Today I woke up bright and early before five am, and made my way to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to meet the others. It was amazing being up before the sun, and getting to witness the sunrise from a sleepy coffee shop, trying to restrain my excitement for what was to come.
Together Jonathan, Christine, Shane and I made the trek to Seal Beach and meet up with Laura, Caroline and Whitney. Laura was ready to go and she had Seasons 52 tee shirts for us. I am grateful to Laura and Seasons 52 for sponsoring us and giving me the opportunity to make one of my fitness goals a reality. I am a long way from being over 200 lbs and out of shape, and I feel so fantastic.
Time was of the essence, we didn’t even have time to use a port of potty, they were lining up as we arrived. We all made a plan to meet after since we would all be going at different paces.
All of us were doing the 5K, except for Jonathan who is a seasoned runner, no pun intended. He ran the 10K which inspires me greatly. I lined up towards the back with Laura, a little nervous with all of the people there. I am a novice runner and it is quite overwhelming being in such close proximity with all of the runners and wondering if I was going to get trampled. On top of that I have a slight toe injury and I was hoping the pain would hold out. I buddy wrapped my toes and took a few aspirin and believed I would be fine, after all the mind is stronger than the body. I had my music and I was ready. They called our group and Laura told me to push through my first song and keep going. She is an avid runner and it was not long before I lost her and went at my own slower pace. At one point I noticed runners going in a different direction, but I kept moving forward, oblivious of anything around me but my own stride and the tune keeping me upbeat, energized and moving onward.
I was enjoying my experience, sprinting fast to my play list and then walking for a bit, then again running. There was a point where I may have felt that elusive runners high people speak so fondly of. The breeze from the trees was cooling my overheated body down, the rhythm of my music was guiding my pace. I forged forward thinking I must be close to being done as I saw the 3 mile marker. I felt the sense of pride for being so close to finishing my first 5K.
Not so fast, the path oddly continued on and on, the runners who lost steam walked and I ran until I could run no more and at that point I began speed walking. That is when I noticed something peculiar, The 4 Mile marker. At every mile marker I encountered I snapped a quick photo. There were two ladies walking past me and I turned off my music to ask them how long the race was. A bit over 6 miles was the answer. We exchanged introductions, sisters Barbara and Judy kindly informed me I was running the 10K. We all got a chuckle out of the fact I accidentally was doing a 10K. As we approached the 5 Mile marker Judy snapped a photo of me standing next to it, and I also got a photo of the lovely ladies to remember them by. It was a high knowing I was accidentally doing my first 10K.
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| Dynamo sisters Judy and Barbara |
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| Realizing I went the wrong way but so happy. Quick pic and onward towards the finish line. |
I kept going, at this point my toe was starting to ache but I did not slow down. Barbara and Judy wanted to beat their younger sister to the finish line so they were off running. I pondered that the Seasons 52 team was probably wondering where I was and all of a sudden I saw Jonathan walking in the opposite direction. I explained to him I never took the 5K turn and instead accidentally ran the 10K, well walked/ran the 10K. He thought it was amazing and immediately walked with me for the duration of the race. Jonathan texted the others to let them know he found me. We decided I was going to run through the finish line so Jonathan joined me as I turned on my most inspiring tune and ran through the red arches to complete my first 10K. Judy was at the finish line and greeted me with a congratulatory hug which made me feel ten feet tall.
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| Thank you Judy |
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| I did a 10K |
The others were waiting, laughing at the fact that I missed the turn. Christine immediately handed me a protein bar, banana, and water and I was congratulated for doing my first 10K. We all laughed that I missed the turn, it was such a Rose thing to do. Today was such a wonderful experience, the people, the challenge, the scenery, the camaraderie of everyone gathered to conquer their personal goals and rooting for the person next to them. No competition, sportsmanship is alive and well in Seal Beach.
The morning was marvelous and I am so happy I had such a fun team to share this moment with. We took lots of photos and walked back to the car no worse for wear. I am inspired by the people who ran/walked beside me and honored to call them friends and co workers. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend.
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| Shane, Christine, Jonathan, Caroline, Laura, me and Whitney Team Seasons 52 |
Now what, my first half marathon? Not so fast, but I will have to make my next running goal a reality. No excuses now when I run with my trainer Mike. Our goal is for me to run around the park 4 times without stopping, and I am so inspired to make this quest happen in the near future. After all, I am ageless, fearless and I believe in me. As long as I have such amazing friends beside me I can conquer any battle.
More photos to follow.
Love and Light to all,
Namaste’
Happy Weekend
Rose
