going the distance
{UPDATE*: this morning i finally posted a photo of me w/ long hair--i.e. me when i'm not athletic. you could call that the "everyday" me. posted for a limited time only, of course}. so anyway...
on saturday 9/4, i completed this city�s pre-eminent summer athletic event! it�s also the largest all-women's race in state: be SURE to check out this great article, from last week's edition of "The Hook". this was my first women-only race, and unlike any i�d done before. the crowd was energizing, everyone was super supportive of each other, and the atmosphere was festive and uplifting, w/ pink ribbons and balloons everywhere. i hadn't been around that many women all at once in years! i'd imagine that Susan Komen�s Race-for-the-Cure and the Danskin Women's Triathlon are similar. i think in some way, being around so many strong, amazing women gave me strength i didn't realize i had--esp. considering that many were cancer survivors.
on sat. morning, my hips/ankles were so uncomfortable i had to roll to get out of bed, and i iced those areas. my parents encouraged me to walk that day. at first, i seriously entertained that idea. but you know what? something magical happened when i arrived at the race site. i surprised myself: while lining up to start, i decided to begin by running, albeit slowly, and see if/how i could handle it. my feet fell into a routine, and i thought "this isn't bad, it's easier than i thought, i can actually do this!". i continued in a slow, steady trot, stopping only to walk a few seconds at two hills and two water stations. in no time, i'd reached the three-mile mark. suddenly, in that most grueling final stretch, i heard my name yelled out from the sidelines, "Go M. Y.! Looking strong!". i turned just quickly enough to see and wave at hilary, a co-worker at my former job! how awesome is that?!
in the home stretch, i kept telling myself not to think about the exertion or fatigue and just to trust my legs to do what they needed to get across the finish line. the last mile was called the "motivational mile" b/c race organizers had hung posters w/ breast cancer survivors� names along a mile-long stretch of fence by the road. it was incredibly moving, and you really had to be there to feel the impact. more importantly, those colorful posters revived me, and i sprinted to the finish line, where someone handed me a pretty pink and white souvenir water bottle (filled, of course!).
now remember how emotional i get at races? you�ll surely think i�m nuts, but�well, it happened again! i hoped my parents would be waiting right at the finish line, but i didn't see them anywhere when i crossed it. i suddenly and momentarily got sad and teary-eyed. so crazy, huh? but with 1850 participants (of whom 1509 finished), plus spectators and volunteers, the crowd was huge enough that it was bound to happen. we did finally meet up when i spotted them, thanks to the bright yellow beach towel and tote i'd given them to carry. that day, i also ran into an old grad school classmate, monica. she�s also a fellow holyoke alumna, though much older (she graduated in 1987)! i had no idea she still lived here, and hadn�t seen her in four years! i learned that we live in the same neighborhood now. how cool is that?
needless to say, i'm still basking in the sense of accomplishment i got from finishing, and finishing decently at that! in the most general sense, my first goal was to finish in under an hour even if i walked the whole thing. my second goal was to make sure i wasn�t in the back of the pack. in the end, my time of 51:14 placed me 1096th of 1509 athletes. [see official race results here]. this was truly an amazing event. the oldest runner was 80! and one woman even flew in from san francisco to do the 4-miler! and FYI, i noticed there was equal (if not more) support/cheering for the final finishers as for the top runners. maybe those at the tail end deserved more applause than anyone simply b/c they were out on the course for the longest amount of time.
what's next for me? a half marathon? a danskin triathlon? maybe the super bad-ass mrs-roboto and the brilliantly rad arajane are on to something. BUT, i�ve got a whole year to think about it...
*PS: you guessed correctly if you figured that i'm the one in black shorts and white top in that first photo. actually, though, when i'm not all sporty, i often wear my hair long and sometimes wear glasses.
