It was a race that I won't forget. Mostly because of the weather but also because of Amanda.
As most of you know, I didn't specifically train for this race. I only ran it because a friend of mine at the gym offered me her registration because she had hurt her back. I hadn't done a run over an hour since before Christmas and this race reminded me how much training makes a difference. It's easy for me and for others to forget that sometimes. I think sometimes we think that some people are just born to run or that running just comes so easily for them. I don't think that's true. It is true that some people have body types that suit running a little more but that's certainly not the most important factor, as I have seen some solid, stocky first place finishers. The most important factor to running success is time and training. That's it. That's the only reason I have become an endurance athlete. I've put in the time and the training.
My muscles and joints were quite painful this race, due to a lack of training.
(With my kids at the starting line)
The first half up to the turnaround point, I kept reminding myself to 'relax into it' and save myself for the second half. I felt good the first 5 km but then some mild suffering set in. There was this chick in orange lululemon spandex tagged in my mind as a target. I do this every race; choose people that I want to make sure I beat. It makes racing more of a game and keeps me motivated and determined. At the turnaround point my orange spandex friend had stopped for a port o potty break so I made my pass. Then the sun started really breaking through the clouds so I gave Adam my mitts. I started taking off my coat, moving my race bib to be underneath my coat, so that the next time I saw Adam I could give him my coat as well. That was a highlight of the race, those 5 minutes of sun and feeling so refreshed and strong. My pace was picking up a bit and it felt good to be on the second half.
Then I looked up and some ominous, dark clouds started rolling in. I hoped I would bypass them. Within a couple minutes I felt like I was in the eye of the storm. The wind and snow were insane. I couldn't believe it. My cute little family was right in the middle of it, cheering me on again. I asked Adam for mitts because my hands were so frozen. Funny thing is, my lips were so frozen too. Adam ran back to the truck and found me a couple kms ahead to give me mitts.
That's also when I met Amanda. She was my next passing target but when I went to pass she asked if she could run with me, or rather told me she wanted to run with me. I was ok with that, I just had to change my perception of her from target to buddy. The last 6 kms of the race she chatted a lot and told me how she had a collapsed bladder from childbirth a few years ago and that this was her first race since then. She was told she'd need surgery but decided she was going to work hard with physio to get better. This race was a big deal to her, for those reasons. She explained that at 15km she was starting to get really discouraged and was going to call her brother who lived nearby to pick her up. Then I came along and in her words, "my feelings of isolation disappeared because of you." Amanda is a high school teacher and has been teaching her class this week about the importance of connections with others. I felt that the blessing of helping Amanda was God's plan for me in this race. I would have never suspected that outcome.
Amanda and I suffered through that storm together and it was so insane. We couldn't see the markings on the sidewalk for the course anymore and since we were following the guy with the blue shirt in front of us, we ended up crossing down the wrong bridge until we realized we were off course. We found our way with Adam's help. Honestly Adam was such a big help that race. He went and bought me some gatorade when I realized they were only offering water on course. Him and the kids found spots to cheer me on all along the course. Adam said the kids got so into it, high fiving all the runners. Amanda commented on how cool it was that they were there and that I was such a great example to my kids of being healthy and doing hard things.
My left knee started throbbing beyond my ability to run with only 1 km left. I told Amanda I needed to stretch and she said, "that's great, I'll stop and have a drink." Wow, were my quads and hamstrings ever tight. I was able to run again after a quick stretch though. As we neared the finish line my kids ran up to me and Riley said, "I want to run to the finish line with you," Of course Kyla said, "me too." And Adam joined in too. That was special. I've never run through the finish line with my kids and husband before. The time clock said 2 hours 12 seconds. I gave Amanda a big hug and told her how proud I was of her.
(Right before the finish line. Amanda ran ahead so I could stop and run through the finish line with my family)
