Week 5's race brought me to Six Flags Over Atlanta, the birthplace of my love of coasters and the home of the CHOA Coasterthon. The Biggest Loser is a cause near and dear to Chris' heart because he helps countless people finish Spartan Races with them, so I was more than happy to sign up for the race when he asked me. It was just another 5k for me, but for many people running this race, it was their first. Their first 5k. Their first race. Their first time stepping outside of their comfort zone.
I had been having problems with my hamstring seizing up on me, so at the start line, I was silently praying that it would not give me any trouble. It was the first race unveiling my Ironman race shirt. There was another guy in heat before me wearing one as well and I think I scared him when I saw him multiple times that day, even when we were riding the coasters afterwards.
Six Flags actually let us run inside the park and it was awesome running through an otherwise empty park with the colossal coasters gazing down upon us as we ran. My bottom gave me some trouble as there were some steep hills inside the park. Even so, I was disappointed in my time of 36 minutes.
As I rounded the outside of the park, I knew I was heading back in. I could hear the music and the MC. SHOWTIME. My body kicked into high gear, as it's used to doing. As my legs kicked with everything they had and I felt the wind on my face, I realized I could not have stopped this process, even if I tried. My body knows where that finish line is and loves to finish strong. I got cheers from spectators and even a group of policemen on their bikes - "Look at that kick!", "What a strong finish!", "Go get 'em, Irongirl!". I LIVE for those moments. Even though I couldn't reply to them, I heard them loud and clear. They were oxygen to my fire.
Once I finished, I did something I never do - I went back and waited for other finishers. Chris was still out there and would be finishing as well. As I relaxed and enjoyed eating my post-race meal (a banana and a bottle of water), I saw a woman that I saw during the race. Sometimes I'd pass her, sometimes she'd pass me, so I congratulated on her finishing.
She smiled and said "I'd have to say, you are the master of those hills. I can handle the downhills, but you just zip right up those hills. How do you do it?".
I smiled in return, "Just look down". My HS track coaches would have loved to hear this - they are the ones who taught me how to do that.
"That's it?", she asked.
That's it", I said.
Back at the finish line, more people were coming through. More people finishing what they never thought they could do. One old man finished with a "#207" pinned to his chest and he shook the hand of all of the spectators waiting. He wobbled and looked like he might fall, so I kept a watch on him to see if he was okay or if I needed to get someone, however, fortunately a volunteer took his arm and helped him off the course. From his legs I could tell he had emphysema, so he must have lost a lot of weight.
Chris came in shortly after, accompanied by 2 women. I always joke that he's such a ladies' man because the women just flock around him.They hugged him and thanked him for completing the race with them. I waved to him as he came in.
Later we sat down for a post-race snack, and got to talk with some of the TV show participants from the Biggest Loser. Then the older man I saw crossing the finishing line came to sit down with his wife. He had won the 70+ age group division and started telling some of his story. The "#207" he wears on his shirt was the amount of weight he lost. Being able to talk with him was such a delight! He told of his struggles and how he started racing at an older age because he finally could. Then he said that his wife doesn't run with him but he's never alone - in his struggles or his races because God is right beside him. Now, I'm not a religious person, however, hearing his words and listen to him tell his story with tears in eyes touched me in a way that words can never express.
Later, when I was searching on the Biggest Loser website for pictures, I serendipitously found out that I had finished 9th in my age group (out of 32 runners). I've never been in the Top 10 of anything, so it was quite a thrill for me! Imagine what I could do if I was back training full time and injury-free!!! 9th place now, and work on getting even better from here! It made me sooo happy to see that on their page.
This race was bittersweet. My physical therapist says that my body needs a break, telling me my next race should be my last race of the streak... and I'll admit that I could feel it during the run, too. So I will not be making 12 races in 12 weeks. However, at this point, I did complete 5 races in 5 weeks, which took me 5 months to complete last year. That's not too shabby, and who knows, if I take a week off, maybe I can continue for another 5 weeks after that.
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