LOVE YOUR BODY!!

I went on an adventure, yesterday. I participated in a 6k walk / run for women only at Thanksgiving Point! I figured that was a safe one to start off with - and so did 1800 other women! It was a lot of fun, a beautiful walk and great exercise.

Here I am, all alone before the race began. I invited some of the girls in my life, but none of them could come. I was lonely. Sad. Next year I am inviting ALL the women in my life and hopefully someone can come! (Yes, this is supposed to make you feel guilty for not coming!)

I did find some friends, though. Out of 1800 women I found our good family friends Julie and Lindsey! They let me wait for the start with them, but I didn't want to them to feel stuck with me (Julie and I used to go to the gym together. I know how tough she can be!) so we finished separately. Way to go, girls! And thanks for letting me stick with you!

This picture doesn't really do the crowd justice, but it's the best one I took. Let me put it to you this way; 3 different buildings with restrooms (men's and women's being used by women) and about a dozen port-a-potties and you still had to wait in line for a bathroom!

At 8:30 the 10k run began. Way out of my league! But we all stood off to the side and cheered them on. Mostly out of admiration, but also because we were freaking cold and it helped warm up our hands. Then we lined up for the 6k walk / run. I walked but then ran across the finish line. I also cried at the finish line.

This is a picture of me after the race. I don't look too worse for the wear, although you can tell I have been crying. Let me tell you why.

It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many women with such different reasons to be there, and at varying skill levels. Watching those take off for the 10k and all I could think was, "Never in a million years could I do that!" But why not? I did 6k - more than 1/2 way! Maybe someday I can. And as we were waiting for the walk to begin, we all talked amongst ourselves. Where else but in a group of a bunch of women could you talk candidly and openly with each other? I heard women talking about their husbands, their health, and even their friends that convinced them to sign up, but then didn't come. It was weird to feel comfortable around and have a connection with so many strangers!

As the walk progressed, my first thought was, "I need to pee!" (I shouldn't have drank so much water BEFORE !) After a pit stop, I just put one foot in front of the other. I did try to make a 'race' out of it, but just by eyeing the person ahead of me and trying to pace myself so that I could pass them. Then I would find the next person ahead of me and try to pass them. As I passed them I noticed how different we all were. There was every age group, every size and shape, some alone some in big groups. When the 10k women started lapping us, I looked at them, again in awe, and noticed that they, too were every age, size and shape and even ability. Some very hard-core, strong women, and some who were pushing themselves to continue to the next step. But we were all as beautiful as the gardens around us because we matter. We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us....!

About 3/4 of the way through I noticed I was sticking with the same group of women. We were all going the same pace and didn't pass or get behind each other. In this group was a runner who weighed probably 2 time more than I do. Yes, she was running. Only at the same pace as us walkers, but she was running! She would every once in a while blurt out very loudly, "Oh, come on!" "You're OK!" or "You've made it this far. Keep going!" I realized she was talking to herself. She had her eyes closed and was obviously visualizing the finish line. She had her headphones on, and I don't know if she could hear me but I found myself giving her cheers and kudos, too. It then seemed to be she was cheering me on and I was cheering her on.

Near the finish line there stood my neighbors - Julie and Lindsey's families - with posters and cheering us on. (They even held up the "Way to go Grandma" sign even though it was meant for Julie. It still made me feel good!)

Then there was a small group of friends in my new group of walking buddies who were alternating between running and walking. There were 3 of them; one pushing a stroller, one in a wheelchair, and the other pushing the wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair had Cerebral Palsy. Her friends loved her very much, you could tell. They would run when she was in the chair, but then she would get out of it, hold onto the wheelchair and walk for a ways. They talked a lot about how cool this was and how much each of them appreciated the experience; obviously the woman IN the chair was very grateful to her friends because there would be no way she could do it without their help, but her friends were just as grateful, and I would say honored, to be able to be a part of this experience with her. At one point we had to cross an island in the middle of the road, which was tricky with the stroller and wheelchair since it was gravel. I grabbed the stroller so that both friends could help with the wheelchair. Once across, we all had tears in our eyes. Sounds stupid, I know. But, again. Where else but with a bunch of women would something as simple as crossing a road mean so much? Then we were off again. Them running, me walking. About 100 yards from the finish line I passed them as the woman in the wheelchair was getting out. I crossed the line, then waited for my new-found friends. Tears came full force when I realized they had ditched the wheelchair off to the side of the road and the woman with CP was making her way down the home stretch with no help from anyone or anything. It was difficult, and it was not very graceful, but she did it!! I walked up to her and gave her a big hug, which turned into a doggie-pile since her friends ran up and group hugged her with me. I didn't want to intrude on such a personal, private success, but I couldn't let the chance pass me by to congratulate someone who truly deserved it.

So that was it. We got an orange and a banana, a water bottle, a goody bag from Harmon's and the privilege to say, "I did it!!"

I REALLY did it!