Blood Sport

Guess who ran a Half Marathon and who ran a 5k?

Yes, that is real nipple blood on the white racing bib in the photo above. It's not mine, it's my husband's. It's the cost of running 13.1094 miles to completion. It's what you get for all the training. Blood, sweat, and hopefully not too many tears, but it's not easy.

The last time I ran a race I was in 1st grade, and I lost. It pretty much shattered any thought I had about being an Olympian. I also had a face shattering incident while playing little league. So, I'm not a jock, which I can live with. I just want to be in shape and eat what I want. Is that too much to ask? Why not?


My co-workers decided to run a half-marathon, and there was NO way I was ready for that. I could barely run one mile without stopping or giving up. After a couple months of training with them and my hubby, I wasn't good, but I could run more than 3 miles. Good enough for 5K Fun Run... Good enough for me. It's a start.

Upon starting the race, I dropped my cell phone and the back of the case shattered. I was lucky the phone did not completely break, which would have left me without music to listen to run to. It wasn't until after the first mile that I noticed that my hand was bleeding from cell phone plastic. I just clinched my fist and kept going. It wasn't that bad anyway.

When you run, you see a lot of different things very fast. It's the full range of the human condition on road. It's a great way to invent characters for some sort of comedy sketch, but I jog around San Francisco and Berkeley. People are crazy here anyway. While running I usually see people as they pass me, but this time everyone was running with and around me like a herd of wild animals. Running and walking with strollers, prosthetic legs, kids. Everyone get out of my F---ing way!

I'm not going fast, but I'm running and not stopping for a break. It's a major triumph for me just doing that. It's also a beginning of what I hope is healthy habit to continue. 10K is next in a few months and then eventually a 1/2 marathon later this year.

Yes, there will be blood! Just not from the nipples.