On Saturday, January 14, 2012...my beautiful mother's 87th birthday, I ran in The Hotcake Hustle 5K/10K at the Addison conference center in Addison, TX. This was the first of seven races for the Run On! Project Premier DFW Metroplex Race Series. My mother, who has Alzheimer's, no longer knows who I am. I ran this race in honor of her and for everyone else who has this terrible debilitating disease. I picked up my race package, which included a free coffee mug and long sleeve t-shirt, at the Dallas Run On! store before the event. This race was sold out with over 2,000 entries. The fun run started on a trail in front of our starting line at 8am, and the 5k and 10k started together at 8:30. The race benefited the Addison Midday Rotary Club, and several of their members volunteered to help with the race. and Jerry Glover, of Jerry Glover Photography, took some amazing race photos, like he always does. The weather was in the low 40s for the start of the race. There was a Run On! table, where I met several other Run On! runners before and after the race. I saw Kevin Lipski, my Sunday long distance trainer that helps me train for my Half Marathons, among others. Kevin ran back-to-back marathons in 2 days in Allen, TX at the first of the year. Now you know why I have him help me train. There was a nice straight away at the start of the race. I was running under a 7 minute pace, which is way to fast, but since I was running for my mom, I was trying to finish under 24 minutes. We then came to a long bridge which had steep incline. I naturally slowed down going up the hill, but I tried to make it up by speeding up on the down hill. We then reached the 5k turnaround while the 10k runners split off. Since I ran the 5k, I hit the turnaround and headed back the way we came. I started to run faster as I headed back towards the bridge for a second time. I crossed the bridge and then made up some time while passing a few runners. I was giving all I could while I thinking about my mother. I couldn't help but thank her for all that she has done for me. At this point, I reached the straight away where I sprinted as fast as I could. Just before reaching the finish line, I glanced over and saw timer at just over 24 minutes. I was a little disappointed as I crossed the finish line at 24:08, and the race announcer said my name and age over the speaker. I finished 2nd place out of 13. The winning time in the 60-64 age group was 23:41. I finished 72 out of 1,081 total 5k runners with a 7:47 pace. Because Alztiemer's disease is hereditary, I now take the Exelon patch for early signs of Dementia. Hopefully it will help slow down the process. I would hate to get Alztiemer's and no longer be able to remember my two sons, who I love so much. I love you mama... I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment