Not Your Average 5k

This year Maria and I decided to give the Women's Fitness Celebration 5k a chance. This was the first time either of us had participated in it, and it happened to be the race's 20th anniversary. How special!

Due to a knee surgery and pregnancy, followed by the birth of her baby boy this summer, Maria had not done any running for a couple of years. Due to lack of interest mixed with sheer laziness, I've only ventured out for a run 10-ish times since tackling the half marathon in 2010, none of those being in the last few months. Both of us waited until the week of the 5k to begin "training". In preparation, we each ran about 2 miles, twice. Not together. Every time I run I'm reminded that I really don't like it. =)

It wouldn't have been like us to wear something normal for the occasion. We decided to pair the provided snazzy blue tees with our choice of "running pants".

Maria donned this kicky gray jumpsuit, and I opted for my prized pantaloons.

I actually had a lady turn around and tell me they were cute (she wasn't sure what to call them) and asked if I made them. I could have lied and said yes, but I figured she'd ask for my phone number so we could arrange a sewing day together, and I wasn't up for that. 

Moments before the race began, we came up with the plan to skip for as long as we could manage, because, why not?? We thought maybe we'd be able to keep it up for a few minutes, or at most a mile. We skipped our way down Capital Blvd. When there were no distinguishable mile markers, we continued skipping up the hill, past the Train Depot (where volunteers mercifully offered cups of water). This was the only point in the course where I very briefly broke my skipping stride, so as to not choke on my beverage, but Maria was a few trots ahead of me, urging me not to delay.

We bounced past the glorious homes along Crescent Rim, enjoying the distraction. We were getting very tired at this point, but by then we'd wordlessly committed to skipping the entire 3.1 miles. Neither of us wanted to be the quitter. Realizing it wouldn't have been all that impressive to say we skipped for a portion of the race, we knew what had to be done.

One lady told us that she'd skipped the duration of a race before, only to be disqualified at the end! What?! Don't they know it's harder to skip than it is to run? It's double the footsteps! We did discover that our mode of movement was slower than jogging. But we had to finish what we started.

A photo I unearthed from one of the news/radio websites. I have to admit, we weren't skipping very enthusiastically for much of the time. It's trickier than it looks. Anyway, I'm mad the photographer didn't get Maria in the shot with me. =(

Anyway, I'm not lying about skipping the whole way. The photographer just caught me in a weak moment. It didn't help that most of the way it felt like there was gravel lining the insides of my shoes.

 

We'd agreed to link arms as we crossed the finish line. Don't we look just darling?

After the race, we gathered our consolation snacks at assorted sponsor booths and loitered as we ate. Our feet felt like bloody stumps. I was surprised to learn later that I hadn't even broken any skin. Just a couple of blisters to show for all that hard skipping.

I'm so glad for friends I can be silly with. Whoever said "normal is boring" was right. I would have appeared sillier in the posed pictures if they hadn't been snapped by beady-eyed strangers. And I didn't know the action shots were being taken, so I couldn't prepare. I'll add again that we were in the process of a strenuous workout, so of course we looked pained. I admire Maria's ability to be at ease with herself and not worry about what the lady behind the camera *might* have been thinking. Maybe someday I won't be so timid.

Anyway, in case anyone scrolled through it all to the last line, Maria and I skipped for 3 miles straight, in public! What a special triumph!