Well, as I sit here, listening to my music and calming my legs down from an explosive but great day. I am quite proud to say that I ended my 2011 race season with a good note.
I left Washburn on Friday at 12:00 p.m. and arrived in Fargo a little after 4 p.m. and found the hotel I was staying at and kind of relaxed for a bit, looked around at areas and got to spend some time with my adopted dad. And to tell you the truth, before I went to bed, I had butterflies the size of eagles in my stomach. I was nervous because of the race.
After getting 7 hours of sleep, I woke up, feeling focused and turned on the television and changed the channel to the weather and seen that the morning was at 27 degrees but with a north west wind made the temperature at 17 degrees. I got my mind prepared and looked through the New Testament and wrote out II Corinthians 12:10 on a piece of paper and stuck it in my shoe. I felt a bit hesitant because of my foot injury that plagued me before Thanksgiving but whether I felt it or dealt with it, the race was still amongst me.
The quote said that even when I am weak, through the love of Christ, I am strong. My motivation for that cold blistering morning. I felt ready.
As I approached the building where the race was taking place, I looked around and seen a sea or green and red, I felt as if I walked out on Santa's village at the North Pole, it made me smile but what got to me was talking to others who were running for their relatives and friends who have arthritis. And also getting a chance to talk to kids who have arthritis and couldn't help but cheer from their wheelchairs. I felt proud to be there.
When 9:00 a.m. arrived, the chilly morning was making us all huddle for warmth but when it was time to run, I was behind the entire pack and the wind was against us for over a mile and a half but I kept striving for moving forward to the middle of the pack and after battling the harsh wind, my throat felt like it was on fire because of inhaling too much cold air. As we made our 2nd mile, I pushed myself to catch more runners and as we hit a corner of a street, I seen in a distance, the finish line and I kicked it in to the max and as I got near the finish, many hands were clapping and many came next to me to give me a high five.
What amazed me was, when I looked the clock for my time, I seen it was at 23 minutes and I was shocked because with my injured foot, I figured I would be running the 5k in 30 minutes but seeing that time made me feel great. As I crossed the finish, I jumped in the air and screamed because of my exciting discovery. And when I did finished, I walked over to the kids and gave them high fives and shook hands with the other runners and told them they did a great job because they did.
What made me laugh was a male runner came up to me and said, "From the start of the race, I seen you catching up to others and I wanted to catch you and just as soon as I caught up to you, you started to sprint and I couldn't catch you. I just wanted to say that you were a tough runner." That made me smile and laugh. I guess I never was approached like that before.
I then went indoors to sit down and that is when I called my mother back home in South Dakota and told her the news, she was just like me, esctatic. I knew she was very proud of me. My time for the 5k was my personal best. I ran the 5k in Underwood, ND back in August but that time was 24:56 and this 5k, I ran it in an astonishing 23:53. That made me feel great because I wasn't expecting it.
As we all made our way to the gymnasium of the Courts Fitness Center, I seen that our times and placings were on the windows. I looked at my name and time, I then seen that I placed 55th place and after 30 minutes of standing around, I noticed that the total amount of runners were 354. I could not believe I placed in the top 60.
All I have to say is that this was a great day to end my 2011 races and I am now awaiting for the races I have in 2012. Many charities and many tests of my heart. Life is a race, run it, see how far you get.
All I can say is, today was a day that I needed and I am so very grateful to be able to run this race. I believe in miracles and today was one of those days.
Well, I hope this blog suffices against any of your boredom and again, I can't help but thank everyone of you for reading this blog. To hear the comments and private messages make these experiences worth white.
I wish you all a happy night and a good rest of your weekend as it is late for me now. Good night and take care, be your own miracle. :)
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