Penguin in the Park 2010

If you have been following my blog you know that I signed up to do this Penguin in the Park race and that it was my very first 5k. I have had this deep desire to start running for quite a while now and then after reading the book "The Courage to Start" by John "The Penguin" Bingham I was so much more inspired to run.

So my fellow penguin friends and I drove to Decatur, Il to run the race. We were all first timers. We got there the night before and unfortunately all had a crappy night sleep away from home. I was also blessed with that lovely time of the month where I don't want to do any physical activity. But I made the decision to run this race and I knew that nothing was going to stop me from doing it.






So we get to the race and picked up our registration packets. We got some really cute bright green penguin race shirts and our racing number bibs. They also supplied a chip timer that you wore around your ankle to time you from start to finish line. There were a total of 398 participants. I would say the weather was a chilling 35 degrees or so. For that reason alone I couldn't wait to get this race going.

Once the race started we all took off. Since I had never ran this path before I didn't know what to expect. It's funny how I assumed it would be a completely flat surface to run the whole time. I hadn't even started adjusting the incline on my treadmill yet. So the hills were a little tough but the other side coming down made up for the speed.

We had a great time along the way. We talked and pointed out things along the way. We checked on each other and lended a hand of support on those uphill parts. We were at the back of the runners but weren't last. Leading up to the race I just prayed that I wouldn't be last and that I would finish in under an hour.



As we came over the last hill and could see the finish line, I started getting choked up. You could hear people there yelling out their cheers for each runner as they finished. I wondered if John Bingham would be standing there as well. I thought about the fact that I totally changed my life that day. I believed in myself more than ever. I fought back my emotions and just put one foot in front of the other. My feet hurt and I wished my lungs would expand more so I could breathe normally but I just kept going. I crossed the finish line at 52:20 and heard John say "Great Job!" as he stood there clapping. It was one of the best moments of my life. Everyone received a medal for finishing. They have a penguin on them with John's quote, "The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start." It felt amazing!



After a quick trip to the car to grab the camera and my book we headed over to the gym for the post-race party. Inside the gym is filled with people sitting around tables and all along the bleachers enjoying the post race food. We got in place in line when I spotted John autographing some one's books. I walked over to him and asked him to sign my book. I choked back tears as I told him I was there today because of him. He graciously said thank you and signed my book. Kelley snuck up with her camera too and got a picture of us together. It was perfect.



After that we had some food and watched as John said thanks to the crew that put this together and everyone that sponsored it. They gave out some awards for the best runners in their categories and then we got ready for that journey back home. We all agreed that because this was our first that we should do this one every year. Of course I will do other races too but this one will always be the most special for me.