Buddy's Race Against Cancer 5K

Today I ran in what will probably be my last 5K of the season. I don't know that for sure yet since there are two more that I want to do, but I don't think I'll have it in my budget to do anymore. If so this was the best race I've done this year.

I arrived two hours early so that I had time to register. After I registered I met with my classmate and he asked a few questions before we went to the survivors tent to sign the survivors banner. There was a group photo for survivors and we all received medals on stage. I don't like much attention but my classmate wanted to interview me for school so we set up and did the interview real quick, then add two names to my back so I could race in their honor. By that time it was time to get to the starting line to begin the race.

I weaved my way through the crowd trying to find my classmate who had went ahead of me to get some footage, but didn't see him as the race began. I finally found him just past the starting line so I grabbed my headphones from him and took off through the streets of Knoxville.

My last race I went a little slower so I could take a lot of photos and because it was so many people out that it was hard to go but so fast. This time since the turn out was less than half the previous 5K I decided I would go faster. I wanted to beat my previous best time of 48:48. I'm not a runner, I prefer to go at a run walk pace that I can maintain over the entire three miles.

Today as I was in the front pack I watched as many of the runners and joggers passed me I kept at an even pace. I turned my music up very loud and bounced along to the beat thumping in my ears. I know I had to look funny as I danced along to the music but the beat gave me a rhythm with which to match my steps. It felt good to go at a good pace.

A mile in I began to pass joggers who couldn't maintain the speed over the full distance. I could feel my legs start to burn as I kept going and passed the first water spot which I gulped down greedily. Mile two I was sweating and breathing heavier. I was still maintaining my same pace which wasn't easy since my feet were starting to hurt a bit. I gulped down water at the second water spot and put my head down to get through the last mile.

As the last mile came into view and I started to head down hill back into World's Fair Park, I could feel my adrenaline start to flow. I looked up at the clock and realized that I was getting close to my previous best time and that if I had any chance to beat it, I was going to have to pick up the pace. With the last bit of energy I could muster I sprinted over the finish line and beat my previous best time by a full 10 seconds.

This was a good race day for a great cause. I was happy to help my classmate get a good story and even happier that I got to raise money for a good cause. I am always glad when I can give back to the community that helped me so much. This is the reason I love 5Ks so much.

Another 5K

I was going to enter a 5K on the 16th of this month, but as fate would have it, another 5k came up before then. This one I didn't even know about.

While talking with classmates about our look live event stories for class, a classmate mentioned he was going to shoot Buddy's Race on the 10th. What's Buddy's Race? It's a 5K race for cancer survivors sponsored by Buddy's BBQ. I told him how I love 5Ks. He said he was going to talk to the sponsors and shoot the race and if I entered he could shoot me. I told him ok sure. So now I'm running in a 5K tomorrow.

I don't know how I feel about being featured in someone's story. I mean sometimes I don't mind talking about it and sometimes I just prefer to stay quiet. I cant explain it to people because it's too confusing. Regardless I'm happy that I'm going to get to race one more time this season.

Since this was so last minute I didn't get weeks to train for it, just a week. Unfortunately, it's been a very busy week so I missed two days of workouts which means running on just three days of training tomorrow. To make matters worse, I have to miss football in order to run this race! I hate missing football, especially when my team is coming off a bye and facing a divisional foe, but alas, sacrifices have to be made.

I want to help my classmate and I want to help raise money for the Thompson Cancer Survival Center. The breast care facility there is where I go for my mammograms and biopsies so I want to give back to them since they've done so much for me since I've been here. Running in a 5K is the least I can do.

So today I'm resting and preparing myself mentally for tomorrow. I don't know how it will go, but I'm hoping for another good race day to help ease all the stress I'm dealing with right now.

Race for the Cure

Friday night I hadn't slept well..I kept waking up. My cousin had told me he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to take me to the race so I was trying to decide if I was going to walk to World's Fair Park. It's three miles from my house. That was on top of the three miles I was going to race. On top of that the weather had gotten very cold. The race time temperature was only going to be in the 20s. Was I willing to race in the cold? Wearing a coat wasn't an option, I knew I'd burn up. It was all weighing on me heavily as I laid down for bed.

The night was rough. I tossed and turned all night but couldn't sleep well. When the alarm clock went off at 7 a.m. I didn't want to get up, but I knew I had to get up and shake off the previous day's misery. As I was sitting there a text came through from a classmate who was already at the race. She was holding a sign showing that she was wearing a In Honor of race bib and she had written in my name. I felt very emotional and blessed so I knew I had to go. I got up, got ready and text my cousin in hopes he would show up. He called back and drove me to the race.

When I got to World's Fair Park, there was my classmate..I got checked in and she and her sorority sister got me shirts. I put them on over my other 2 shirts and she walked with me to the Zeta tent where I got food and drinks. I then walked from tent to tent collecting all the free goodies that survivors get. After a couple biscuits, a cupcake and some hot chocolate, I was feeling more energized so I was ready to race. I climbed the stairs to the bridge where the race was set to begin.

As the race started I began shooting photos and video clips with my cellphone and posting them on Instagram and Facebook. I wanted other people to share in the race experience. One of my friends had paid for my registration so I wanted to be sure he saw that I was really out there racing.

There were over 13,000 people out here for the race. For a survivor to be surrounded by so many people that obviously were passionate about the cause, it is very overwhelming. Several times I had to hold it together to keep from crying. Total strangers kept coming up to me and congratulating me on being there..I even got the local radio station to shout out my 2 1/2 years of being a  survivor. I couldn't get a full run out because there were so many people but I stayed at a brisk walk while I snapped photos and listened to my music.

Three miles isn't that long, in time you get used to it, but the blistering cold that morning made the distance seem so much further. The cold seemed to penetrate..I had to keep my gloves off to take photos which made my hands freeze. I just ignored it so I could keep snapping pictures. After awhile I didn't even feel the cold. I was feeling good and upbeat. Gone was the sadness from the say  before, I knew I was going to finish this race.

Near the finish line they separate the survivors from everyone else. I am then escorted across the line by one of the UT fraternities and given a carnation. Everyone comes over to hug me. It is the most amazing feeling. After the race I am given a single white rose. It is a symbol to me of all the hard work, effort and time I put into preparing myself mentally and physically for completing another 5k.

Now it's time to find the next 5k for me to enter.

Shaken Confidence

The day before the race and I'm feeling out of sorts. I spent the whole week working on a video package for my television broadcasting class and didn't get a chance to hit the gym for three days. Thursday night I had finished the video so I was glad I was going to get a chance to hit the gym one last time before race day. I was feeling confident about the video, I knew I had worked really hard on getting the right footage this time. I went and worked out and my classmates kept texting me and telling me how well they did. I felt I would do well. I was ready.

I went to get my review and it was a disaster. The professor butchered my video pointing out flaw after flaw after flaw, some of them imaginary. He said I was making no progress and I hadn't learned a thing. He told me I needed to come back for a semester and pay to take a practicum so I could learn more. I left his office beaten and downtrodden. I went and hid in a downstairs bathroom and cried my eyes out for over an hour.

It wasn't just that he criticized my work and told me I needed to come back for another semester that made me feel so bad, it was the fact that I had worked so hard and failed that hurt me. If I had failed at this what makes me think I'm not going to fail at the race tomorrow? I had worked hard on this video only to see it trashed. I had only worked out twice this past week, nowhere near enough to do well in a three mile race...how the hell was I going to do this? What the hell makes me think I'm any good?

In all my time here I had never doubted myself, never questioned how hard I work or how much time I put in on anything, and just like that my confidence was shattered. I didn't even want to go to the race now. What was the point?   Friday night as I went to bed I wasn't sure I would wake up on race day and go. It was a sad change of events.

Preparing for Race Day

Yesterday I had to work at UT for a class project. When the project was over I realized I had no way to get back home. Buses and trollies weren't running and my two classmates I was working with both lived walking distance. My house is a little over three miles from campus. Realizing that I am training for a 5K on Sunday, I knew it was best to for me to walk home. This would give me a last chance to get a little bit of training in.

This week had been hard as far as my training schedule. Several late nights at UT working on a class project had left me unable to hit the gym and get in the proper running time. I felt out of sorts and it was playing a factor in my confidence for the race today. It wasn't like I was going to sprint in the race and therefore I was worried about not having a good time or beating someone else, it was a worry that not training enough would not give me enough energy to complete this race.

So here on this hot Saturday afternoon the thought occurred to me to go ahead and walk home and get this last bit of training in. Now the problem was I had already been walking the entire campus and all of the strip too. My feet were hurting and sweat was pouring off of me.

But then I remember what I'm walking for..breast cancer. I stop my whining and start walking. It is two hours before the start of the UT-GA game so the crowd is moving towards the stadium instead of away from it like I am so it is frustrating to try to get through the packs of people. I don't complain, I blast the music in my iPhone louder and keep going. My walk home is mostly uphill so when I reach my only downhill I pick up speed to make up for the time.

After 44 minutes I reach my house in east Knoxville. I have beaten my last time so I am encouraged I can have a good race. I know that I haven't lost my desire or competitive edge so I look forward to my chance to race.

Training for 5ks

I am an avid participant in 5ks. I have been for a year now. It wasn't something I had done prior to moving to Tennessee. I didn't even know exactly what a 5K was or how long was the distance, but I had a life changing event and that made me get into the world of 5Ks.

It took me a year to get into 5K shape. I was just out of cancer treatment when I moved to Tennessee so I was weak, tired and out of shape. Six months in, I decided to get back in the gym and started working out religiously. This is when I started seeing posters all around campus about 5Ks. There are 5Ks year round in Knoxville, whether Christmas Fun Run in the winter or Color Me Rad in the summer, there is never a shortage of 5Ks to participate in.

It is a commitment to run. Not just the fundraising, or the entry fees, but the time and effort it takes to train for 5Ks is a big commitment. I spend weeks even months training and getting in shape. This means working out five days a week to build up my strength and endurance. A 5K is three and a half miles so training for them is necessary or I won't be able to finish. I learned this during my first 5K when I thought I was going to collapse before I reached the finish line. Fortunately I didn't and I have been able to make better times with each subsequent race.

Training for 5Ks consists of time on the treadmill, spin bike, and circuit training to build up my muscles. I also swim between 16-30 pool laps per day which helps me work on controlling my breathing. The schedule is grueling especially during the school year when I must squeeze training in between my classes and assignments.

The 5K world is a community. Every 5K you will see many of the same faces over and over again. We may not know each others names but we know each other by sight and always speak to one another. The cancer survivor races are the most rewarding to me. I get to wear a survivor t-shirt and many people cheer me on. It gets emotional sometimes but I never lose focus on my goal of finishing the race.

5Ks are my passion now. I don't run in a team, I run solo so I can focus just on my own race. I zone out during a race. I don't hear the crowds or the cheering or even the racers beside me. I listen to music on my iPhone and try to match my footfalls to the rhythm of the up tempo songs playing in my ears. I keep an even pace and focus on my breathing. I notice the sites as I pass by through parts of the old city, downtown, east Knoxville and campus. When I finish I am normally more energized then when I began and I feel good about having raised money for a good cause and for having completed another race.

This fall I am training for two more 5Ks that are just three weeks apart. I am racing in the Strides For Knoxville on Oct. 6 and the Susan G. Komen on Oct. 26. I am hoping to beat my last time in both of these races. My anticipation for each is building by the day.