thus giving Hobie the honor of playing in the rain. I looked for a pink bandana for her to wear, but I couldn't find one. I was frantically scouring the house trying to find something, anything, pink to put on her. And then it hit me -- my back-up tshirt!
Turns out Hobie wears the same size t-shirt as me.
Right before the race started we warmed up with some Zumba. I like Zumba and everything but dancing on a muddy sidewalk in the rain was a little out of my comfort zone. I just wanted to get the race started, ya know what I mean?
The race was being held at the biggest park in town. I knew that but I just figured it would start there and then head out into the street for the actual run. I was wrong. The route actually went through the entire park, twisting and turning through the wooded trails. It was pretty cool. Although, I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand. I've never run trails and the combination of rain, mud, hills and slippery leaves would have made me nervous. I'm kind of a weenie and have an irrational fear of falling and killing myself.
I wanted to bring my camera on the run but it was just too rainy. The run would have made for great photos. We were running through fairly narrow trails under beautiful trees. We ran over a few small bridges and along the creek. I did my best to take in the scenery but people were constantly passing me so I was just trying to not get knocked over.
Being passed at the beginning is expected. I mean, I run one step ahead of reverse. I'm that slow. But seriously, you would think that eventually I would just be in last place and there wouldn't be anyone else to pass me. Nope. They just kept comin'. All those high school cross country kids just kept blowing right by me and my pink socks.
Refusing to give up, I chugged along. Damn it, if people can survive breast cancer then surely I can survive three miles of trails in the rain. Surely. A little bit into the run we came upon a water station that had a big white sign with the number 1 on it. Man, I thought, 1 kilometer is so much shorter than I realized! A while later I passed another water station with a number 2 sign. Almost half way, I'm cruisin'! I kept running, jumping the puddles and taking the turns. It felt like we were running along the tracks of Space Mountain. With all the turns I was so turned around and backwards I couldn't gauge how far I had run. When you run in the woods there is no point of reference for measuring distance. So when I passed the number 3 sign I was thinking that running in the woods is definitely the way to go because it goes by so quickly. As I approached number 4 sign I yelled to the volunteer, "Only 1 more kilometer?!" I expected him to say, "Yeah! You're almost there!" but instead he said, "NO! This is STATION 4. Sorry!" Well, damn. That would have been nice to know. Oh, well. Next year I'll know that there are 8 stations and no mile markers.
And, darn it, I did it! For the first time in my whole life I successfully ran an entire 5k race.
As my t-shirt so inappropriately says, Busting My Ass to Save Some Boobs.
Well, cheers to that.
But it wasn't about me. It's about my mom and all the other breast cancer fighters out there. And for that, I'll run in the rain all day everyday.
Again, many thanks to all those that supported my me in honor of my mom.
Barb & Mark, Dotty & Jim, Connie & Archie, Alex & Amy, Scott & Sally, Morgan & Charlie, The Canadian, Marissa, Tiffany, Lowell & Roy, The Benners, Schaefer, KTH, Carla & Tyler, Donny & Katrina, Mom & Dad, Julie, Karen & Tom and Matt & Dorris -- I couldn't have done it without your support.
Thank you for giving so generously!
Shout out to The Canadian for standing in the rain today and manning the camera and a soaking wet Newf wearing a pink t-shirt. I'm sorry your wife is ridiculous. But thanks for putting up with her.
Shout out #2 to my dad. He ran exactly 8.45 times as far as I did when he completed the Portland Marathon today in high wind and brutal rain. He's such a bad ass.
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