Running for the Cure: My First 5km!

On October 2 of this year I completed my first 5km race! I originally registered for this race after seeing advertisements for it on tv. The advertisements made it look like a fun and rewarding experience! Not only that, but earlier this past summer my best friend Glenna's mom (Helen) passed away after a 14-year battle with breast cancer. I wanted to do something in her honour and in her family's honour. Another family should never have to go through what they went through during their mother's illness and passing.

I tried to put together a team for this female-bonding event but unfortunately none of my friends were available that weekend, so I decided to make it a personal goal. I had already began my running program so I knew if I registered for a race I'd have something to keep me motivated and something to work toward. I set to work spreading the word that I would be participating in the event and collecting pledges and donations from some very generous friends and family (thanks again to all who donated!) As the weeks past, I kept running, collecting money, and getting more and more excited!

When the weekend finally came, I was SO excited! Brad, the kids and I headed to Sudbury and stayed at his Mom and Claude's. We went to the mall that Saturday where I picked up my race t-shirt and number to pin on my shirt. The lady looked at me and said "I will get you the smallest one we have because you're tiny". Tiny! I don't think I have ever been described as "tiny" in my whole life!!! Next, I went to Sport Chek and leaving behind my usual tight-budgeted frame of my mind, I purchased a GORGEOUS fuschia Nike warm-fit running shirt. (Surprisingly, they actually had something really nice in PINK which of course, is the symbolic colour of breast cancer). That evening, we went out for a delicious pasta dinner at East Side marios (yes, running encourages pasta eating!) In the morning, I had a bagel with peanut butter (bagel for the carbs and PB for protein!) More delicious eating!

When we arrived at Camrbian College (start & finish line of the race) it was cold. We arrived early because I wasn't sure what was going to be going on, but now I know not to go so early next time. The only motivating/interesting thing about roaming the halls of the warm college was reading all the different reasons people were running. We all had an "I'm Running for..." paper pinned to our shirts. IT was touching and frankly, somewhat sad, to see all the names of those who have had brast cancer touch their lives.

The real excitement began a few minutes before 10 a.m. when me and 1,399 other runners gathered at the start line, along with hundreds of encouraging supporters and spectators. I can not even describe how exciting and motivating the countdown to the start of the race was! All around me where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. There were a lot of dogs, kids, and even men. But EVERYONE was dressed in pink and EVERYONE'S spirits were so high! It was such a motivating feeling! Besides that, there were actual REAL runners warming up and pumping themselves up around me.... I was particpating in a REAL running event!

FInally we were off! At the beginning of the race, I felt like I was passing everyone... it turns out that is because a lot of people were walking the route! Eventually, though, the pack spread out. Still, after hours and hours of training and running alone, it was pretty neat to always be running in a pack! Along the way, I saw runners of all abilities.... from beginners like me, to the most serious of runners (who I tried to keep up with but miserably failed! lol) I set a good pace though and chose one or two people to keep up with... that definitley helped!

Along the route they had 1km, 2km, 3km etc markers. What an exuberant feeling as we passed each one... especially the 4th! Finally as we neared the end of the race the crowd of spectators thickened. Knowing all these people were watching and cheering for us, was extremely motivating! As I saw the finish line, I really began pushing it hard. I was going to finish this and I was going to finish this RIGHT! It also helped that just before the finish line, I could see Mariah, Brad, Brandon, and Claude watching and cheering me on! I whizzed past them and dashed across the finish line! WOW!!! What a feeling!!! The adrenaline was pumping and an overwhelming feeling of self-pride took over me! I was so pumped I wanted to just keep running! Brad and the others were quick to find me and give me congratulatory hugs. I know I must have been beaming! On top of that, I finished the race in 30 minutes and 50 seconds - what I'm told is an incredible time for a first race!

After the race, we enjoyed treats provided by the race's sponsors (yes, more bagels -I love running simply for the reason that they encourage you to eat bagels!) We also stuck around for the awards ceremony -- can you believe that one teenaged boy actually completed the race in 17 minutes? Wow, talk about an inspiration! The most important thing though was that the Sudbury location raised about $700,000 towards breast cancer research ($450 raised by yours truly!) Amazing! One step closer to finding a cure :-)

All in all, this race was one of the most proudest moments of my life. I wanted to talk about it all day, tell everyone all about it, and show everyone the pictures to prove that I actually did it! I can not believe how far my fitness level has come. More than that, I am SO addicted to running races.... when and where will my next one be?!