I’m writing this post thoroughly exhausted.
Today, my kids and I participated in different races as part of a marathon nearby.
Understandably, we’re wiped.
I honestly never saw the appeal of taking part in a marathon event before. Getting up really early, figuring out parking with all the roads closed off, figuring out how to get there, and for what? And I was out of shape, anyhow. Not to mention, it costs a lot of money.
But last year as part of his high school’s gym program, my son Ike got a discount code to use for himself and any family member who wanted to run, so both my sons ran a 10k. They practiced leading up to it, and were so proud of themselves for it.
My daughters and I came and cheered them on, and we saw that it was a really nice event, and even though I wasn’t running, I had a great time.
This year, my kids all wanted to take part. My sons were doing the 10k again, but this time only Ike got the discount code. Lee ran as part of a team and fundraised for donations, so his entry wasn’t cheap, but it was a worthwhile organization and he got to take part in fun activites the day before as part of that.
My daughters wanted to take part as well, and hearing that there was a 5k as well, they went running with their brothers to prepare. Only one kid in the end felt up to the 5k, and since it was ridiculously early in the morning and it would mean needing to wake up at 4 am just for her, I told her it wasn’t possible this year. We decided to sign up for the family event, where it wasn’t officially timed (but we timed ourselves), was 1.8 kilometers, and cost $25 for the family. My daughters were disappointed at first about not being able to run the 5k, but once we started the event, they got over that disappointment.
We got shirts when we signed up for the event, and just being part of a sea of people wearing similar shirts was really special. (The family run was a different color than the timed runs, and if running as part of a team they gave out their own shirts.)
The event was really spectacular. Just being part of the throngs of people was quite an experience. My daughter Rose mentioned that she didn’t think she ever saw more people in one place.
It turned out that 40,000 people participated in the various runs today.
It started off in this massive park, where there were fun physical activities for kids (like Ninja parks) and lots of music. There were musicians from around the world, including this duo from Ghana.
While my boys ran their 10k, my daughters and I watched the full marathoners finish their races and cheered them on.
When it was our turn to start, we walked over to the staging ground where there were huge numbers of people, entire families together, some parents who’d already ran their 10k or 5k but wanted to do it together with their kids. There was so much music and cheering. The energy was contagious.
My daughters each had their own phones and I told them not to wait for me, everyone should run at their own pace. They put on their own stopwatches to know how fast they ran because it wasn’t officially timed.
I knew that I was definitely out of shape, and my stamina sucked, but that is totally fine with me. The point was to be part of the experience, and to exercise joyfully, not how fast I could be.
When the race started, I started jogging with my girls and then they moved ahead. I lasted about about a minute and a half at a light jog. I then switched to fast walking, then to regular walking, and then slow walking. I reached the 1 kilometer marking at 13 minutes.
And then I started getting light headed.
I was drinking the entire time. I made sure to bring my sports drink. But I’m just out of shape.
Part of the reason I’m out of shape is that most aerobic activities have been ruled out for me by my physical therapist because of my EDS, and since aerobic sports tend to be high impact and hard in the joints. In fact, about 8 years ago I decided I wanted to start running, and I began a Couch to 5k program. I really was enjoying myself, but then my knees hurt and my ankles hurt. My mother, also a physical therapist, told me that it wasn’t good for my body and told me to stop running. The exercises I tend to do are muscle strengthening ones that I got from my hydrotherapist, and while they are great for me, they are gentle and do not get my heart racing or increase my stamina.
Now that I joined a gym, I can start doing the types of aerobic activities that my physical therapist has okayed for me- biking and using the elliptical machine. (So far I only used the gym equipment one time since I was waiting for my headphones to arrive to make it more enjoyable and give me the push. I tried once without and it was hard to not get bored enough to want to stop.)
Anyhow, back to the race.
I decided to sit down.
Yes, I could have pushed myself to go further despite being dizzy. But why? What am I trying to prove? My goal isn’t to hurt my body. And if I’m dizzy despite drinking, my body is telling me it’s enough. I sat down at the side of the road and saw everyone pass me by.
I’m actually proud of myself for listening to my body. Because the purpose of my joining the race was joyful movement and exercise, but risking my health was not part of it.
Once I felt I’d recovered enough, I continued on, at a regular walking pace.
As my friend just reminded me, anything worth doing is worth doing badly.
I did this race “badly” but I am super proud of myself.
Yes it took me 30 minutes to do the 1.8 kilometer track. But that is 30 minutes I wouldn’t have spent exercising had I not done that. And I got my heart pumping, enjoyed the vibes, etc.
I told my girls that hopefully after going to the gym regularly, I’ll build up my stamina enough to maybe do the 5k with them next year. Run it? Probably not. But walk it? sure.
But for now?
We had an amazing day.
And we’ll sleep very well tonight.
Have you ever participated in races like this, either as part of a marathon event, or separately? Are you in shape? If you wanted to be part of an event like this, would you do 1.8k, 5k, 10k, half a marathon or a full marathon? Or would you be a spectator, cheering people on?
