BLUENOSE 2010 5K REPORT
MY first 5k
Well, okay, so its not my first 5k - I have actually done quite a few of them - its actually the fifth time I have done this particular race.
But it feels like the first, because it feels like I am starting again on this old journey of mine.
I have not written a race report since 2008 - even the Disney 5k I did in January just got a few paragraphs on the Disney Dead site.
Even though crossing the finish line at a Disney race was a thrill for me, it is still not the finish line - the one I have dreamed of for so long.
But dreams do not come true without the sweat equity and I must admit that this has been a little lacking in the last the little bit.
It just feels like I am not accomplishing much anymore.
But this one was different.
As I have shared with some, this has been a bit of a tumultuous year for me to date. My father in laws cancer has gotten much worse and he is suffering a lot now, it is very hard on us all.
My in laws were and are my biggest supporters in this distance walking madness. Reynolds has been a course marshal volunteer in every Halifax race I have ever done - until this year. He is just too sick to do it anymore.
And I have been sick too. My ongoing bouts of stomach flu turned out to be a hernia strangulating my small intestine. It drifted in and out for a year and a half (which is why I had the intermittent bouts, which in the end, were just brutal) and eventually led to a complete system shutdown in early March of this year. A CAT scan revealed that a part of my small intestine was dead - and I had emergency surgery on March 17, removing the hernia and also six inches of small intestine. Then, I was in the hospital for three weeks dealing with one infection after another - it just was no fun.
Almost everybody told me that I would need to bag the May race - I could never train well enough to finish it. I went home with a VAC device - a heavy little vacuum like thing that helped me heal in a very big way. But it was too awkward to walk with. I did not get it out until April 30th - which left just three weeks. For someone who had not walked more than a mile since February - not good.
But I decided to try. I am glad I did.
I actually did pretty good at the start, was at the back but still with the pack. This is true even though there were some hills in the beginning. Halifax is a hilly city folks, almost everywhere you go, theres a hill.
I probably would have had quite a few people behind me if I had not had to stop so much. There were lots of folks with visible disabilities - blind, lame, etc. that walked slower than me, but they did not have to stop. Once again, the lack of training and the enormous amount of extra weight on my relatively small bones did me in, I had to stop, a lot. Some twenty minutes of rest time, which is disappointing because during the last two races I did, I had virtually none and during one I never sat at all. It is frustrating to be back at square one.
The race did not start until 10 a.m. and we had to be there for 8:30 a.m. to get a team photo taken. My sister in law and friend Sue were doing the 10k and started at 9:10. The marathon walkers started at 7:30 a.m. and the runners at 9:00 a.m. The half marathoners start at 9:25.
So I had nearly an hour to sit, and wait, and think....
I felt so self conscious, felt like I weighed about 500 lbs. My friend, Sue, had gastric sleeve surgery in January and looks just amazing. I would like to get a knife and slash it off.
But, as always, kind people started to pick me up. First, two ladies walking the half, who told me that most people would not even try it. True.
And then I started posting on Facebook. There is such a wonderful running community out there. Before long, I had tons of encouraging words. Thanks folks! I am not sure I would have started without them.
Start went off without a hitch, as I said. But by the half way point, I was starting to hurt. I needed to stop and sit several times.
I walked down the hill on Uniacke Street, got to the bottom and cried. That is where Reynolds was last year - with a medal he had made for me - encouraging me on. He made one for his wife too - my mother in law blazed through her first 5 k last year - this year she skipped it - she needs to be with Reynolds, he is so sick now.
I sat on a rock, cried, made two phone calls to see where Sue and Bonnie were and continued. And continued, and continued. As Louise often says, one foot in front of the other. Stopping a lot to drink (it was quite warm - for once no rain though, I am not complaining). At the Brunswick street water stop - got my bottle filled. Laughed because the two volunteers nearly baptized themselves doing it.
The finish line for the Halifax race is uphill. Whos idea was that? This time the headphones are out. I need the crowd and they dont disappoint. Then I see an angel named Betty Boutilier. Bettys husband, Henry, is a fellow JIMer - and has raised more than $100,000.00 for the Arthritis Society! Today, Henry is doing his first Bluenose - with a 30 pound pack on his back!
Henry has done a lot of JIM events - especially Disney. He has done at least one Goofy - perhaps more.
Betty is a JIM Cheer Team member - probably walks enough to do a marathon and she is a pro. Cannot imagine what I would have done without her. I just did not have enough strength to make it up that hill, but she and another lady made sure than I did.
Thank you Betty! Your encouragement meant the world to me. And I got it done.
The time was atrocious, but surprisingly, not a PW. I have been slower.
There is a water station right at the finish line. Not too many people were taking mylar blankets.
I was stumbling a bit when I crossed - just needed to sit. The medics got me to a wheelchair. Called Bonnie and sat for about ten minutes - then shuffled through, got water, got my medal and my chip clipped off. Am I ok I was asked, yes, my legs are trashed though. And guess what, an enormous hill to walk down.
Bonnie helps, luckily Sue is parked very close, I go sit in her car. On the way, I run into a lawyer friend, she has had to quit - she was headed to get her chip taken off. Her legs were trashed too.
Bonnie gets my bag, some chocolate milk and a bagel with jelly. We go get a meal, Norm picks us up. A nap and I watch the San Jose Sharks lose - Blah! Oh well.
Today, I am a little stiff but fine.
And determined to start again - get back what I lost, get better, and, yes, I am still Disney dreaming and am signed up for the half in January.
I saw a really excellent speaker at a Speakers Forum once who has a motto - dream big or go home.
And I dont want to stay home. I want to live breathe and move.
Everyone told me I would have to bag this race, doctors, the nurses, some of my friends - back in March.
Yesterday was about starting and finishing. And I did. Now I am ready to move on...
Linda
The good news it that I eat much less when it's hot out, so maybe, just maybe I will get those last 10 lbs off. Of course I was out in the sun and am feeling a bit burnt tonight. Not as bad as it should be given the length of time I was out there though.
) please PM her right away.
Hope that you are feeling better. 
Woo! Hoo! Great job on finishing your 5K on Saturday against all odds, Linda! 
