Race For The Cure

Sunday morning I crawled out of bed at 5:45 a.m.  I was both excited and nervous knowing that in two hours I would be running my first 5K run at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  I was pretty sure I could force myself to run the entire 3.1 miles on my treadmill in my 70 degree basement, but I didn’t train outdoors and I was worried about the heat and humidity combination.  However, I took a peek at my pledge page just  before I went to bed Saturday night and this is what I saw:

I have some incredible friends and family members. You guys not only doubled, but tripled my fund raising goal! I thought I would be lucky to hit $160, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see the balance rise to nearly $500! I wasn’t about to let you guys down.

My mom and my niece Caitlin got up early to cheer me on (and give me a ride) and I was glad to have them there. My nerves started getting the best of me just shortly before the race started. I decided to hit the port-a-potty line and by the time I got out had only about five minutes until start time.

When I got to the starting line, quite a few people had already started walking, but I waited for the official start to take off. The first thing I realized was that I should have trained for hills. Funny how it seems a whole lot more hilly when you’re on your feet than when you’re in a car!

I got a pretty good start, but tired out a lot faster than I thought I would. I blame it on the combination of the hills and the sun beating down on me. I had to stop and walk much sooner than I wanted to, but I knew if I didn’t I’d never make it the whole way. I ended up walking most of the uphills and running as much as I could on the downhills and flat areas.

I was getting pretty worn out by the time I got near the end, but I was determined to finish it out running. As I turned the last corner I took a short walk break, then ran toward the finish line. I finished at 45 minutes, 56 seconds, which was much better than I was expecting.

Overall it was a great experience and one I definitely plan to do again. Next year I’m going to raise the bar and increase my fund raising goal. I may even try to run the timed race next year. I’m going to start training next week. I see a lot of hills in my future!

To all of you who donated, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It really means a lot that you would donate to a cause that is so important to me, and more importantly, that you believe in me.