Be the Change

Well, on Saturday, after one month with "Race Day Training" I did something I thought I would never do..... I ran a race! It was only 5K, but that was enough for me! I didn't feel even close to being ready for it, but I survived. Thankfully it was a small race, so not a ton of pressure, but there was a small group of die-hards.

My devoted friend Jenni, who happens to be a serious runner (she does big-time races like this one, at high altitude, even though she lives in the desert), did it with me, just for moral support! She stayed with me the whole time, bless her heart, even though she could have easily run it in half the time I did (an embarrassing 46:36, though at least there were a handful of people who came in behind us). She kept encouraging me and pushed me on (in a nice way). I estimated that I ran (well, jogged, but for me it's "running") about half of the time.

Oh, and by the way, there were little hills all over the place! What's up with that?

Jenni could have walked faster than me (actually, my jog is so slow that I think I could have walked faster than me). My knee was (no, make that "is") killing me. (A knee-replacement is in my not-so-distant future.*) I think I might have given up if Jenni hadn't been there.

Jay and the kids showed up to cheer me on (and video me! Ugh!). I'm doing all this for them, though my kids think I'm crazy.

So, I ran a race. And no, I don't want to run another one.... at least not in the foreseeable future.

Thank you Jenni! I owe you big time! Thank for Jay, for encouraging me to join "Race Day Training." Thank you Diane, for being my inspiration. And to Dixie, for making me do this... thank you... I think. :)



*My knee was crushed in a car accident 10 years ago = multiple surgeries, bone grafts, plates and screws, damaged cartilage and ligaments, etc. My orthopedic surgeon gave it 10 years before it would need replacing, so I'm running on borrowed time anyway.