So yesterday was the big day! Race day! And I was not prepared at all. A few months ago I started the gym and running on a regular basis with the idea that I was ‘in training’. Following me track record when it comes to sticking to a routine, that unsurprisingly didn’t last long and I slowly but surely managed to find my way back at home every night without so much as a five minute jog. So after many weeks of not training, I found myself waking up at 8:30 on a Sunday morning with the daunting task of running 5k in a few hours. Having one of the worst night’s sleep, it’s safe to say I wasn’t in tip top running condition. But up I got and off I went.
The idea was to spray may hair pink (it seems as though my whacky hair dying phase has reached a halt while it tries to get over the damage I put it through) but looking out of my bedroom window didn’t look promising. After England’s first few hints of summer, the day I was to venture out into the real world looked like it was going to chuck it down. I didn’t’ really want to risk having pink hair spray run all over me, so decided against it. So I put on my sports bra, pinned on my running number and set off to pick up my grandma en route to Lister Park.
Parking was horrendous at the event – driving round for a good 15 minutes before finding a lucky car sized gap on a side street a five minute walk away. Wondering over you could already hear the thump of music that was being blasted out by The Pulse of West Yorkshire, alongside the cheers that cried out every now and again when something was mentioned on stage. Walking into the park, you could just see an ocean of pink. It was lovely to see the amount of support their was for such a worthwhile charity.
Looking around, the sea of messages people had on their backs was somewhat upsetting. Some reading ‘I run for: my 17 year old sister, RIP’, ‘I run for: granddad, 21/6/2010’…one that really got me was a little girl that couldn’t be any older than the age of seven had one that read ‘I run for daddy, miss you! 10/10/2012’. It’s heart breaking to think about that little girl growing up without her father. But among the sad was the hopeful; ‘I run for me and my twin sister – both cancer survivors!’. We all were there for the same reason and it was a beautiful site to see all ages, all ethnicities and all abilities coming together for the same cause. All in all, there was 2060 woman that ran with me that day.
I began the run by jogging…and it soon became apparent that I was far more out of shape than I first thought! I had to stop jogging and start walking by the time I hit the first 1k sign to catch my breath. My legs were killing! My shins felt like they were going to rip out of my skin, and it was only the first kilometre. Oh gosh. I spent the next kilometre walking, and the one after that was more of a power walk. It then hit me ‘man, there’s people three times my age over taking me’ which really does make you think ‘I must be one unhealthy little twit’…so that gave me the motivation to pick up speed. I pulled my leg, mind you. That hurt…the back of my right knee. Anyhow, I carried on going.
While I hit the lake, I overheard the conversation between mother and daughter that really did make me giggle. The young girl turned to her mother and asked ‘mummy, where are the aliens?’. The fact she was talking about aliens instantly got my attention and I was curious to what she must be talking about.
‘oh, you mean the marshals honey’
‘yea, Martians are aliens…but from Mars aren’t they?’
Bless her. Her mother had to explain the difference between aliens from mars and men in high-vis jackets who kept an eye on you throughout the race. One of the highlights of my day that was.
I finally reached the finish line at 54minutes24seconds. Crappy, right? Just means I have something to beat next year.
I learnt a few things this year though
1. If you’re going to run 5k, train for it.
2. Lister Park is far more hilly than what I thought – prepare for lots of uphill running
3. Don’t forget that you entered last minute- start fundraising well in advance!
4. Arrive incredibly early to find a parking space
5. Remember that people in high visibility jackets are not aliens from mars!
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