So, yesterday was the big day! Ryan and I (and the Dukes’) ran in the Franklin Classic 10K for Mercy Children’s Clinic. It was more than just my first 10K – it was my first race ever!
I was a bundle of nerves the night before and even worse on our way out of the house at 6am yesterday morning. What made matters worse was that the temperature had dropped to about 55-degrees and the rain was coming down pretty convincingly.
I don’t run in the mornings.
Or in cold weather.
Or in the rain.
Or in races in general.
Until today!
We arrived at City Hall, signed our paperwork, paid our money, grabbed our bibs and chips and swag and made our way to the starting corrals. All the while, we were freezing cold and not properly dressed for the weather.
This didn’t help my nerves.
The starting gun fired and we mooed our way like cows to the actual starting line. 40 seconds later, we were off!
It felt so cool to run with a huge group of people. We were passed first by a juggler and then by an 80+-year-old man who was running barefoot. (For the record, he totally beat both of us! Amazing.)
Ryan and I ran together for the first half of the race, and although running up the hills threatened to steal my joy (along with the lady puking in the bushes), I just had so much adrenaline rushing through me with all the people cheering from the sidelines that I kept pressing on.
By mile three I started to suspect that I was holding Ryan back, so I happily sent him on ahead so I could feel free to take a much needed walk break. I kept him within eyeshot for the next mile or so before he was out of sight completely.
At the end of mile 4 we rounded a corner and turned onto Old Boyd Mill Avenue. The street was lined with hand-drawn signs from children cheering us on. I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t seen the signs on our way to the race that morning I would have lost it even more than I already did as I ran down that street. It was probably better that I was alone. From that point on I just didn’t have it in me to stop and walk. It was time to go into auto pilot and just make my body do it.
I finally made it up to Main Street and into the big crowd cheering us to the finish line. I wanted to stop – just for a second – with all my heart but there’s just no stopping when the finish line is in sight. Man, I wanted to walk.
And then there was Ryan. Standing right at the finish line. Cheering louder than anyone. And instead of walking, I ran harder. He makes me so happy.
And just like that, I was in the finishers corral and overcome with a very strong urge to puke. I needed to keep moving and I was supposed to stand still so someone could cut my chip off of my shoe. Don’t puke. Do. Not. Puke.
Hallelujah, I did not puke on the man with the scissors, bless his heart. He looked nervous. I just grabbed the nearest Dixie cup of Cytomax and started walking away from all the stinky people.
Y’all, I gotta tell you. Running is really hard. Almost without fail, every time I run I get mid-way through and think to myself (sometimes out loud if there’s no one in earshot) “I hate running. I don’t even like this. Why on Earth am I doing this to myself?”
But then there’s the part where you’re drinking your refreshing beverage and your legs are jelly and you smell foul and your hair has amazingly morphed from a neatly combed pony tail into the most amazingly matted nest of amazingness that even your friends can’t recognize you crossing the finish line.
And in that moment, you feel awesome.
And you wear your race bib to breakfast because you’re so proud of yourself.
And you start talking about the next race. And you realize, you might be hooked. :)
Below is my finishing time. My goal was to get in under 70 minutes, so I was pretty thrilled! Weirdly, Keight’s not on the list because they not only spelled her name incorrectly, but they put her in the male group.
Here are the “guys”. Jesse is number 18 (they listed him as “Jesse Dulees”), Ryan is 30 and “Reight Dullees” (Keight) is 35.
Oliver also got to run yesterday. Remember last week when I mentioned that he would run with Olivia? This was literally the first time she has run since the accident. So, while it was a big deal for Oliver to run in his fun little 1K, it was huge that Olivia (who couldn’t even walk a couple of weeks ago) ran with our little guy the .6 miles through the streets of Downtown Franklin. It was wonderful!
Here is a quick video of Oliver shot by Ryan. As soon as he spotted his Daddy on the sidewalk holding Hazel he ran straight at the camera. I guess this is why it’s just a fun run. :)
Want to see more photos from the race? (Including a fabulous shot of Layla borrowing Hazel’s red b.children’s wear hoodie, Oliver’s post run “coffee” and Judah passed out at brunch)? Enjoy clicking through my new fancy gallery feature!
The smile on Oliver’s face says volumes.
And good for you not puking :)
Reight Dullees! Haha! That will keep me smiling all day.
Big cheers to everyone. And especially to you for not puking over the chip-clipper. You are a true lady, Rae.
ps: Am I the only person having trouble seeing the gallery feature? I can see that I am SUPPOSED to see lots of individual pictures, but they are all super skinny and compressed and unrecognizable. Suggestions?
Oh, no! You should definitely see a grid of photos. And you should be able to click on one, then it will enlarge and the rest of your screen will go dark and you can click on through the rest slideshow style. Now I’m nervy – anyone else having this trouble?
The gallery photos looked odd (thin) on the reader I use on my phone, but they’re perfect on a computer.
The video of Oliver made me teary-eyed. He was doing great, and Ryan sounds SO proud! Thanks for sharing it. =)
The slideshow gizmo works fine. I just can’t tell what I’m clicking on initially. What if your pictures are objectionable???!!!!
ah, friend, i am so proud of you!! this was something you put your mind to & you were determined to do it, no matter what…in the case, the weather! ;)
and i love that you thought of your blog readers and took lots of photos :)
The gallery pics are also skinny for me but I could still click and go to the ‘gallery mode’
Great job!!
okay, thanks for the feedback. Sorry that they are showing up werid!
Almost got teary eyes watching Oliver and Olivia.
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations Raechel! Awesome job! I was ready to quit before I did my very first triathlon this year with the big bite of time training took from my day…but as you said, in crossing the finish, it feels pretty great to have completed it. Totally cracking up about the mix up in names and getting Keight in the men’s category.
please approve my first comment in your new space so all further ones can be troll-y.
LOVE this. the pics are perfect for capturing the day and the feelings and the weather. i feel like Reight Dullees (from the soviet republic of lowercase georgia) is the Jo Calderone to my Lady Gaga: my male persona used for challenging gender stereotypes (aka that males can run fast…in my instance). i might have had more fun racing around watching oliver cavort so preciously than i did during our race. LOVe the video of him attacking the camera/ryan without a moment of hesitation. wish you had showed of your swirly neck art on the blog (but happy that the nest has a cameo). hazel as ET all wrapped up in her blankie should never end. might need to buy layla some of her own b children’s wear. and buy judah some coffee to last through breakfast next time. magic!
approved! you may now troll freely. Love that you came here all the way from the soviet republic of lowercase georgia. Love that you proved that you can run with the big boys! Or, at least behind the big boys.
Also, I loved chasing racing Oliver too :)
Okay, for some reason your description of the race and Ryan cheering for you made me a blubbering mess. And now I’m still laughing uncontrollably at “Reight Dullees” and her being placed in the men’s group. So proud of all of you. Love the pictures. How did you break to walk and still manage an under 10 min mile pace? I still struggle to get below 11:30… okay, okay, 12:00! And I feel the same way during my runs… I wonder, “When is this love (or even just LIKE) of running supposed to kick in?!” Ahhh I’m getting so nervous for December. I signed up for a 5k coming up this Saturday, and I’m nervous enough for that!
I think my walk breaks are pretty short – 15-45 seconds or so. I keep my running pace right between 9:30 and 10:30, so with the quick walk breaks I can still end up under 10:00.
Can’t wait to hear how your race goes on Saturday! Kinda jealous that it’s a 5K – that will be quicker and less scary! You’ll do great! And, maybe that’s when the love will kick in :)
I’m so glad you hate running sometimes, too. Generally after mile 1, I look down periodically and think, “Really? I’m forcing myself to do this? And I’m FLYING TO TENNESSEE FOR IT???” And then by the time I come triumphantly into my house raising my iphone above my head and yelling out my current mileage, I’m back to loving it again. Loved this post! So proud of all of you!
You go girl…and all your family!! What an amazing accomplishment!! I run many many races each year and whether it is a 5k or 1/2 marathon I still get a little jittery beofre each run!! Keep up the good work!
Raechel, Thanks so much for posting the pics. and video!!! I have to admit when watched it I did cry!
Oliver is so sweet and you are right it was very wonderful for me to see Olivia running after all that they have been thru. They are so Blessed to be healing so well and for her to run!!! Thanks so much for letting us watch it.
You have been such a good friend to Olivia and may God Bless you for that!!!
Thanks, Anne! We love her very much! Just so glad to see her able to be up and moving – slowly but surely. Love to y’all!
Yay, that is great that you finished strong! Loved the comments on the ponytail :)
I am walking 60 miles this weekend for breast cancer… hope I do as well!
wow, good for you! That’s a LONG way! Enjoy the ride :)