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05/12/2007
I Raced
I am not a natural athlete. In junior high I was the girl that couldn't even stay up for one second in that hanging chin up exercise they made us do to test our fitness. I can't even tell you how embarrassing that was. I am not good at things that require a lot of hand eye coordination like football, soccer, or frisbee. I am horrible at aerobics and other activities that require things like learning "routines" and "dance moves." I have also never been very good at high impact endurance activities. Which is why I usually don't commit to mornings like today. But in this case, I am glad I did. Sort of. Let me explain...
Along with 16,000 people, I ran the Salt Lake City Race for the Cure. A couple of months ago my friends at work talked about running the 5K together and I thought it sounded fun. You know, because it was weeks and weeks away. I do work out quite a bit but I tried to change my workouts to focus on endurance and running. It worked, or so I thought. You see on a treadmill, I can rock the 5K. The real outside though is a little different. Around the end of mile 2 it started to get painful. I should have stopped and walked for a bit but my goal was to run the whole time. A huge feat for someone like me and I didn't want to fail. Did I do it? Why yes I did. Did I push myself too hard out of sheer ego and competition? Why yes I did.
I ran next to my co-worker Lacey whose presence was the only thing keeping me from walking. I am willing to bet Lacey was the type of girl who could keep her chin above the bar for like a minute. Lacey and I have been doing a lot of trash talking about who would finish first so when I saw Lacey start to sprint to the finish I knew I had to pick up the pace too. We touched the finish line at the same time. When I stopped running, I thought I was going to die but turns out I only needed to throw up--then I was fine. Was this embarrassing? Why yes it was. But I did meet my goal of running the the whole time and supporting a very worthy cause? Yes I did.
Actually, just being among the crowd of people running was pretty inspirational. I saw a Dad and 3 kids running in memory of their Mom who died in February of this year. Can you imagine? There were survivors running in pink shirts, family members with pictures of loved women on their backs, and supportive friends whose lives have all been touched by this disease. It was heartbreaking. But it also reminded me of the strength of women and the power of getting involved. I am really glad I participated.
We didn't have our cameras during the race but here is a picture after the race at breakfast of me and my friends who ran the race with me:
Lacey, Me, and Maryann at Finn's after the race.
I know it is just a little 5K but I still feel like it was an accomplishment. Yea us!!!
20:25 Permalink | Comments (25) | Email this
Comments
Congrats on the 5K! I've been working on running, too, and I know what a big accomplishment it is.
Posted by: Heather | 05/12/2007
You are fantastic! I'm so proud of you!
Posted by: Heather Joins The Round | 05/12/2007
Good for you! Congrats on the 5K - that really is cool!
Posted by: tiennie | 05/13/2007
YOUGUYS ARE GREAT!!!
I also helpping AID ride this year...
GREAT JOB~~~
By the way...Visit my knitting blog sometime!!!
Thanks
Charles
Posted by: charles | 05/13/2007
Yay!!! Great job. Also you sweater in the previous post is gorgeous!
Posted by: christine | 05/13/2007
Congrats, I'd say that a 5k is a big accomplishment... And don't feel bad, NO ONE could do the bent arm hang!
Posted by: Heather | 05/13/2007
Your did great, for a great cause. Congrats!
Posted by: Petunia | 05/13/2007
That is definitely an accomplishment - good job!
Posted by: Laure | 05/13/2007
I couldn't even make my arms bend. I hung like a smoked ham from the dang thing.
But you are so amazingly awesome. What a feat!!!
Posted by: Kit | 05/13/2007
Fabulously amazing you are!! It's such a big accomplishment and you deserve lots o' kudos!!
Posted by: margene | 05/13/2007
It's definitely NOT a "little" accomplishment. It's a BIG one. Way to go, girl!
Posted by: Cheryl | 05/13/2007
My dad always told me if you threw up at the end of a race then you ran hard enough :)
Good job girl, I'm proud of you!
Posted by: artmomma | 05/13/2007
Woo-hoo! What you did is truly inspiring!!! ;)
Posted by: Stitch-n-Snitch | 05/13/2007
Whoohoo! Go Erin! I am completely embarrassingly unathletic, so I really admire anyone that can run at all! Congrats!
Posted by: Kim | 05/13/2007
That picture is AFTER the race and the, ahem, post-race?? What women!
Knitters continue to make me proud to be among their company. I think your victory is is quite an accomplishment (though still maybe second to the gorgeous Eunny Jang fair isle? maybe).
Posted by: sulafaye | 05/13/2007
it's that heart rate monitor, i'm tellin' ya. you rock for doing that 5k and i can't believe you ran the whole time! i swear i'm not copying you (again) because i've been planning to do this for a month or two, but i want to run a 5k in the fall with my friend. i'm preparing with the HRM and i can only run 1.5 miles straight through. i'm so impressed that you ran the whole 5k! it's a true accomplishment.
"I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished"-mr. darcy, P&P
i think you've joined the ranks of the truly accomplished :)
Posted by: rachel i. | 05/13/2007
Way to go! I am so impressed. I am so not a runner anymore. I loved sprinting, but runing long runs were not my bag. When Kara and I did track in middle school she was always the distance runner. You ROCK!!!
Posted by: Cassi | 05/13/2007
Congratulations! Well done!
Posted by: Brenda | 05/13/2007
Oh, Erin... Where do I begin?
First, I loved this post... not just because you thought I was that girl who could do the hanging ching up. (Not even close.)
Second, YOU helped ME get to that finish line without walking...
So glad we did it together.
(And, might I add... You puke so elegantly.)
Posted by: laceyJ. | 05/13/2007
Yay, Erin! I know for me, running the Race for the Cure last year was a really emotional experience. It brought all the turmoil from dealing with my mother's cancer right back to the surface. It was touching to see all the people who wanted to make a difference in the lives of the men and women who have been affected by breast cancer. Thanks for being one of those people.
I'm hoping that I can be ready to run it again this year in September down here in Texas. Who knows if I can get rid of enough baby fat by then to do it? Wish me luck!
Posted by: Susan | 05/14/2007
A little 5K... that is still about 2.2 miles than I would be running any time soon. Good for you!
Posted by: nova | 05/14/2007
yay you! : )
Posted by: Amanda Cathleen | 05/14/2007
Wow! Good job! I've never had the guts to tackle a 5K, so I salute you.
Posted by: KatherineOfItAll | 05/15/2007
YOU are so incredibly cool! I am impressed beyond words at your accomplishment. There is nothing better than doing something hard and then know that you can do hard things!
Amazing!
Posted by: DeAnn Hansen | 05/15/2007
Congratulations on finishing the 5K! It's wonderful to be able to support those with disease however we can. I'm not terribly athletic myself so I know how you feel...good for you for overcoming that fear and doing it anyway!
Posted by: Debby | 05/16/2007