newyorkanne.com Blog

A few weeks ago I walked/ran my first 5K.  The Susan G. Komen, Race for the Cure, in Central Florida Sept. 9th., at Walt Disney World of Sports.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, there was no humidity and the temperature seemed cooler than normal. This was probablly due to the recent rains.  It warmed up to the ususal temperatures later in the day, however during the race I felt comfortable.  When I left my house it was still dark and as I was drivng towards Orlando it kept getting lighter and lighter.  Seeing the sunrise was a joy.  I always get a thrill seeing the beauty of a sunrise or sunset.  It seems that one can forget these joys and, as the days go by, let these beautiful moments of nature pass by as we go about our busy lives.  I remember thinking to myself that, once again,  I have let myself be pulled into the day by day chores, and have not taken time to just relax and enjoy the beauty and joy that the simple and quiet moments of life can bring us.  A sunrise, a sunset, a nightime sky, a wagging tail of a dog, a walk in the forest, a friend’s smile, a quiet cup of tea.  These are the moments to be cherished, these are the moments that, for me, make one’s life special.  I am grateful for these moments. 

I remember thinking if nothing else comes of this day, I saw a beautiful sunrise.  So already I won my 5K.  This beautiful sunrise was my medal.    Do we need to have to drive somewhere at 5am to remember to enjoy a sunrise?  I hope not.

I got to my friend’s house and from there we drove to Disney.  I was now getting excited.  It was now getting real.  Up to this point it was a concept, a 5K.  Now here was the actual 5K!  My friend, has run many races and knew exactly what to do.  I am so grateful for her friendship and support,  it made everything easy.  She helped me find the sign-in table, we both got T-shirts.  Which was a nice gesture from the race people since my friend was there to support me and was not running this one.  Everyone was so nice.  It was one big group of people all working together.

Waiting for the race to start seemed endless,  I got on line early as I wanted to be in the front of the walk/run line, and I was.  The runners started 5 minutes before my group, they were lined up in front of us.  There were a lot of people there, a lot of activity going on; music, anouncements,  people gathering,  talking,  people waving, taking pictures.  It was just one big group of energy.  I could feel the energy which translated into excitement.  I was all set to go at 8:05.  It seemed like we would never start and then all at once it was there, the moment was there and then without thinking it was now doing.  I was doing it.

Getting to the first mile marker was interesting.  It seemed to me that I walked many miles till I reached that marker.  It seemed like the longest one mile.  I don’t know why it seemed that way, maybe because we were walking on an actual road that was blocked off.  I had the feeling that if my car broke down I could be walking this road looking for assistance.  I actually thought of that. Then there were the seemingly endless group of people before me.  Looking down the road there seemed to be hundreds and hundreds of people in front of me.  I felt I would never get to the point were they where.  I could never catch up to them.  They were always there in front of me.  I kept walking and running and yet these people up front were still there.  However there were an even greater number of people in back of me.  I glanced backward,  there seemed to be at least twice as many people in back of me then in front of me.  Now I kept thinking of the people in back of me.  Were they all going to pass me.  No!  Some walk/runners did pass by, now running instead of walking.  I ran some but then opted for more of a fast walk for most of the race.  Finally the first mile marker came. 

After the first mile we were running through Disney’s Wild World of Sports complex. There were shady spots, interesting landscaping, we ran on the walkways through the complex, and at one point we even ran in an arena. I could feel the difference of the track and the walkways.  It felt different.  It was a lot of fun walk/running on the track part of the race. I would most likely never get a chance to be on an actually professional track again and it was an exciting highlight of this race for me.  Soon I saw the three mile marker and I realized that at some point my mind had actually gotten into the race and I was experiencing the feeling of being in a moment to moment place.  

Then just as in the beginning of the race, when the start of the race just happened, now I was crossing the finish line.  It just happened, I was crossing the finish line.  It was over.  I was doing it, now I did it!   I did it in 52 minutes and 11 seconds.  I was hoping for 40 minutes or less but this was my first 5k and I was happy just doing it.

Now we were leaving, it was still a beautiful morning although it was a little warmer.  Walking away from it I got that same feeling when something ends.  It is a nebulous feeling.  The moments blur together.  I was waiting to do it, then I was doing it, and then I did it. 

Then I did it.  I did my first 5K! 

My last few runs have been average.  I have been doing the usual four miles.  However with the heat and my being a little tired from not getting enough sleep I feel that I have not been able to do the usual walk one mile, and run three.  What I have been doing is walking one mile and walk/running three miles.  I’ll walk, then run as much as I can then walk and then run again.  While this is not the ideal I have been satisfied with it because I feel that I am still doing something, I am still progressing by just doing it. 

Also, I have experienced from my dance lessons years ago that one has to listen to one’s body.  “Listen to your body first.”  “Listen to your body first.”  This was a phrase that I would hear endlessly in dance class.  It was instilled in me that one has to be aware of how your body is feeling to avoid injuries.  An injury can set one back for months.  If one is tired or preoccupied with thoughts, you can’t focus.  I experienced crashing once, because I lost focus and I never want that to happen again.  So if I feel tired I think it is best, for me, not to push myself.  If I feel my thoughts drifting as I am running I tell myself to focus on the trail.  To stay in the “hear and now” moment.  That is another phrase I kept hearing in dance class over and over and over again, “here and now,” “here and now,” ”stay in the moment, be here and now.”

There have been some highlights on these walk/runs.  The wonder of nature is exquisite, and I have been fortunate to see some special moments.  One morning I saw a deer.  It was young as it still had its markings.  It stood sliently on the side of the trail, I am sure it spotted us and it just kept looking for awhile and then just turned and darted away, with its tail held high in the air, into the forest.  It was wonderful watching it darting in the forest, and then he/she vanished into the green.    The other day I saw a baby tortoise.  It was only about two or three inches in diameter. It was happily munching on the grass on the side of the trail.  I stood and watched him/her for awhile and then we looked at each other.  I went my way and he/she continued doing its tortoise thing.  I also saw a hawk flying through the trees, heard many birds, and saw some butterflies flutter by. 

So these seeminly average runs have been far from average.  The Forest always gives so much!