Sunday was the Love 2 Run 4 Mile race around the downtown airport. It was also Valentine's Day and my birthday. We decided to celebrate by doing this run. At the time I signed David and I up for it, I wasn't thinking about the weather. . .Did I mention, I hate being cold. That morning we woke up at 7 am to a 27 degree day with wind chills in single digits, and oh, it was WINDY!!! I even considered staying home, well, more than considered. I told David it was really too cold, so let's not go. And as I sat there thinking about it, I changed my mind.
So we put on our warmest running clothes and headed to the airport. I'm not sure that I still understood how cold it was going to be outside. When we arrived, people were trickling into the parking lot. As I'm looking at them, I tell myself that they're pretty elite athletes (of course they are, what other kind of person would come out in this extreme weather?), and the voices start in my head. The ones of doubt and discouragement. They go something like this, "It's too cold, you hate cold, you can't really do this, you'll finish dead last, look how cold it is, this is going to hurt, you're not going to make it" and on and on.
However, there was another voice, the voice of my husband, standing right next to me, "This is going to be fun." Ahhhhh. . .so we got out of the car, and headed to the start line.
The race started right on time, so off we went. We were standing pretty close to the start line, and for about the first mile, runners passed us. Again, that voice, "You're going to finish dead last, what are you doing out here, it's so cold. . ." About the first mile, the inside voice started coming out. Each step was painful, cold and uncomfortable and I let David know."My knee hurts, we haven't even gone a mile, this is horrible." David loaned me his two holed hat to put around my neck and over my mouth, but when I'd wear it I couldn't breath, and when I didn't I was freezing. I complained about this too. Truth is, I fussed the ENTIRE time. And yet, David stayed strong, he kept encouraging me. I said, "I'm going to walk." He said, "No, we can do this." He held my hand going up the hills, he stayed calm and ran right next to me. I told him he could leave, he said, "No, we are doing this together." And so we ran.
At the 3 mile mark, I said, "Why couldn't this be a 5K?" We laughed, and kept on running. Finally, the finish line was in sight. That voice in my head continued the entire run, but David's company and encouragement allowed me to believe him and keep on running. We crossed the finish line at a little under 44 minutes. Afterwards, I was wiped out, cold and sweating at the same time. And I finished. And I ran the whole thing, yes, it was hard, and I didn't think it was possible, but I did it.
This is what coaches, running buddies, and family members do for our girls during their 5K. For most girls, this is their first 5K, and they wonder if they can really do it. They want to quit, but the person next to them says, "You can do this." "I'm staying with you the whole way, and we'll get it done!" Then they reach that finish line and realize they did it. My hope for each girl is that the voice she hears in her head when she tries something new or hard is that of her coach or encourager - "YOU CAN!!!" For me, that voice is getting stronger every day, and completing those seeming impossible things generates such empowerment inside of me! I can and I did!
Also, learned that guys get a really cool shirt if they do solemates, not girly pretty like mine! If you're a guy and you're interested, you should totally do Solemates, the fundraising goal is only $262 (unless you're a maniac like me - $1500)
Week 2, Day 1: Yesterday I said I'd start hydrating. Today you could see me around town with monster water jug. Look at this thing, it's huge!!!!
Perks: Yesterday I received my welcome box to SoleMates. My $26 registration fee got me a lot of goodies!!! First, notice how cute welcome box is, tennis shoe box with footprints on it - ahhhhh.
Jackson County Girls on the Run serves suburbs like Lee's Summit and Blue Spring, rural areas like Grain Valley and Buckner as well as the urban core in the heart of Kansas City - think VanBrunt and 17th Street and areas like Sugar Creek. This season we've nearly tripled in size going from 33 girls last fall to close to 90 this spring. We've added 3 fully funded sites - thanks to Pave Your Lane, LINK and SoleMates. At the same time, we've been able to maintain our registration fees to $50-$75 for our public sites. Our total out of pocket site per girl is $200, so offering it at an affordable rate means we need help!
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