Sunday, May 11, 2008

My First Medal for an Athletic Accomplishment!

The Oklahoma City Memorial Races went great for everyone. :) After waiting in the car for the rain to let up we finally started making our way to the starting line. In fact, we donned some trash bags as makeshift ponchos. The plan was to just make a whole big enough for our heads so that the bag would cover our arms and the rest of our bodies. This didn’t quite work however, as the tall kitchen-sized bags were too narrow to go over our broad shoulders. Discovering this, I very ungracefully tried to make armholes but ended up creating a bigger hole on one side than I’d planned…it was all very comical. :) So next time we know to bring bigger trash bags. Nonetheless, we made it to our corrals. C stayed in the church, where I told him I’d find him after I was finished. B and A went to their corral while I stayed with all the other 5K’ers.

The master of ceremonies (or whatever you call him) declared 168 moments of silence to honor those killed in the OKC bombing. Let me tell you, it’s really very powerful to hear almost 20,000 people just shut up for that long a time. Next was the National Anthem, and then the Wheelchair Marathoners took off. Thankfully, by this time, the rain had pretty much dissipated. It was still cloudy, dreary and cold but I think it’s safe to say that everyone there felt happy and energetic, me included. In fact, I didn’t truly feel cold until I took off my hat briefly for the National Anthem – taking it off let my body heat escape from my head! Oh yeah, and by this time I’d ripped off and thrown out the too-tight trash bag. (That was the beauty of the trash bag, the ability to just throw it away. This way none of us needed to worry about checking any gear.)

Before we knew it the Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Relay runners all too off. I never actually saw B and A during this time. There was no way I could pick them out in a crowd like that, not really knowing where they were. I’ll admit I was a teensy bit nervous for them, I mean who knows what can happen? This feeling pretty much passed though. Anyway, a few minutes later it was time for us 5K’ers to go. As I crossed the Start line they were playing ‘Walkin on Sunshine’, a great upbeat song to get me going and also one that gets played on my Shuffle a lot. It was also ironic considering the weather. :) I felt fantastic though, because who would’ve ever thought I’d be there – me, with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis; me, who never participated in anything athletic growing up if I didn’t have to?

I took off running for the first tenth of a mile, not only because I was excited, but also because I wanted to shake people off of me. I walked all the rest, taking in the whole experience, and then I ran the last tenth of a mile for a strong finish. Along the way I took note of all kinds of people doing the 5K with me. It was just fun to be a part of it. One of the coolest people was a Marine running along the course and motivating everyone. He had a big American flag he was carrying and an adorable beagle on a leash running ahead of him. He shouted to us that we were doing great and it was a beautiful morning to be outside – he was a character and, Tracie, I totally thought of you! :)

Finally I finished in 51:16 with an average pace of 15:54. Aragorn said I went for 3.22 miles – the accuracy of all this is questionable anyway since the Garmins don’t do so well in urban environments with tall buildings around (which is exactly where we were running though). Once I crossed the Finish line I was surprised to actually get a medal. After all, since the event wasn’t even officially timed I certainly wasn’t expecting us 5K’ers to get medals…so it was really very cool when a volunteer did give me one. :) It occurred to me much later that this was my very first medal or award of any kind for an athletic accomplishment. All my life my awards have always been for academic achievements, so I was proud of this recognition of my first athletic achievement – here’s hoping it’s the first of many medals!

At this point, more inspiration came. About a minute or two after I crossed the Finish it was announced that the winning half-marathoner for the men had just crossed – Wow. And of course he hardly seemed phased.

After this I headed over to the church where C was right there waiting for me. He showed me where the big screen TV was located in the huge sanctuary. From here we chatted about the race and watched the live broadcast of it, which was mainly focusing on the lead marathon runners. I also went ahead and did my stretches and then got in line for my free pancake breakfast. The wait was worth it as it was really yummy! I also picked up a business card so that I can send the church a donation at some point because it really was great of them to open up their doors – and their kitchen – to all of us.

Once the race clock said the runners had been out for 2.5 hours, C and I made our way to the Finish line to be sure to be there to cheer on B and A. They had projected to finish in about 3 hours, but I knew they could also come in faster than that. We watched from the bleachers as people streamed across the Finish and got their own medals. I also randomly cheered for lots of runners as they finished, who cared if I didn’t personally know them?

B finished in 2:50:30 and A came in just behind him in 2:53:35. I can’t even express how much I was beaming with pride when I saw B. As promised, I gave him a big sweaty hug. :) We made our way to the car, took turns showering when we got home, and relaxed the rest of the day. We celebrated with some Little Debbie Swiss Rolls that really hit the spot. We also watched the local TV coverage of the race, which we’d had Tivo set to record. What turned out to be really awesome was that all three of us runners made it onto TV at some point! The lead marathoner for the women ran by A at one point, so you can see her running in the background. And then while they were interviewing the lead marathoner for the men you can see B and me in the background. Pretty cool.

All in all it was an excellent race and a wonderful experience for me. And what makes it even better is that this is only the beginning.

2 comments:

Tracie said...

It sounds as though you had a lot of fun. I find it amazing that you said you paid a lot of attention to the other runners/walkers participating in the events. I run 3 miles all the time and am just so focused on the run itself and am so miserable that it has never even crossed my mind to look around and focus on my surroundings. I use exercise as a way to "de-stress" and that requires strict focusing.... maybe after my knee fully heals and I am back up to the full 3 miles, I will try it your way, to look around and enjoy the surroundings a little more.
Here's to your health and first medal? I hope you have as much fun at all of your races that you had at this one.

valerie said...

You must be sooooo proud of yourself. I can understand the excitement of a medal for athletics. Your first medal with more to come. Hayley, you are an inspiration for those with bad knees. (I people watch, too.)