My First 10K Walk
Kelly J.
The Corporate Cup is the largest event of this type annually for this area.
It's a benefit for the American Lung Association. You can walk, jog, or run
the 10K route, & there's also a 2 mile fun walk. The morning temperature was
a crisp 49 degrees, so I wore my long pants & 2 layers of shirts. My younger
son, Michael, age 14, participated too. He decided to jog part of the
course, so we parted ways very early on. 13,000-15,000 people were entered.
There were people of all ages, shapes, & sizes. There were mothers with
strollers & a few people even brought their dogs. I pinned my entry number
on my shirt & lined up in the midst of the ever thickening crowd. I slung my
water/supply bag over my shoulder, & cinched it around my waist, & then my
digital camera bag went around the other shoulder. I did a little
stretching, & then it was time to go, time to test myself once again. I've
never walked a 10K in my entire life, but I wanted to try. I figured if I
can ride a bike 79 miles, surely I can walk 6.2! In practice, I had walked
as much as 5 miles in one session, but as I grew to love cycling, I didn't
practice the walking as often as I should have as I wanted to focus on my
cycling goals. I know.naughty, naughty!
A cheer went out as the runners group starting gun went off first. A few
minutes later the walkers started. There were so many people, one could not
go very fast. I spent most of the first mile trying to get around slower
walkers, socializing walkers, or those with strollers. The joggers were
sneaking through along the edges of the group, so I followed suit. At almost
a mile in, the 2 mile fun walkers turned to go back to the finish. That left
things a little less crowded, but at the mile mark, I was disappointed to
see 18:00 flash across the portable screen. I wanted to make sure I
finished, and finished in less than 2 hours. 1:45 was the goal I really
wanted to attain, but it wasn't looking good at this rate. At 2 miles, I
will still at 36:00. It was harder than I thought to maintain a certain
pace, especially with so many people on the course. That 1 & 2 mile sure don
't seem as long when you do it with Leslie Sansone! (that's a walk aerobic
exercise video in case you haven't heard of her) The runners suddenly
appeared coming back on the other side of the street. We cheered them on.
There was a lone woman towards the front of the pack of men. She received a
special cheer from me. What an accomplishment! She had abs to die for, too!
LOL During the second mile, I started to feel fatigued. My feet were already
hurting, even though I was wearing special walking socks with a lot of
cushioning. My upper thighs were also quite angry with me! I wondered how I
could have underestimated that maintaining a pace like that wasn't going to
be easy. I almost could see myself limping into the finish line with
blisters on my feet & a pulled muscle or two, if I finished at all! At that
moment, I was wishing that I was home in bed!
Right then I spotted a little old lady on the other side of the street. She
was holding up a cardboard sign on which was written a bible verse about
Jesus. She was yelling at us as we went by things about being saved, &
getting sex out of our homes, or something like that. Many people were
making fun of her, but I thought it took guts to do what she was doing, & to
me, she had her heart in the right place, even though I couldn't agree with
her delivery style! I started to think about why I was doing this walk in
the first place & how I had come to even be in this place. I thought about
my missing older son, & how quickly I would trade my 180 pounds lost to have
him back. I thought about the fact that if he hadn't disappeared, I would
still probably weigh 375 lbs, if not more. After all, one of the main
reasons (but not the only one) that I decided I was going to lose weight was
so that I would have the strength to carry on & do the things I needed to do
for the long haul in order to find him. God surely does work in mysterious
ways! Suddenly, my feet didn't hurt quite as much & I was propelled
forward. People had been passing me for awhile, but now I was passing them
again! I saw Michael coming towards me on the other side of the street on
his way back & we "high-fived" as he went by me. I kept up my good pace &
before I knew it, I was at the turn around point. At the 4 mile marker, I
had made up several minutes. There were port-a-johns, & I thought it would
be a good idea to drink a cup of water & take a quick RR break. As I stood
waiting in line, my legs were quite wobbly. I almost teetered over at one
point. Everything hurt again. After the quick RR break, I was able to resume
my fast pace. I thought about my weight loss journey & how each step I was
talking represented something along that journey.things I was leaving
behind: the excess weight, the bigger clothing, my poor health, and much
more. With each step I took, I was distancing myself from that old life &
gladly so. I thanked God for giving me a new lease on life. I passed by the
old lady again. She was still preaching.
At mile 5, I was still going strong. Yes, my feet & thighs hurt, but I felt
like I was in the home stretch. I could see the tall buildings downtown
getting closer & closer. I was afraid to look at my watch. I didn't want to
know how I was doing. I had to just keep up my pace & do the best I could. I
was still passing people, & one man made a comment about my faster pace to
his companions. During mile 6, the course turned uphill. My legs ached, but
I kept going. I thought people would start passing me, but no one did. I was
breathing harder & I silently cursed the hill. Suddenly Michael appeared at
my side. "You can do it, Mom," he said to me. The hill seemed to go on as
long as the entire course I had left behind. Michael pointed out the finish
line.just a little bit further away. I went around the corner and off the
hill. I tore the bottom of my number off to give to the official at the
finish line. I looked up at the time as I passed through the chute. It read:
1:49:20. I was still walking fast for several steps before I realized I
could stop. I had done it & in less than 2 hours! (I know that a year ago, I
couldn't have even completed the two mile fun walk.) Even though I didn't
make the 1:45, I was so thrilled to have done this!
Then, like the nut that I am, I went home, rested for awhile, & went on a 15
mile bike ride! LOL Go figure!
Best wishes to all,
Kelly
375/195/150
Lesanne
with a bunch of people I worked with. It was my first really long walk. I
still remember my calves the next day. Take a hot bath and some advil
tonight :):)
Les
"Kelly J." <kelly...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:iQsj9.61194$ed6....@news2.central.cox.net...
Elaine Kirkham
way that you are not going to make your goal. I'm so proud of you that I have
tears in my eyes.
Elaine K
331.4/218.2/179
roxan
Roxan
Erin Marsh
wrote:
> I looked up at the time as I passed through the chute. It read:
>1:49:20. I was still walking fast for several steps before I realized I
>could stop. I had done it & in less than 2 hours! (I know that a year ago, I
>couldn't have even completed the two mile fun walk.) Even though I didn't
>make the 1:45, I was so thrilled to have done this!
Wow, what an achievement Kelly. You should be so proud of yourself.
I'm hoping to do a 10km charity walk next weekend and would be
thrilled to do that in under 2 hours. You're going to be my motivation
;-)
--
Erin in NZ
123.4/97/75 kgs
271.8/213.6/165 lbs
Mini-goal 93kgs (204.8lbs) HC
Joy
--
Joy
285/XXX/150
"Kelly J." <kelly...@cox.net> wrote in message
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