Day 13

Today I ran my Triangle Run/Walk for Autism 5k in mumblety-five minutes and 49 seconds, which is pretty good considering I did no training at all for this event, and I'm not exactly in top form. (I'm glad they put "Walk" right there in the event title, because otherwise I'd have to use the word "run" very loosely.)

There were SO MANY PEOPLE out there today. And every one of them touched by autism in some way. I'll admit it got "a little dusty" out there once or twice before the race. But once the race started, I was all business. For about four blocks. Then, rather than succumbing to heart failure, I used the upcoming crosswalk as an interim finish line. And the next crosswalk as a starting line. My finish lines gradually got closer together and my starting lines farther apart.

And unfortunately for me, since I had surgery on my toe about two years ago, my left foot has never been quite right. Walking at a normal pace is okay, running isn't bad, but speed walking hurts like a -- well it hurts a lot. I think I'm due for another talk with my doc. 

Anyway, at one point in the last mile, I was near a mom pushing a kid in a three-wheeled jogging stroller. He wanted mom to go fast again and gave her a "one... two... THREE!" and she'd run a little and then stop. Pretty quickly he was counting again, and she'd run a little more. Eventually she started trying to distract him, divert him, or otherwise delay running again. (I pushed a stroller last year, I know how it is...)

At that point they were right next to me and he was getting upset, so I asked him if he could give me a three count to get me going again. He looked at me, and hesitantly started his, "one..... two...... THREE!" and I took off running. He squealed and shouted "one-two-THREE!" after me, which made me run faster.

I tried to run the last quarter mile full tilt, but a huge throng of one-mile walkers were merged into the route and I got caught up in traffic ten yards from the line. Ah well, so much for my glorious finish.


At any rate, twelve hours since the start and I'm still feeling it my legs and in my lungs.

But what was great about this event was all the people who supported me in this. Thank you Fiona, John, Suzanne, TJ, Cheryl, Laura, (another) Laura, Dana, Helen, Judith, Kay, Gerry, and Casey. You all kept me going through all five kilometers.