With My Own Two Feet: June, July

JUNE
Rock 'n' Roll San Diego (San Diego, CA) - 13.1 miles

Like many race series, the Rock 'n' Roll series offers bonus medals - they call them Heavy Medals - if you do more than one race in a calendar year.  So when searching for a June race, I was drawn to the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego because not only would it mean another half, it would also mean earning the Rock Encore medal.  This race was also significant because in addition to AJ, Anthony and Schultzy, we ran it with Allison's dad and step-dad.  There were so many things I avoided doing earlier in life because I was afraid that the other people doing it would judge me for my lack of ability.  So even though I knew I'd be the slowest runner and everyone would be waiting for me at the finish line, I wasn't afraid to line up at that start line, knowing that I would cross the finish line in my own time with my head held high.

JULY
Costume Party Run (San Diego, CA) - 13.1 miles

By July, I was halfway done with my year of running.  Even though I was only 50% of the way through, it already felt like a big accomplishment because I was already registered for most of my remaining races, which meant completing my year goal seemed actually doable.  But the July race held way more significance than just starting off the second half of the year.

The previous July, I had only just started regularly running, so when my annual week with Kayla came around, I was excited that she and Amanda agreed to running a 5k with me.  As a kid, we did a lot of great things as a family, but exercising wasn't one of them.  So to be running 3.1 miles with my niece - my godchild - was more than I ever expected in my life.  The Costume Party Run boasts that its finishers are awarded with the largest medal around: a six-inch diameter disco ball.  But at the end, I was awarded with so much more.

As we lined up at the start line, we had a plan.  AJ was going to stick with Amanda; Philip was going to stick with Kayla; and Anthony and I were going to stick with Jenna.  We'd start together, but as our paces created natural gaps in the group, we wanted to make sure that the girls were never alone.  I was so proud of my Mander; she had been training regularly and was excited to take on her first half marathon.  I knew she was going to lead the pack and outpace me with ease.  I was excited to get to run the race with Jenna.  I knew she was the most nervous about the race, but regardless of how many alternate plans I came up with for things for us to do while the rest of the group ran the race, she was determined to do it.  I love my niece, so getting to know her friends means a lot to me.  No better way to make a lasting memory than to spend three hours running together.  We laughed; we complained; we ran; we walked.  But most importantly, we finished.  Again, I was so proud of Miss Jenna.

But it was the duo in the middle of our pack - my little brother and my niece - that carried me through this race.  The love I have for my brother and niece is overwhelming.  I have spent my whole life being a protective big sister and the past 16 years being a protective aunt.  Even during times when I struggled with my lowest bouts of self esteem, I knew I was good at being a sister and an aunt.  And to watch these two people who I love so much - a father/daughter team who had been through so much together - add another 13.1 miles to their journey in life side-by-side, I was overcome.  I was so proud and so happy and so envious and so full of love.  How many teenage girls get to run her first half marathon with her close friends and family, and especially, paced with her father?  And the truth is, I was even really proud of myself because here I was promoting health and wellness with my niece and her friends.  At their age, I never hoped I would be an adult who would do such a thing for the next generation.  At their age, I never hoped I would be proud of myself.  All of these emotions, pride, happiness, excitement and, most of all love, carried me through the streets of San Diego and across that finish where I was greeted with sweaty hugs and pink, flushed faces of people I love so dearly.  And that is a prize that no medal, no matter how big, can ever beat.