I did it! My first 10K!! I've participated in a few 5Ks, but this race
was one for the books. The Monument Avenue 10K was named by USA Today
as one of the 10 great road races in the country. It's the fourth
largest 10k in the country and the 22nd largest race of any distance....
I ran with 41,200+ other people!
Lining up before the race was interesting.... and so was the starting line.
Today I learned that people who sign up to run don't always intend
to actually run. After about half a mile a couple hundred people in
front of me just stopped running altogether and didn't move to the side
to let the runners through. Why didn't they just sign up for the walking group?
Errrgh! I suppose spending the first half of the race weaving through
groups of walkers made things interesting... but next year I won't sign up
last minute and hopefully I'll be able to run in an earlier (faster) wave.
Thankfully it didn't rain like the weatherman predicted! Instead we had a
beautiful day and within moments of leaving the starting line, I had a
beautiful encounter of my own with a fine young member of the RFD...
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| call me! |
There were a gazillion volunteers shoving water at runners,
sports teams, a block party, a kid's race, cheerleaders,
tons of live music, random onlookers, even a costume contest..
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| probably my favorite aspect of this race |
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| toilet paper mishap |
My friend Charlene dressed up as a granny last year and
I just found out today that she's on the poster for this year's race!
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| Go Charlene Go! |
I love that there are plenty of gorgeous houses and gardens to admire all
along Monument Avenue... and of course, there our dear monuments.
I also must mention that I counted over a dozen front yard/porch
kegs and got countless high fives from partying spectators. One guy
even tried to hand me his muffin. I didn't have time to chat with him
about innuendo so I just smiled a smile of confused gratitude
and continued running. Awesome.
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So why pay $40 to run in a circle till my legs feel like jello, anyway?
To help raise funds and awareness for the Massey Cancer Center here in
Richmond. And to prove to myself that I could do it. I'm not
a naturally gifted runner by any stretch of the imagination, but
in my opinion, that's all the more reason to sign up.
Also, for my brother Jason. He has Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy
and can't do much in the way of physical activity beyond minimal use of his
hands, yet never once in his life has he ever felt sorry for himself.
Thanks to his motorized wheelchair, my dedicated parents, and his allstar
team of nurses, Jason's social life and daily activities put many of his
able-bodied peers to shame. I run in honor of Jason's strength of spirit and he
continues to be my inspiration in so many things.
Why run alone? I know a handfull of other people who participated, but this is
something I really just wanted to do on my own rather than with
a team or group. I am so very grateful, however, for my cheering section.
They weren't able to all meet up in the same place or even necessarily stay
for the whole race so I didn't get pictures with everyone, but just when
I needed encouragement the most I would see one of my crew and I
was re-energized! They insisted on coming to support me. Thanks guys!
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| Paul, Sara, Bettie, & Tanner |
I was jamming along to Motley Crue in my own little world around
mile 4 when Rachael thought it would be hilarious to sneak up behind me
and hip check me onto the sidewalk. I ripped my ear buds out and whipped
around to see who'd knocked into me and there she was, laughing hysterically
and jogging along as if she'd been with me the whole time. She gave me a
big hug and sent me on my way. I wish I had it on video....
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| Sneaky Rachael |
More music, high fives, and smiles... and the next thing I knew
I was at the Finish Line!
I did not train as well or as long as I intended, but I did much better than
expected and I'm more determined than ever to reach my ultimate goal:
a marathon! I never thought I'd ever be one of those nuts that forks over good
money to run for hours at a time, but here I am! Thanks to my own
personal cheerleaders, there's no doubt we'll make 26.2 happen!
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| my smug I-didn't-walk-at-all post race face |
Official results: 01:11:51
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