Run, Claire, Run!

Something insane happened to me last November. I was playing around on Pinterest as I normally do and saw a post on there about The Color Run. I have seen this before and glossed over it much like any other pin I see that has anything to do with wasteful exertion of my energy. I need to save all that I have for chasing Gavin away from light sockets or heavy traffic. (I kid!!) But for some reason, this time I actually opened up the The Color Run website and took a close look at it. Thousands of people everywhere across the country get together for this run, which proudly proclaims it is the Happiest 5K on the Planet. As people run through the race there are stations set up with different colors of this powder that gets tossed on them, eventually ending the race looking like a sweating, sad excuse for an Easter egg dyer. But all with huge smiles on their faces. I saw these people covered in blue, pink, yellow and orange and something switched in me. I wanted to do it. I wanted to willingly pay someone else so that I could run three miles and let you violently pelt me with colored "stuff" . Yes, I needed to be one of these people! I called my beautiful, sweet friend Danielle and she was more than happy to oblige my request of running with me. No, it was not my cunning and persuasive skills that talked her into it. She runs all the time. She is what we call "a runner". She has done two half marathons, so this was small potatoes to her. But after she made sure it was really me on the phone asking her to run a race and not some alien form taking over my body, she said of course she would do it with me.

So training I did. I thought so many times to write about it on my blog. But I was so afraid I was going to give up just like all the other times I have secretly tried to start running. I was afraid I would come on here and be all "gun-hoe" about running and then all of a sudden I wouldn't write about it anymore and you all would ask and I would pretend I had no clue what you were talking about. I just thought it would end in you thinking me crazier than you already do. So I kept it to myself. Danielle, my parents and Chad knew I was at least trying. But an amazing thing happened, I didn't quit! I kept going. I have a training app on my phone and there is a sweet little woman on there that I named T.A.R.A. (Training And Running App. Clever, I know.) and I just could not disappoint her. She was patiently waiting on me every day I needed to run. And I was actually enjoying it. It was my time alone, to think and actually relax. Who knew?? It was hard at first but I just kept at it and it just got easier and more enjoyable. 

So three months of training and I finally made it to my first race. It was in Jacksonville so we drove over on Friday and stayed with my grandmother. We got up Saturday morning and it was a perfect day for a race. It was cool but the sun was just coming up and by the time the race started it was perfect outside. Danielle and I literally laughed the whole time. There were so many crazy people around us, it was hard not to point out all of it to each other. We got pelted in the face, hair, ears and everywhere by colored powder. The crazy thing was that it was so much fun!!!! By the time I saw the finish line up ahead, I couldn't believe we had already run the whole race. I made my goal of just wanting to finish the race without stopping. And I did even better in my time which was finishing in 33 minutes!!



The day before with our bibs

 

It definitely made for an interesting shower. That powder got in places I didn't know it could. I washed my hair four times and each time a stream of different colors went down the drain. Danielle is still picking yellow out of her ears. But it was so much fun! And definitely worth all the work I did to get there. I feel so good about having a goal and completing it. My husband has been beyond proud of me and we can't wait to be able to run a race together when he gets home. I need to sign up for another race so I can keep training and not quit. I am totally not up for a half marathon or anything, but I see more 5K's in my future! Who knows, maybe I will start eating things like rutabagas and beets. Maybe I shouldn't have said that...