I started training back at the beginning of January by running before and/or after my aerobics classes or weightlifting. Honestly, running while not used to running is the most humbling experience ever. I work out five or six days a week in both cardio and strength training (weight lifting), and was thinking that running would require some adaptation, but that adapting would be expeditious.
WRONG.
Running is rough, ya'll! (Random Paula Deen moment)
Carrying your own body weight for however long is much more strenuous than I imagined.
Thankfully, something (I don't know exactly what) kept me running and I was increasing my time running without stopping by five minutes every week or two. Brandon encouraged me to lighten up with the weightlifting so that I wouldn't have to bulk up for the race, but I continued my usual routine without working heavy with legs. Running had the potential to kill my cardio mojo (because I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a natural runner), and I am actually pretty good at strength-training... so I kept lifting to keep my self-esteem high!
A natural "over-achiever," I began completely stressing myself out and running for about an hour every time I went to the gym. Over time it occurred to me that if I ran a decent portion of the race, it wouldn't actually take me an hour to run the 3 miles. With that, I began running 30-40 minutes, and my psyche gave itself a break.
Segue to... the month of February:
Stating the obvious, I will point out that Birmingham has had a pretty mild (and for the most part, lovely) winter. We had that super scary tornado in January (not at all lovely) and then lots of sunshine and temperatures in the seventies.
God has a real sense of humor in making the entire race weekend below freezing. No, really. Hilarious.
On Saturday, February 11, I woke up at my usual weekday wake up time, 4:20 (gross), because I was pretty anxious. I ate a Quaker "Weight Control" oatmeal packet for breakfast (good for breakfast on a hard cardio day... for anyone who might care) and neglected my usual cup of coffee to prevent a potty-break during the race. When we left, I had a long-sleeved work out shirt on under a fleece jacket with my yoga work out pants. Right before we stepped out the door, Brandon asked me if he needed to be "stationed" somewhere along the course in case I needed to take my jacket off. Upon walking out the door, I assured Brandon that I would not be losing my jacket during the race. The temperatures were bone-chilling, and the wind was blistering. These factors added to my nervousness.
We arrived downtown to lots of people who were waaaaaaay more pumped than I, but that really added to an eventual fun atmosphere. I got pretty frustrated when I first got settled on the track, trying to get my iPod started. I had gotten new earbuds for my iPod that are made for running; they go around your ears, and apparently my earlobes were too small to keep the earbuds in tact. This meant no offensive and head-banging music that usually pushes me through my runs. I didn't have too much time to fluster about this, because by the time I had pulled out the buds and squished them in my hand, the announcer was counting down to the beginning of the race. I remember randomly asking people beside me if they were competitive and if they were going to push me out of the way. Isn't that so idiotic? They didn't look at me like I was, thank goodness, and kindly replied that they were running for fun.
The start off process was really interesting. Apparently, the people who actually want to win these things go to the very beginning of the line (they might push) and start the whole shebang off with a quick sprint or a run. The rest of us walk briskly (all I knew to do at this point was to follow suit) to the start line and then begin the run.
I was able to run for a bit before my first power-walk break, but running in the super cold is really difficult. Running in the wind was pretty brutal. Normally, the wind was blowing against us, so right when I would get a second wind and would be able to speed up, my legs would speed up, but the pace at which my body moved forward would not speed up. This was pretty frustrating, but, alas, there was nothing I could do, so I decided to keep my attitude sunny-side up.
At the beginning of the race, Jeh Jeh Pruitt (from Fox 6) was pretty close to me and he and his friends were exchanging funny candor. One of his buddies said, "Jeh Jeh, we're moving to the back of the line, we better move up!" While I had no expectation of breaking anyone's record in this thing, there was no way in Bermuda I was coming in last. Consequently, I started to speed up.
I don't remember too many specific things about the race, but I do remember thinking that Birmingham was prettier than I realized. I also remember keeping up with the same group of people throughout the race, which meant I kept semi-consistent speed.
When we had a little over a mile left, we had this little U-turn sort of thing, which helped us understand where we were compared to the rest of the runners. I was relieved to know that I was never actually in the back of the group, I was consistently in the middle.
**Disclaimer: there is nothing wrong with being in the latter half of the group, or walking the entire event. I made a point on my bucket list to run/jog the majority of a 5K, so I wanted to make sure I was true to my expectation.
Lots of disc jockeys from Birmingham radio stations were along the path playing music and encouraging us, and one station let us know that our finish line was around the corner. Naturally, I started to speed up because I was almost finished. Then, wouldn't you know it? THE WIND KICKS UP. FABULOUS! MY LEGS MOVE FASTER BUT I DON'T MOVE FORWARD FASTER. YAY!
Honestly, I was just so excited to finish, that I didn't care. I had to hold back tears a little bit. Isn't that silly? This was just one of those things that, five years ago, I could have NEVER seen myself doing. I never thought that I would hear somebody call, "Congratulations, Lili Kane!" as I RAN across a finish line.
When I crossed the finish line, the people I had been running close to congratulated me and I congratulated them.. and I was pretty fascinated that this was such a supportive event. I was quickly greeted by Brandon and his aunt and uncle (they ran the half marathon the next morning and stayed to watch me race after they registered.. so sweet!). They had free Powerade for us which was a relief (so thirsty!), however, someone had to open it for me because my fingers were numb :).
Overall, it was an awesome experience that I would repeat... even with the temperature and the wind!
So, here it is - may I have the motivation to continue crossing off and enjoying it!
-own my own house
-grow a lemon tree
-go to Lucerne, Switzerland
-have a child
-touch the life of one of my students
-read a book that changes my life (any input for this one?!)
-go camping
-snow ski again
-obtain a Master's degree
-change grade levels
-write a song
Peace, love, and LOTS of stretching,
Lili/Potatoes
