Race for the Cure 2012

Race for the Cure 2012
Today I donned my finest pink running gear and ran a 5k to support finding a cure for Breast Cancer. I know what you are thinking, which is that me finding pink running gear isn't difficult to do. Anyway, a month ago I made the commitment to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was a little more pricey than I like, but one of close friends is a Breast Cancer survivor and I wanted to do something to celebrate her. 

My tv interview!

Overall, I had a nice time even though I did experience some of my biggest pet peeves, but first let me focus on the positives. First, it was awesome seeing thousands of people lined up to support finding a cure for Breast Cancer. Young and Old, Fast and Slow, Men and Women, everyone was there. Thinking about, just in registration alone, Komen probably raised close to $40,000 just in registration fees and I can only imagine how much money they made from teams who were able to fundraise. To me, that is the awesome part of running for a cause, which is seeing so many people come together in support of one another. I also loved seeing all of the survivors participating and seeing all of the labels which honored those who succumbed to cancer or labels celebrating those who beat the disease. I sported a sign that celebrated my friend, Marcella, and her courageous struggle to beat Breast Cancer. 

Ford Warriors in Pink Bus :-)

The course was nice and it was a little challenging, some of the areas were a little hilly. I didn't realize it, but I passed mile 1 and it wasn't until mile 2 that I realized I was almost done. I had no idea that running 3 miles was so easy. I remember back in the day when I could barely walk a 1/4 of a mile, and now I ran 3 miles with little to no problem. I also ran in to some of my students who were walking the course. I had to keep plugging along because I wanted to finish the race fairly quickly, at least for me. The good news is that I now have a new 5k Personal Record (PR). My old PR was 43: 25 and as of late it has been taking me almost 50 minutes to run a 5k.  Today I came in at 42:12. Not bad if I do say so myself!   I am slowly working toward running a 5k in 40 minutes or less.   What do I attribute to this? Well, marathon training and Insanity! Marathon training puts such wear and tear on my muscles that a short run seems like a piece of cake. Insanity is a series of plyometrics and other conditioning workouts, and I think those are slowly strengthening my legs.

Honoring Marcella

Like I said, I had a nice time and I may choose to run Komen next year. I also found a race supported by the American Cancer society closer to my house, so I may go there just because it will save on gas. But here are my two pet peeves to the race, both of which are no fault of Komen's. 1. Walkers, please start where you are supposed to and 2. If you are protesting, there is a line of decency and good taste that you must not cross!

1. Walkers: Komen had  an 8:00 start time for timed and untimed runners and an 8:30 start for walkers. A large amount of walkers ignored this and started walking when the run started. Now, I was not racing for an official time, even though I was keeping track, but there are a lot of people who are. It makes it very difficult to bob and weave in and out of a crowd that is walking. if you are walking, then don't walk 5 and 6 wide. Don't stop randomly in the road, or even better start when you are supposed to. I actually was running fairly well, but there were times that I got stuck behind a gaggle of walkers and I couldn't quite get around them, which impeded me finishing the race even quicker than I was already paced to. 

Finally a photo where I look like I'm running!

2. Protesters: My understanding is that Komen is controversial because they provide funding to Planned Parenthood, and depending on how Christian you are, you may find abortion offensive  and you may find Komen providing funding as offensive. Now the Government teacher in me has this say, you have a right to assemble and you have a right to protest, I have a right to not like what you have to say or ignore you and so does everyone else. Like I tell my students, even unpopular speech is still protected speech. Now that we are on the same page, I have this to say, a person picketing is one thing, but displaying massive billboards of aborted fetus' lining the start line is just offensive. I understand it is your right, but to me that is just too far, and I know I can't tell you not to do it, but anyone who knows me knows that I am not a pro-abortion individual, however, I make my choice to be that way and I certainly would not offensively push my views on someone else. I can only make decisions for myself, and I would expect that others will do what is best for them and it isn't my place to judge. Even with my pro-life stance, I found what the protesters did to be in poor taste and honestly it was downright offensive. A run celebrating survivors and honoring those who passed away is not an appropriate time to display bloody fetus'. Especially since this was a family event. Have the signs up that state your view, but doing something that horrific not only makes me, and I am sure others, want to vomit, but it is something terrible for kids to see.  

Well, my first week of hardcore marathon workouts is up next. I think I push past 13 miles to 15 miles this week. Should be interesting!  Well, happy running :-)