I am not a big goal-oriented person, but I guess I had a
five-year workout plan in mind without knowing it. It was May 2009 and I had
only been working out since March, and had proudly ridden my bike 8 miles to
the Dime and Dollar thrift store. Even before I ever competed, I’ve had a
strange thing for medals. I have one for my 700 series (yeah right) and for my third
place showing on the uneven parallel bars at the YMCA gymnastics meet in 2004. As
it turns out, I have had to use the ribbons off of a few of these, so my little
fetish hasn’t been so useless after all.
But this one was
different. It wasn’t earned through hurling heavy objects down oily lanes or
risking paralysis. It had a red ribbon
that said Walk Wisconsin Half Marathon 2005, and the medal had people walking
on it (duh!) They give a medal for just walking I thought? Really!?! I had moved
outside from my stationary bike and could now walk a few miles, instead of
practically keeling over at Target. Maybe I should consider that. It turns out
the event was actually just a few days later, and I wasn’t quite ready for the
shortest distance yet, 6.55 miles. And I hadn’t even done my first race yet.
But the seed was definitely planted, and for 59 cents I purchased my
motivation.
That weekend I did my first race, a 3.7 miler that I got to
ten minutes late, but still managed to pass about a dozen people, albeit most
were families with strollers. I really enjoyed it, especially since proceeds
went towards childhood obesity, a cause near and dear to my heart.
By the end of the summer I had 15 races under my belt, and actually
earned a medal in Neillsville my third race. Hey, even a blind eagle catches a
fish sometimes! I still try to do that race every year if I can, and Neillsville
is also where I won my first snowshoeing medal this year.
Over the winter I kept working out, and started thinking
that I should continue this unexpected vocation. That Walk Wisconsin medal
beckoned. Could I possibly earn one with a red ribbon that said Walk Wisconsin
2010?
I printed out the little training schedule and diligently
got at it. Unfortunately, I also got a very screwed up call from my doctor
informing me I was diabetic. (That is another blog for another time.) The first
question out of my mouth was “can I still walk my half marathon?” “That would
be a good idea, she told me. So I kept at it, but not without a few bumps in
the road. I decided to do a local trail run for training purposes (I had no
clue what I was doing) and took a digger right at the end that screwed up my
knee and elbow a week before Walk Wisconsin. To make matters worse, the first aid tent accidently put bleach on my
wounds, which naturally hurt like hell for my whole “taper” week. But I kept
myself bandaged up, and set out for Walk Wisconsin the next Saturday with all the equipment they advised you to
bring.
Bug spray? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Raincoat? You betcha.
When I was done putting all their advice in the little backpack they gave us it
was a wonder I could walk. In fact, I think it threw me off balance, which lead
me to another fall about 6 miles in, and yet another around mile 10, that
totally blew off any healing that had taken place that week. Plus my blood
sugar may have been a little low. Blood was coming out of my left elbow, but I
kept it hidden from the Park Ridge first responders for fear they’d pull me off
the course. In reality, they probably would have just patched me up. But I was
determined to finish, in spite of the looks of horror from the little old lady
walkers surrounding me.
It did actually start to rain in the last mile, but at that
point I didn’t care. I made my way up to the stage at the finish and got my
medal from the former mayor of the city. It wasn’t pretty, but I got it done
and mom made me a steak that night too.
The next year I just did the quarter marathon, and in 2012
did the half again with my dear friend Michelle. We talked and ate and laughed
the whole time. This was much different and more fun that being the “solitary
woman” in 2010. We reprised it last year with the new ¾ Marathon: 19.3 miles.
This was even more fun because we got to enjoy the famous pizza rest stop. We
also got the slick yellow ribbon. So I now had 2 reds, a green and yellow
ribbon.
One question I get is “so have you considered a full
marathon?” It has always felt like unfinished business. I have no desire to do
Ironmans or ultras, but I would like to get that much done. So this year, I
decided I needed the coveted blue Walk Wisconsin ribbon on my medal (which are
the same every year.) June 7 is the big day. I know this is just a walk in the
park for many runner friends, but it sure would be an accomplishment for me.
And even though it’s not running, I think I will have earned the 26.2 sticker
for my car anyway.
Stay tuned in 3 weeks for an update, good or bad…
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