Let me start with what started this whole journey. A friend of mine, LM, posted a link to the NYC Color Run and asked who would run it with her. I looked it over and thought it sounded fun, but I wasn't 100% sold; I was not a runner so I wouldn't be able to keep up, it was NYC which is so far away, blah blah blah. And then I saw the date: August 25th. My father's birthday.
Without getting into too much detail, my father suffered from a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis (I will let you look this up) and passed away in 2009 from sort-of related complications. For much of his life he had severe physical limitations. I know this bothered him but he never complained about it. I know there were things he wish he could have done, things that he used to be able to do but could no longer do because his body started failing him. If given the opportunity, I'm sure there are about a million things my father would have done had he a healthy body. All of this went through my mind as I came up with mere excuses as to why I couldn't participate in a 5K with my friend. There was no real reason not to do it, other than I wasn't in shape. But there was plenty of time to get in shape and so my journey (and this blog) began. All of this led up to today, the culmination of my training, the reason I started running. (no pressure!)
A few weeks ago, LM told me that our group would probably not be "running" the 5K. She told me that herself and a few other people had not been able to prepare to run the full 3.1 miles. The intention was to run some of it but not everyone would be able to run the entire race. This left me torn. On the one hand, this is what I've been working towards, the goal I have been reaching for. How could I not run it? But it's the color run, not a marathon. It's supposed to be fun and it's not even timed. Am I really going to be selfish and run ahead of the group? I thought about this all morning.
The Ride
The alarm went off at 4:45am. Holy crap is that early! I spent the night at my mother's house to shave some time off of my drive in to Brooklyn. The commute was absolutely beautiful and emotional. I drove through the town I grew up in in the early hours of the morning and watched the sun rise as I passed the familiar places of my youth. There was a low fog sitting over the farm we go pumpkin picking in and a pink-ish purple sky above. I watched the red sun peek out above the clouds as I navigated the series of bridges to get me to my destination. I drove along the water and watched boats floating in the surrounding fog while the sky turned a bright blue. I thought of my father and what he would think of all of this, of how far I have come in only a few short weeks. I think he would be proud and happy for me. He would think the color run was absolutely ridiculous, and he would laugh at me, but I think he would see the fun in it as well. This commute was bittersweet and had me in tears for a lot of it as I got lost in my thoughts. But as I got closer to the complex I started listening to some happy music and got myself pumped for the day. I still hadn't made up my mind if I was going to run ahead or stay with the group, but I was leaning towards running ahead.
The Race Begins
The run started at 8am and they sent us out in waves every 5 minutes. We were in the 4th wave and spent some time waiting in line, dancing and laughing and having a good time. It's hard not to be happy at this event! When they announced our start everyone in our group started running and cheering. This made me happy, thinking that I wouldn't have to be the one that abandoned everyone to run. But within a few minutes, everyone got split up seemingly in pairs, and I was paired with LM. We kept running, but it was obvious that she was not going to keep it up for the 3.1 miles and I could tell that she felt bad about it. The rest of the group took off, and there was no way I was going to leave her. She's the one who planned all of this & got everyone together. She's kind of the reason I even started running in an indirect way. There was just no way I was going to take off and have her finish the race by herself. Not a chance.
So I resigned myself to the fact that this was not going to be my first 5K race. The Spotswood 5K in September will be my first "real" race. That will pop my 5K cherry, that will be timed, I will run that from start to finish either with a friend or on my own. Today I will have fun. Today is about something bigger, and I am more than OK with that. So we walked for a while, then ran for a while, and walked for a while again and ran again. We talked, we laughed, we reminisced. We had a great time people watching. We planned our team uniforms for next year. When we ran I felt strong and I could feel the change my body had made; I didn't get winded, I didn't feel tired, I felt awesome. I guess since I'm doing all of my running in a basement on a treadmill not in front of other people, and it's only been about 2 months, I still feel like it's not real. Like I'm doing something wrong or that I'm not really capable of running or that the treadmill is tricking me into thinking that I'm doing better than I am. So it was good to feel so good while doing something that would have made me feel bad just a few weeks ago. Does that make any sense?
Colors, Colors Everywhere!
The biggest question I've gotten is how does this all work? There are 4 color stations on the road to the finish line, each one is a different color. At each station there are a dozen or so crazy volunteers who stand there with clear plastic condiment containers full of powdered color (corn starch and coloring) and they toss the color on you as you run by. All of them had their own technique; some just squeezed the bottle in your general direction, some poured it over your head, some followed you and made sure your back was covered. And you always got sprayed by multiple people - they are a dedicated bunch these volunteers! We made it a point to run through all of these stations. After the 4th station, we were doused with Yellow, Orange, Pink & Blue. We ran across the finish line, reunited with the rest of our group and proceeded to the most ridiculous, fun, crazy, awesome finale I've ever been a part of. Everyone was given a color packet and the event emcee counts down and everyone throws their color in the air at the same time! There is a crazy rainbow shower all over you and all around you! After a few moments, the dust settles a bit and we can (sort-of) see each other, and everyone is just a giant, powder-ey rainbow of happy mess. It was so much fun! I have no idea why - it's ridiculous, silly, perhaps childish, but it is SO MUCH FUN!
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| Our team, The Prizmatics (aka, the Pink Bandits, lol) |
As we neared the finish line, we noticed some people who had gone back to the start and were running again. I did contemplate doing this for a few seconds so that I could actually run the race, but I was worried about time and I really didn't want to add another 30+ minutes to my outing so I decided against it. However, throughout the day it was really nagging at me. I hadn't run since Tuesday due to my hip injury, and I was still reeling from the fun of the day and ready to go! It felt wrong to do a 5K in the morning without actually running a 5K. I felt like I was cheating or faking it or something, or like I was letting myself down. So at 8pm I decided I was going to go for it, and I headed down to my basement for the 2nd 5K of the day.
The 2nd 5K
I didn't really have a choice but to wash all of my clothes at my mom's house before returning home because I had no other way to get them to my house without covering everything else that I own in color! So in the spirit of the day, I donned my color-stained running gear, complete with sweat band, and headed down to the basement. Since it was the second of the day and my first real run in a while, I was prepared to take it somewhat easy on myself. Really, I just wanted to finish, even if that meant I stayed at a 5.3 the whole time. But who are we kidding?! I stayed at a 5.3 for the first 1.5 miles. The next mile I ran at a 5.5. The next 1/2 mile I ran at a 5.7, and then the final 0.1 mile I ran at a 6.0. Total time 34:11. Not my best, but not my worst. I am definitely happy that I decided to run tonight!
Onward
Saturday, September 15th will be my first official 5K. Once I complete that I can say, "mission complete". Until then, back to trying to increase my speed! Stay tuned!
Love your attitude! Changing gears can be one of the hardest things to do, esp when you are mentally ready to give more than you wind up having to give. I think the Color Run will always be special bc it is what got you started, but I am super happy you have another race to look forward to that will be more concentrated on the running aspect. All kinds of races have a role to play, and it is exciting to keep watching your journey unfold as you navigate them!
ReplyDeleteI love that you read my blog, but there are a few reasons for this.
Delete1. Every time someone tells me they read this blog or I get a comment, I find myself surprised that anyone actually pays attention. Maybe because I have three other blogs that I felt would be more "interesting" than this one would be, and I am clearly dead wrong on that front! I don't know. But I see a comment & I get happy because I know that someone, somewhere read it :)
2. I have read all of your blog entries since Liz shared your blog with me. So to have a writer of something that I read be the reader of something that I write is pretty cool.
3. The story of your ultra will probably resonate with me for a long, long time. It constantly motivates me when I struggle and is a good reminder of what is possible if you try. So to have you in my corner here, cheering me on is pretty fantastic! So thank you for all of that!
I get three more weeks of training now so hopefully I'll be able to get my speed up a bit by the time the "new first" race comes! And I totally agree - The Color Run will always be what started it all and hold a special place for me :)