Nike Human Race 10K I did it!!

Oh my gosh what a rush. I woke up today and for the first time in a long time, I was scared to run. I knew that the Human Race was today and I had to log in a 6.2 mile run. You see I signed up for the 10K when I graduated from C25K. I even wrote an essay for Nike stating why I should be an ambassador. I didn't get one of the positions and I was glad. Over the last few weeks I have not been training as hard as I thought I should. And I was really relieved that they did not pick me. I didn't want that responsibility.

So I took off today and headed for the trail. Our trail is exactly 6.2 miles. It heads up to the ocean and then back to a park. My neighborhood is on the trail and I am smack dab in the middle. So I took off and headed North to the water.

I am so excited..so many things to share. So let me end this post with the letter I sent Nike on 07/28/2009. My reasons for being an ambassador:

It would seem crazy that I would even consider running the Nike Human Race 10K. I am not your typical lean athlete that you see running the Boston Marathon or gracing the covers of running magazines or advertisements. I am a middle aged, overweight, small business owner who has just discovered her running legs. Running has become my drug of choice for relieving stress. Being a small business owner, a soccer mom and a wife can be stressful. But in April I discovered Nike+ and the Couch to 5K training program and my whole world changed.

All of a sudden I was replacing my scrapbooking magazines for running magazines. I started to trade pancakes and eggs with yogurt and cereal. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t see an overweight defeated woman but a strong powerful Athena. Running had replaced lying on the couch. And loads of energy had replaced hours of feeling sluggish. Yes, running had changed me.

I found empowerment in all the small goals I accomplished. And they were small. First run 6o seconds at a time, then 90 seconds, What a rush when I could run a whole 10 minutes. I cried at the gym the first time I ran for twenty minutes straight and ran my first mile. My family stood around my treadmill as tears streamed down my face. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment and yes, dare I say I became a PR seeker. I found myself looking forward to hearing Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong or Joan Benoit Samuelson tell me that I had done well.

On July 18th, I participated in my first 5K. My goal that day was not to cross the finish line in first place. My goal was to just finish. And finish I did. I was second to last in my age group but that did not matter. What mattered was that I did it. I had a testimony of how this fluffy gal who couldn’t run to the end of her own block had just completed a 5K. I was proof that you can do it. You just have to try.

So on October 24th I want to run the Human Race 10K for all us fluffy girls. I hear them on different forums discussing the fear, embarrassment and shame the feel about themselves. They feel like they will be the only fluffy one in the race. They can’t relate to any of the runners they see in magazines or advertisements. My goal is to show them that they can do it. That I am right here, running the race for them and with them. I want to run to say “Yes YOU CAN!” From where you are standing right now, no matter where in the world, no matter what size, you can take one step forward and start running.