I'm a runner?

No "S", there I was. I thought I was gonna die.
Not really but I was having a hard time breathing. I ran my first race since I was in 8th grade. OK I wasn't really running to win. I was running to finish and at some points just to get to the finish line. I cought a cold the week before the run and was hacking things up all week. Let me provide some background. I am running and training for a 1/2 marathon again. I have learned that stretching is good when you get old and apparently I'm getting old. The knees, muscles and ligaments are all doing well so far. We were planning a trip to see my sister and family outside Chicago in Hampshire, IL. She flew to DC to pick up the two oldest kids and kept them for a week. Then Steph, Addie and I flew there to bring them home. We made it a little vacation as Mom and Dad drove in from KC and Grandma Reeve and Aunt Diane made the trip over for a while on Sunday. It also happened to be the Coon Creek Country Days the same weekend. I forgot how much I enjoyed small town festivals. Beer tent, nightly band(s), midway games, carnival rides and even a parade and fireworks. The girls had a fun day out sponsored by Grandma to the American Girl store in downtown Chicago. They took the train in and had a good Chic Day. Most important (to me) was the 10k. Kristin mentioned when we were first planning this that I could run in their little 10k since I was training for the 1/2 Marathon. I almost dismissed it but then thought better and saw that it fit right on my training schedule. I was supposed to be running 6 miles that weekend anyway. Why not?

Since Dana (Lenz) Hartwigsen lives about 20 miles away from my sister I invited her to join me. She said she would register and even chastized me to make sure I wouldn't back out on her. Come to find out when I went to pick up my number the day before the race it was SHE who didn't even sign up. A quick call resolved the issue. In true Dana form she was running behind and didn't get to sign up. She was planning to do it the morning of the run though and assured me she would be there. A true friend she was and showed up at 6:50am to my sister's house ready to run. One of the highlights of the run, besides making it through, was at the end of mile 5. My nephew Andrew was at the final water station handing out cups of water. I was thankful to get the water and see him on the run. Keep up the good work Andrew. In true female form Dana didn't stop talking until we went to church after the run. We were sweaty and still in our shorts but showed up anyway to see the kids do their Vacation Bible School program. Kristin/Supermom had all the kids in VBS all week. We got a few strange looks by the regular Sunday crowd but at least we were there. I don't recommend running a 10k and then sitting in a cold church. Dana and I were freezing. At one point we had the baby blankets over us to keep from shivering so much. next time I'll at least change my t-shirt before going somewhere after a race unless I can sit outside.

The next big event was the festival parade. All of Kristin's kids were in or on a float - Andrew for football, Scott and Matthew for Cub Scouts and Lauren for cheerleading. Dylan and Chloe thought it was almost as good as Halloween. They didn't have to walk and people just threw candy at them. Dylan's highlight was getting a carrott and a potato from one of the floats. He was so excited and it was the first thing he ate when we got back to the house and peeled it for him.

So while I may have run in my first race since 8th grade I still don't consider myself a runner. Maybe I eventually will. Right now it's something to do to keep in shape and I have a goal to train for, nothing more. It's not a part of me and I don't miss it if I can't get out for a couple of days. I feel I have potential to be considered a runner because if I only get out once during the week I do find myself looking forward to the next run. It's some 'Me' time and a stress reliever but maybe that's all being a runner is.