Right… I ran for the Cure

Heh heh, this is a tad embarrassing… I had put together this post the day after I participated in the Run for the Cure but only saved it as a draft.

*Sigh*

Well, here it anyway just, please, ignore the fact that it’s being posted almost a month late.

[Originally written Monday, October 3, 2011]
Overall, the run went better than expected. My main goal was to maintain a pace that allowed me to complete the course without walking. Plus, I was trying to run with “quiet feet” to minimize impact and spare my knees unnecessary anguish.

As my pre-run blurb said, I was running for “Aunt Anne”, my mother’s sister, who passed away from breast cancer a few years ago. And so, my mom wanted to support me and came along as my one person cheering squad — mom’s are the best. 🙂

The run itself started at 10:00 yesterday morning but registration started at 8:00. I had never been to one of these runs before and I didn’t want to be late so, I erred on the side of caution and showed up at 8:00 in case registration took a long time. Well, it didn’t. Once we figured where I had to register, I walked right up to two friendly volunteers who signed me in right away and gave me my T-shirt, my paper “I’m running for…” bib, and a few safety pins to bring the whole ensemble together. My mother and I were then directed over to the table of markers where I could write on my bib…

My Runner’s Bib

Well this, I was not ready for… my mother and I both got quite choked up actually seeing my aunt’s name written down. It seemed so… final? Like it was only then that it set in completely that my Aunt Anne had passed away. I mean, I knew it, it’s just the reality of it seemed to hit like a tonne if bricks.

*Ugh*

So, then went outside where my mom helped me pin the bib onto my shirt. And then…

…we waited.

Yeah… 8:00 was unnecessarily early. There was barely anyone there. On the bright side, my mom and I got to spend the morning together chatting. It was really nice. 🙂 We walked around for a bit until it started raining, we headed back to the car, chatted some more, and watched as the other runner and walkers finally started showing up — a lot of teams.

I think I’d like to part of a team next year, their energy was incredible.

I stayed in the car to keep warm until when everybody started filing into the street, about fifteen minutes before the start. Okay, it was running time.

It was still raining so, everyone was bouncing around to stay warm. I was repeating my plan over in my head: no walking, quiet feet, no pain; no walking, quiet feet no pain… Then, before I knew it, the countdown started, and we were off and running.

I started off probably a bit quicker that I should have but managed to hold my own. I hadn’t walk around that part of Halifax for a while so, it was really nice. The route started at the South Commons in front of Citadel High, looped up around the North Commons, down Rannie, then Gottingen, Cogswell and Brunswick, before circling around the East and South sides of the Halifax Citadel, then along South Park and the full loop around Public Gardens, then back up to the finish line.

So, I didn’t walk, I avoided pain, it rained a lot, I got soaked and had a blast 🙂

On top of everything, I did quite alright for time — 5K in 00:28:37. I was planning on pacing it safer but the energy from being in the crowd of runners seemed to just pull me along. LOVED it.

Overall, a good run for a great cause.

A HUGE thank-you again to everyone who donated. It felt great to run with a purpose. 🙂

[steelie]

4 comments
  1. Great job! Every time I’ve done a 5K I have started out more quickly than usual. I think it’s the adrenaline and being surrounded by other people. Great job with the finishing time, too! I’m doing a little 5K tomorrow morning (my first in a few years). I’m hoping for 34 minutes, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m so slow!

    1. Thanks, Cori! I was pleasantly surprised by the time/pace once I had the whole thing figured out. 🙂

      I’ve been following your tweets about your progress. It’s great that you’re running the 5K tomorrow. Is it a race? I’ve only done this run and another actual 5K race more recently. You’re right, running while surrounded by people is great motivation — I get some deranged satisfaction every time I pass someone. I know on some level it’s supposed to be all about personal improvement but I can’t help it. 😉

      Thanks again, Cori! I look forward to hearing about tomorrow’s race. 🙂

      (PS: Do you track your running anywhere? I’m “steelie” on both Dailymile and RunKeeper if you do. Although, I admittedly love Dailymile quite a bit more.)

    2. Ha! You don’t waste any time! 😉

      1. Ha! I saw that come through in my email and decided to add you before I forgot. 🙂

        When I did the bike portion of the triathlon last year, I was really excited because I passed 32 people! Deranged, indeed.

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