First Race Day of the Year

When I first started working at the trucking company last year they had lots of health initiatives. There was an insurance payment discount for meeting certain health goals. They provided free bottled water. They Built an indoor track (tape on the floor in the warehouse) and had walking clubs. There were weight loss competitions. And they recruited employees to participate in company sponsored 5k races.

I shrugged all of that off for the first month but April 2011 I let a coworker convince me to participate in a 5k. I could do it. I was up to jogging 3 miles at the gym back home and my husband and I were walking for exercise. At least it felt like exercise to us.

So I put on my company shirt and showed up thinking I was ready. It about killed me. The treadmill is nothing compared to a paved road. My coworker was in much better shape than me but she stuck it out with me. About halfway through we noticed people already heading home. Then I finally figured out that the police car behind us was to signify the end of the race. He followed us almost to the end and I was so embarrassed. My husband told me that I shouldn’t be because a lot of people don’t show up but I did and finished. He also bought me running shoes to ease the shin splints.

I made the decision then that us be back in a year to not have that police car behind me and I started training. I also joined the next weight loss challenge at work. In all three rounds they had, one person won every time. To date she’s lost about 120 pounds. Well I nipped at her heels one week with a 5 pound loss and she emailed me to say congrats and asked if us be willing to be her workout partner. Neither of us are at that company anymore but for the past year we’ve been motivating each other and training.

The first race if the year was Saturday and we were so excited. It was for Special Olympics. This was our first non company sponsored race so we were geeked to pick up our packets and get our shirts. We even discovered that people wear costumes and put our outfits together like a real team…matching pants, shamrock necklaces that lit up, and Irish Princess tiaras. Now here’s the thing. We had two separate goals. Hers was to beat her time from last year and mine was to beat that police car!

The day started with an exhibition run by the Special Olympians with a photo finish. They rocked!

Two kilometers in my partner was getting worked up about the old people passing us by and kept turning around to see how many people were behind us. Finally I told her that we were the only ones out there tripping about competing with ourselves. Everyone cheered and hollered as the first runners passed us in the opposite direction headed to the finish line. YAY FOR THEM! Nobody was looking at us and saying they’re going slower than those old ladies. No, everyone around us was cheering each other on to the finish line. They did point at us and say hey they have tiaras!

We eventually separated to meet our individual goals. Her official time was two minutes faster than last year YAT HER!!!! And as for me and that police car….

That’s him on the OTHER side of the road going in the OPPOSITE direction. That’s how far in front if him I was!

At the end of the day the official time wasn’t what mattered. At the end if the day, after all the wanting to give up, the sense of accomplishment was such a high and we can’t wait to do it again!

Thanks for visiting Diva (in Demand).  My blog escapades have followed me across 4 states, 3 jobs, a business venture, and a new husband. There are no mini divas yet but I have loads of nieces and nephews to slobber and wipe their dirty hands on me. I am an amateur pastry chef, certified cake decorator, and seasoned home cook who knows how to pair French cuiseine with fine wine, collard greens and cornbread. You'll find a little bit of everything around here.....where I take talking to myself to a whole new level.