If you’ve been wondering how our friend Laurie has been doing, wonder no more. A little over a month ago, she did something she never thought she would do: Her first 5K! Let’s hear what Laurie has to say about the experience.
In late April, my family and I prepped for the three-mile run/walk for MADD. The event was held in Wakefield, MA, around a gorgeous little lake (Lake Quannapowitt) in a beautifully upscale residential/industrial area. The start/finish line was at a beautiful little park with a great big open field of green grass right next to the lake, with a cute, sandy beach next to a playground for the kids to enjoy. They had a bunch of tents set up – raffles, games, face painting, temporary tattoos, and a bouncy house that I almost didn’t get my son out of.
We were all geared up – we all had either flames or wings attached to our sneakers (because that’s the way we roll) and a bag of drinks and snacks to carry us through the race. We carried everything – including my four-year-old son – in this awesome off-road “little red wagon” my husband’s family had gotten Mylo for his birthday a couple of years ago, which worked out perfectly. We decided to start out a bit earlier than the runners so that we could sort of take our time and not feel like we were in everyone’s way, and that worked out really well. We pretty much had the sidewalks to ourselves, and except for the occasional jogger, the only people who were passing us were other walkers.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather. Sunny, blue skies, and just warm enough. I kept a sweatshirt on the whole time, and even though the sun got a little hot on my back for a bit, it ended up being perfect.
I have to tell you… I don’t think I realized quite what a BIG DEAL three miles was until we reached a tiny little sign stapled to a tree that said HALF WAY. At that point, I looked across the lake at the teeny tiny little church that marked the start/finish line… and that’s when the road got a little dusty. It was then that it occurred to me what I was doing. That not six months ago, if someone had asked me if I would participate in a 5K I would have laughed in their faces. That the thought of doing this just a year ago would have been so far removed from the realm of possibility, you might has well have asked me to fly to the moon with hand-crafted wings.
As we passed the half way mark and headed into the home stretch, I felt like I got my own taste of “runner’s high.” Of course, we were walking, and in no way was I experiencing any kind of adrenaline-induced euphoria… but it was the closest I’d ever come, and in some ways it was probably very similar. I was jacked on the high of accomplishment. I was surrounded by the people I loved, and who had come out to support me because they loved me right back. My dad had foot surgery about a week after my weight loss surgery, and he’s been having some difficulties with the healing process. But do you think that stopped him from coming out and joining his daughter on a three-mile walk around a lake? Not a bit. My husband pulled a 40 pound child in a red wagon for three miles without a word of complaint. My mom took our pictures at every significant checkpoint or mile marker, and held my hand as we passed the half-way point. These people all came out to support me, and that was just awesome.
I was pretty proud of myself. I mean, three miles might not be a big deal to a lot of people, and there were a lot of people there who were running circles around us and not breaking a sweat, and the guy who won the prize for fastest race clocked in at 15 freaking minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES it took him to run three miles. It took us almost two hours. But it was a huge deal to me. A major accomplishment not only because it’s something I’ve never done before, but because I’m pretty sure this will always be remembered as my first 5K. As in, one of many. Yeah, I guess I could get used to this. 🙂
Congratulations to Laurie on this incredible accomplishment! If you’ve missed any of Laurie’s story, click on the Personal Journeys link on the left. And if you have a personal story you’d like to share, email me at bigfitdeal@gmail.com.
