Monday, October 6, 2008

Non-beast induced running

The world is an eerily quiet place at 8am on Sunday.

The scene is almost fitting for a Western film, such that I could almost picture a tumbleweed bouncing down a usually busy street in unison with the echoes of my footsteps.

I certainly was nowhere near experiencing the stillness of a weekend morning the day prior. The only movement I was capable of before noon was a stilted dash for the kitchen sink after being awoken by a mouth the consistency of the Gobi. Why everyone decided I should be drinking double rum and cokes was beyond me, but they seemed so convinced that I went along with it. It did certainly make the random transition from two hours of 60s soul a la Temptations to random modern rock a la Metric by the bar DJ seem much more reasonable.

I am highly versatile in my ability to bust a move.

But Sunday I was more prepared. I'd foregone another partying opportunity for a quiet dinner, crawling into bed straight after my Tina Fey fix (I have a serious girl crush, I'm afraid), in order to be prepared for my alarm clock. 

As some of you may remember, I am not the biggest fan of running. There are a few occasions when I find it appropriate-- namely, whilst pursued by rabid beasts of the devouring type, or when for a good cause. Thankfully, my shoes were laced up for the latter, as a group of us participated in the Run for the Cure on the behalf of a friend's mother recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

(And a special shout out to Surfergrrl and Dan Mega for being kind enough to donate!! Believe it or not, I was my team's #1 fundraiser! Probably because people would pay big money for the sheer humour of seeing me run...)

Having not participated in a big city fundraiser (my HomeTown fundraisers usually involved me volunteering at a snack bar at the Legion for a local cover band), this was certainly a new experience. There were literally thousands of people, ranging from toddlers to the elderly, serious runners to casual strollers, clad in wigs and wings, even men in pink dresses. Even more overwhelming, though, was the positivity. Everyone was smiling, cheering, and there were rows of people with loud yellow "Free hugs!" signs, doling out enthusiastic embraces. One couldn't help but feel heart pangs at times, seeing too many names written under "Who I'm running for", too many "my mom, my best friend, my sister", along with photos of beautiful smiling women pinned to their shirt. But, still, amongst all the tragedy, there was an air of optimism and hope that flowed along with the pounding music.

And, yes, I ran-- nearly the whole five kilometres, when I wasn't too clustered within the crowd. Though sometimes it felt as though my breath was stabbing at my throat, and I still didn't experience this mythical runner's high, as I came down the last stretch, sloping towards the finish line with people cheering from the sidelines, I could imagine why people would find the experience a little invigorating.

(Though I'm a little convinced I pulled my groin.)

26 comments:

Mandy said...

Thats awesome. Race for the cure events are always a moving experience.

Anonymous said...

Hugest congratulations for running it all and for choosing such a great cause x much love

Crushed said...

That's about two and a half miles, isn't it?

Like you, I don't like running too muc-- have you seen the episode of friends where Phoebe goes jogging with Rachel?

QED.

Princess Pointful said...

3.11 miles, actually!
And I am at least a less-flaily runner than Phoebe!

Anonymous said...

Pretty much the only way to get me to run is to chase me. ;)

Props to you!

cdp said...

Aww, good job Princess. This gave me the warm fuzzies too.

Brunhilda said...

I actually can't watch races end, even ones I'm in, because for some reason watching people finish a race is the most emotionally moving experience I ever have and it almost always makes me cry. Literally. Tears down my face, lump in throat. Make it a cancer run and I would be a mess.

KA said...

It's a good cause and a good experience. You'll love it.

Jocelyn said...

Oh, I think you have to run at least 6K before you experience the mythical runner's high.

Heh.

Or you have to drink the rum and Cokes WHILE you run.

Good job, ladygirl.

Essentially Me said...

Congratulations! I've always wanted to do a run for a cure but I always chicken out in the end and just make the donation. It's something I should definitely strive for.

Anonymous said...

you go girl!!!! good for you!

Joanna said...

Good for you! Running is such pain to me, though I try and try every week to convince myself otherwise. I used to love to run as a kid and play tag and other game...when did it become such grueling work?

Anonymous said...

Yay! Nothing better than charity to motivate you to run...

Brett said...

Well done, but at first i thought you were going to say you had run a 1/2 marathon as we had ours her this weekend.

SMARTBuddy said...

Running! In a 'race!' Awesome!

The Serial Monogamist said...

Sounds like a great thing to run for though. But pulling your groin? Ouch; does that hurt as bad for females as it does for males - I'd imagine it'd be worse.

dmb5_libra said...

good for you!!! i probably would have walked the whole way.

runners high? its out there, i'm just too lazy to find it. we knew each other well in high school.

K.Pete said...

That's AWESOME!!! Congrats on the 5k.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you ran! That's awesome. I usually find it hard to run at events like that, simply because I'm so chock full of emotion, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. And running takes up pretty much all of my concentration.

Congrats to you for accomplishing this for such a good cause.

Yoda said...

If you ran after the double rum and coke, you may have been flailier? lol, is that even a word??

The Author Of This said...

Congratulations!

Runners High does exist. It's called Stopping. At least in my book.

Katelin said...

nice job! that's awesome. :)

Anonymous said...

Good for you! That is awesome of you. And way to go being the #1 fundraiser :)

Z said...

I second (third?) the "that's awesome!" comments :)

Lindsey said...

I hate running...but I love when other people do. It seems like almost every day I tell myself today I will run. Yeah, it never happens.

Chris Benjamin said...

i can't seem to motivate myself to run unless i have a ball in my hand and there's a net at the endpoint. good on you though. i just gave some cash.