Sunday, October 14, 2012

It Takes Two

       Last year I signed up for two 5Ks back to back. While training I sprained my ankle. I was able to do the WW Walk-It 5K but not the Hunts Point Hustle. Other than the 5K with my WW homies, Cindy and Tam, this was my shot to participate in the Bronx which is the borough in which I live. I would up sitting on the sidelines all summer. Fast forward to this year, a brand new year indeed. A year when I joined the NY Road Runners and started challenging myself to do more. Starting in April I tried to sign up for an event every month. When it came time to sign up for October, the only race I could find near my skills wa a 1.7 mile. Cindy laughed at me saying that's too small but a chance to run in an event is a chance and I took it. A month ago I received an email that there would be another Hunts Point Hustle and it would take place the day before the 1.7 mile. I chose to sign up and run two races two days in a row.


        The Hunts Points Hustle 5K was an inexpensive event. For $5 I signed Jake up for the 5K too. I asked Jake if he would like give running a 5K a try and he said yes. I was already training myself to run 3.1 miles straight. I took Jake out for a couple of training runs. He ran ahead of me to start. He ran like a child, from side to side on the track, smacking tree branches on the path. He slowed down when he burnt out and walked behind me the rest of the way.  So Saturday morning, at a brisk 39 degrees, I attached a racing strip to his sneaker and we moved over to the start line. Jake took a look at all the runners in their gear and said " you're going to to run fast and leave me behind". I told him that I would do no such thing and reminded him that I run very slow and we will be fine. Then a horn blew and Jake took off, running with the crowd as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder at me and never looked back again.  I continued to run at my usual pace thinking oh my goodness I've lost my son and I have run this kind of race before and I can do this.
           Unlike the races in Central Park, I found myself a distance from others and it felt like I was running early morning on a weekend. I was listening to my music which was telling me I was halfway there when suddenly the finish line appeared. Other finishers were cheering at the finish line and all I could do was look my long lost son. And there he was. I crossed the finish line thinking I should not kill him in public. He was waiting with an older woman who assured me that he had to run his own race. After the race, I got to do something I never did before. They had a Zumba instructor giving Zumba lessons and I jumped into a spot and did Zumba for the first time in my life.

           On Thursday I went to pick up my number for the 1.7 mile race. I walked from my office in midtown to the upper east side, approximately a little over two miles. When I received my number bib, I noticed that it did not have the tracking strip on it. When I asked one of the volunteers she pointed to a young man across then room. So I asked him to help me obtain  my strip and he looked at my number bib and said "we do not time that race". I felt as though I was stabbed in the heart. Did he just look down at my 1.7mile race? Does he realize how hard it was for me to be able to run 1.7miles? It was not until I got home that I realized I actually walked farther to pick up my racing bib than the length of the actual race.
           Today I Jake and I had our NY Road Runners races. First Jake ran the childrens race with his 10-12 age group. Then I ran the 1.7mile. It was an interesting course with a few small hills. For once my kids were actually at the finish line cheering me on. Jake asked me what happens when he turns 13 years old and no longer qualifies for the 10-12 year old catagory. I told him that we will figure something out. A year ago I noticed that Jake was putting on a little weight. Since then we put him in little league and I have tried various ways to get him to be active. I bought him a suit for an event last year in April and it did not fit by August. I was not sure what to do because I did not want to give him a complex but I also did not want him to have to work as hard as I do trying to lose weight in the future. This August in anticipation of a wedding his dad was looking for something for him to wear and he tried on the too tight suit and it fit. He called me at work to say that we do not need buy a new outfit. Jake was so sharp dressed up in his suit so trim and fit. His gym teacher told him that he is her best student who is always willing to run extra laps..

Bobism:
Eating always makes me feel better until I stop and then I feel worse.















1 comment:

  1. Carin, thank you so much for participating in the Hunts Point Hustle! Your article and your personal journey is inspring! Would you mind if we highlighted it in Sustainable South Bronx's newsletter? Wendy, our director of communications would also love to interview you. You can write her back at wparis@ssbx.org.

    Nina Sander
    Director of Education
    Sustainable South Bronx

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