This morning was a morning filled with emotions, self doubt and triumph. I completed my first 5K. The energy before the race was amazing. I really don't think that I have ever felt that.
We got up around 5am to get ready for our day, had breakfast, showered and we were out the door. We got to the RumpShaker and had just under an hour. We walked a little to warm up and did some stretching. We made our way over to the starting line and waited. I had my iPod going strong with some Duffy, Beyonce and some Christina Christina Aguilera and just waited. The weather was beautiful, you could hear the cars going overhead and you could smell Dreamland BBQ in the air. Saw a lot of different people. You had your racing for an award people, you had the middle of the road people (kind of where we were) and then you had the people there that were going to be walking it. A few minutes past 8am, we started. It was a little strange at first, we were like cattle going through a shoot and then we hit the open road. I was trying to keep a good pace. I kept trying to jog for a few moments and then a fast pace walk. We started going over this bridge and I was struggling a bit. I started to have some self doubt going on. I started telling myself, "What the F*@% are you doing? Why are you doing this?. And at that very moment, I had a mental slap in the face. I was doing this to prove to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind to do. The best t-shirt that I saw today said, "Finish what you Started". I kept saying that in my head.
The first mile marker seemed to come out of nowhere, I looked at my stop watch and it was at 14:40. I was thinking in my head, that wasn't so bad. I'm a little winded, but still, not bad. The second mile, my lungs felt like they were on fire. I swear, flames were shooting out from my chest. (FLAMES!!!) Mi chesto, el fuego! (sorry my Spanish is a little ruff).
Anyway, I think they kept moving the 2nd mile marker. The second mile was at 29:33. We make it through to mile 3, by this point, I couldn't feel my legs anymore. I think the fire that was in my chest now moved to my legs. We would jog, then walk and continue that way. So I see the 3rd mile marker, saying to myself...SWEET, I'm almost there. I looked up and saw the blue and white balloons and I knew we were almost there. That last quarter mile, we jogged, full strength. It was awesome! Just before the finish line, Hubby reached for my hand and we jogged across together. It was truly amazing! Of course, we are about 10 feet pass the finish line and I felt like I was going to throw up....No, really, I felt like I was going to throw up! You have to understand, this was a lot for me. That couch is awfully comfortable. I cried a little, just because I realized that I can change my life. I don't want to just sit there and let life go by me. I knew at that point, that I had jumped in with both feet. Final time 46 mins. 35 sec., that my unofficial time. I'll update this when I get my official time.
I know that I kid around a lot about myself and the things that I do. But this time it was different. I didn't feel out of place, I didn't feel like everyone was looking at me, I didn't tug at my t-shirt because it was a little snug. I didn't let myself stop and turn around. I fought for this one and won!!!!!
I just want to thank all of my friends and family that have supported me so far in my journey. I have made it to this point, but it's not over. Please keep supporting me and keep pushing me. To my Jillian Michaels, thanks for putting this challenge in my face. I know that you had my back, even 900 miles away. I also know that you will always have my back. You are an awesome friend and I'm lucky to have you in my life. Keep challenging me, you know that I need that kick in the ass every now and again. And finally to my Hubby, I really couldn't have done this without you there pushing, poking and jogging by my side. You didn't make me feel like I was holding you back. I'm so glad that I accomplished this with you! You have a way to make me feel so special and I thank you for that. Please keep being my rock.
congratulations to both you and sean for your accomplishment. chris- I commend you on sticking with this challenge. You should be very proud of yourself and are setting a great example for your kids. Do I hear 10k calling your name next?????
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! What an accomplishment! You are such an inspiration to me. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHubby Here,
ReplyDeleteI must say it was a very exciting day for me also, we both worked hard to make it to race day. The one thing I realized as I stood at the starting line was that it doesn't matter if we finish first or last or somewhere in between, we already won when we got ourselves out of bed Saturday morning because the race we just the icing on the cake our true challenge was to face our demons and get prepared for the race. Back in December I thought to myself hey you know we can do this. The first day we trained together when it was 17 degrees out I thought we are we doing outside when our bed was so warm and comforting. I watch Chris struggle with her aches and pains, wanting to quite but never giving up, which made me work hard to keep my promise to her. She has been my rock for 15 years now it was my turn to be hers. Our true accomplishment had nothing to do with where we finished yesterday our true accomplishment was that we actually prepared ourselves to participate in our first 5K and made it to the starting line, the leisurely stroll we took through the streets of Birmingham was just the icing on the cake. When we crossed the finish line together holding hands I realized we can do anything we put our minds to as long as we have each other.