I never thought I would be writing that I had fun preparing for the Komen Denver Race for the Cure. I have never liked running- it was always my last choice for exercise. I wrote previously why I decided to sign up to run my first ever race, and why I chose the Race for the Cure.
On Thursday evening, following the advice of my triathlete friend, Sonja, I ran the last full 5k (3.2 miles) before the actual race on Sunday. It was cold and windy, and I was dreading doing the run. I wanted to just stay home and stay warm. I bundled the boys up and we went to our trusty bike path / playground. They were immediately occupied by checking out all the debris that had been trapped by the tennis court fence, so I took off running.
It was one of the best exercise sessions I have ever had. I felt everything come together. The last few times I have ran, I have gotten a cramp in my side almost the moment I started running. I really concentrated on breathing, and there was no cramp. Everything was in sync- my breathing, pacing, and body. I can’t recall ever feeling like that before when running. I finished the distance and felt like I could have kept going. I knew I had run faster than normal and when I checked my time it had been 38 minutes- a personal best.
While I was running, I was enjoying the moment and the feeling of everything coming together. I knew I had done the work, and now it was time to just let it be. I realized I was at a point that I didn’t think possible just two months ago while I was suffering from hypothyroidsm, recovering from thyroid cancer and surgery. This is what I wrote on my blog on August 1:
Today I had an exceptionally hard day- I just had no energy, and I mean none. Sitting in a chair was making me tired. …I literally have to get through the days, hour by hour, because waking up and facing a whole day in its entirety is too overwhelming. I honestly don’t know how I am going to make it hour to hour, let alone an entire day.
Reading that seems like it was a lifetime ago, and I am beyond happy that I am healthy enough again to meet this goal. I feel at this point I have done everything I could have done to prepare, and some of Sonja’s pre-race advice was: “the training is done and the race is the reward, it’s the celebration. It’s your chance to thank your body for persevering through this last year.”
To all my family, friends, and the boys’ family, thank you once more for helping me beat cancer. I couldn’t have done it without all of you.
Ryan and Cole were wonderful while I was running, and were great coaches! They won’t be at the race, but I hope to have lots of pictures of it to share with them. They told me several times that I must be feeling better since I was running so fast! I am thrilled after they saw me so sick over the summer, they were able to see that illness doesn’t have to define you, and you can come back stronger than before.
So on Sunday morning, I am going to put time and finishing out of my mind. I am going to enjoy the race, and celebrate the moment. I beat cancer! There isn’t anything left to say except ready, set, GO!
(Thanks to J., for the blog post title)