Victory: My 100th Post

This past Saturday Sister Stephanie and I participated in the 3rd Annual Red Shoe Run for Donor Awareness, a competitive 5K founded in the honor of Carrie Jane Smith who became a tissue and cornea donor four years ago at the age of 28. Carrie was the daughter of Bobbi, a long-time close family friend who cares for the Tot children at my employer’s Sick Bay (daycare for ill children). She often competed in 5K's and marathons and had a love of red shoes. Because of the donation of Carrie’s corneas an Arizona woman can see today.


Now you may be thinking, TaterTot competitive? Not really with others, only with myself. Jennie run a 5K, or evn 50 feet for that matter? Okay, I didn’t intend to “run” it…I preferred to call it the Red Shoe Walk Really Fast. I had only two goals going in; not to finish last and to raise a minimum of $65 in donations.

Goal One: Don’t Finish Last
I started at a slow and steady jog. The majority of the runners pulled away from me quickly. Sister Stephanie and I didn’t even stand next to each other to begin; I didn’t want to feel pressure to keep up with her, or her feel pressure to hold back for me. Here I am jogging along for a few minutes, when my shins start burning. I decide it’s a pain I can live with, so I keep going. Jogging, jogging, jogging. Wow. Wait a minute. I’m still jogging. It may be slow, but this definitely qualifies as a jog. Down a hill, still jogging. Shit, now I have to go up the hill. Still jogging. I begin to see the front runners coming towards me at this point, having turned the first corner and lopping back. Suddenly I see it, the one mile marker. Am I still jogging? Hell yes I am. Sunlight appears from the heavens, choirs of angels begin singing “Hallelujah” as I run past the sign and the guy with the stopwatch tell me “14 minutes, good job, keep it up”. My arms go up in celebration and I feel a lump form in my throat and my eyes begin to fill. The stopwatch guy looks at me bewildered, I’m sure he was thinking, “what in the hell is she so happy for, the rest of the runners passed here ages ago.”

I JOGGED ONE MILE! WITHOUT STOPPING!

For me this is unheard of, last occurring in my freshman year of high school (19 years ago). For those of you who don’t know me, or know my physical shape let me give you a heads up; six months ago I weighed an impressive 237 pounds and wore a snug size 22. Some hard work has brought me to 193 and a size 18, but I am not in what would be considered even good physical shape by any means. I gave myself permission to transition into a face paced walk at this point, as my shins begin to feel as if they will crumble beneath me at any moment. Just before reaching the 2 mile marker, the course passed by the finish line and I can see Sister Stephanie in her hot pink ear warmer and fire engine red cheeks approaching. She completed the race in 28 minutes, coming in second place for her age group and two minutes faster than her time last year. I flag her down and she walks the last mile and half with me, on the verge of puking the entire time from her finish line sprint. She convinces me to jog the last section, once the finish line comes back into sight. I complete my first 5K in 50 minutes 35 seconds. I did not finish last. Victory.

Goal Two: Raise $65 in Donations
I raised $79. This amount seems miniscule compared to the thousands of dollars others boast to have raised for their chosen charities, but for me it was acceptable. I suck at asking friends/family for money, good cause or not. It costs $65 for the necessary testing to add one person to the Bone Marrow Donor List, so my reasoning was if I can raise enough money to add one person it was worth it. Victory.

That was my Saturday morning. It may not seem very monumental to some, but to me it was a triumph. Hopefully the first of many.

Side Note: I am still walking funny today, my leg muscles having not yet recovered.

Coming Soon: The Casseroles “Guess That Cleavage” Contest