Wow it has been quite a while since I wrote a race recap! In fact, my last race was in May 2010!
Yesterday I woke up bright and early and headed out to a popular local race here in Austin, the Uptown Classic. Typically this has been a 10k race on a flat and fast course but this year they added a 5k to the event. Not feeling quite ready to tackle a 10k yet (but soon!) I wrangled my friend Mary and another Asha Strides of Hope teammate and dear friend, Vaishno, to run it with me!
While the rest of the country is experiencing a phenomenon known as “fall”, Austin has yet to see this. Well, perhaps we are seeing fall as our average temperature is now 93* as opposed to 105*. The morning started out a bit chilly, but by the 2nd mile I was getting quite warm!
The race was great. It was small, despite its popularity, and it allowed me a chance to explore a part of Austin I’m not familiar with (The Domain). In my half marathon training we’re running intervals with walking breaks but I told myself not to walk if I could help it and I only walked twice: through a water station and for about 30 seconds towards the end until I saw the finish line! I was quite proud of myself for not stopping, despite being pretty out of shape.
About halfway through, a quadruple amputee ran past me on prosthetic legs. I started to cry. I cried not because this man was faster than me, but because he was that awesome. He was a military veteran and everyone whispered about him to their running partner as he ran through the crowd. And I just cried. He, unbeknownst to him, became my hero in that moment and I pushed through the urge to walk and finished the race as strong as I could.
As I crossed the finish line, I saw some Team Asha teammates cheering me on (thanks!) and in a complete daze almost didn’t recognize Mary who was standing at the end of the finish line cheering me on!
I grabbed some water and walked up to the finish line to cheer on other friends and we all headed over to the post-race expo for results and so much free stuff! As we were looking for our results, they started to announce age group prizes in the 5k. Imagine my surprise when we suddenly heard my name being called out.
I actually said, “Wait, did they just say my name? What do I do?” and some stranger who heard us talking said “Go up and get your prize, silly!”
I ended up getting a respectable 3rd place in my age group (20-24) and Mary actually got 1st place in her age group (25-29) and 3rd overall for the females in the 5k! Granted it was a small race, but I’m still proud! All my friends did so well!
Thanks to everyone for supporting me — y’all are amazing!
Way to go, girlie!
thank you!