I'm sitting in my living room with my medal around my neck. I've worn it to Sunrise Biscuits, because I was definitely having post-race biscuits this morning. I wore it walking the dog when we got home. I thought about wearing it in the tub, but worried that it might get damaged in the bubble bath. I've paired it post-bath with my official race t-shirt. Like bread and jam for Frances, I may need this combination every day for a while.
This race was a big deal. We woke up early and headed out to park before the roads closed. There were crowds of people on every street corner, wearing race clothing and numbers. 3,500 people registered to run in circles through some of the most beautiful real estate in Chapel Hill. The ten milers headed out amid cheers. Thirty minutes later, it was our turn. I paired up with Kathleen, braced myself for the intervals and took off.
An hour later, I turned the last corner and heard the Fleet Feet/NOBO team call out my name. The finish line band was playing something l don't remember. The last five hundred feet were longer than the first mile but suddenly, I had crossed under the finish line arch and someone was hanging that medal around my neck.
It was not a seamless event. I walked a lot of the hills, including the infamous laurel hill challenge portion of the course. My hands began swelling somewhere around mile two and were throbbing and aching by the time I crossed the finish line. But my legs didn't give out and I had only about 30 seconds where I thought I might be in real trouble. Kathleen was a great running partner and we were making plans to go running together by the end of the course. Halfway up Laurel Hill, Trish from Fleet Feet powering through her 10mile course, tapped me on the shoulder and told me to keep going. We walkers yelled encouragement to the runners and heard it in return as we recharged and kicked into gear.
I ran this race with a timing chip, so there will even be official record of the time it took me to loop through the four mile – or four and half mile by all accounts – course. There will be an official finish line photo I can choose to buy. Natalie gathered the group before we lined up to remind us that the race was the culmination of the journey – and the journey was the important thing. We all started NOBO with stories of limits. We were finishing firmly wrapped in knowledge of possibilities. There will be no official recognition of the distances we all travelled to cross that finish line, but we will know.
In the meantime, I'm going to go the grocery store…wearing my medal.
