Running with joy

On Saturday I ran the Touched by Adoption 5k, the inaugural 5k held by Adoption Associates, the agency my husband and I are using for our domestic adoption.  The race was in Portland, MI, about 20 minutes from Lansing. I've run several races in Portland including my 5k PR last summer in 26:00, and I was excited for this race.


I found myself extremely emotional as soon as we pulled up to the race start. The first person we saw was our case worker, and there were dozens of people with their children.  I don't know how many of these parents were parents by adoption, but my heart felt so happy seeing all of the families.  Before the race a speech was given by a tearful volunteer and mom by adoption, and I felt so much joy to be running this race. Adoption Associates has placed over 4500 children into adoptive families, and I was overwhelmed by the happiness of being part of this group.



The race was along Portland's rural river trail. There weren't a lot of spectators, but the course was quiet and wooded. It looped around near the start just before mile 2. I decided at the start to really push it and try to break my PR, so when I saw my husband I was struggling. It was the opening day of my WV Mountaineers' college football season, and my husband yelled, "Let's Go!" as I passed. I managed to choke out a "Mountaineers" as I ran by.


I really enjoyed Portland's river trail as it looped by a farmer's market and into downtown Portland. The last mile of the race had more spectators, and I let them help push me along.

I finished the race just off my PR in 26:11. I was disappointed that I was so close to my PR, but I was so happy to run the race. My heart was so full being part of the event, and as we drove home, I was so choked up I wasn't really able to talk.




Running is such an important part of my life, and there were so many families there participating in the race. It made me hope that next year, in the second running of this 5k, we will be there with our child who is placed with us by Adoption Associates.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Reasons Why Diet Culture is Garbage: I Poop a Lot and I'm Always Hungry

Image
It was the spring of 1996, and my mom and I were at the mall shopping for my senior prom dress. I had decided I was only going to eat 500 calories a day over the weekend. It was track season, so I couldn't starve myself on practice and meet days, but in my mind it seemed perfectly logical to basically starve my healthy, 17-year-old body on less physical days. I was in the fitting room trying on dresses, and I heard the sales person say to my mom, "Your daughter is so tiny!" I was light headed and nauseous from not eating, but that overheard compliment made me feel like it was all worth it.  Senior Prom 1996 I've struggled with my body image since I was a pre-teen, and in the 30+ years that have passed it's still something with which I struggle daily. I spent years punishing my body so I wouldn't gain weight: eating very few calories and working out for hours, purging, taking laxatives, only drinking alcohol until I threw up so I wouldn't gain weight. It
Read more

Here's a Shortcut: Do the Work.

Image
I have a confession to make: I don't think I'm my best self right now. I've been thinking a lot about being my best self overall (including fitness which is a huge thing for me), and I've come to a simple, unalienable truth: there is no shortcut. To be the best version of yourself (whatever that means) you have to do the work. I'm not the same version of myself at 46 as I was at 26. (Man could I give that girl some good advice though.) I spend a lot of time reflecting on who I am and who I want to be. While doing the work all the time seems daunting on its surface, it's not. It doesn't mean life has to be a grind 24/7, but it does mean that there is effort in whatever is important to you (which of course is unique to each of us). Where am I willing to do the work to be the best version of me? Fitness. I love exercise. My husband says I'm "obsessed", and I retort that there are way worse obsessions. While I'm logging way fewer miles than I
Read more

Why Do I Talk About my "Stuff"?

Image
A few months ago a friend told me someone we knew was venting that I share too much about myself in my blog and on social media. She said (I'm paraphrasing) something like "We all go through stuff. There's no need to share it." At first I was irritated until I realized this person has zero impact on my life. And it's true: we are all going through things. But since then I've been thinking a lot about why I am so candid about things in my life (in particular my struggle with Crohn's Disease).  I was 19 when I got sick. It was so embarrassing. No college girl wants to tell people they're dealing with bloody diarrhea and nausea and horrible cramps. That's the thing about a chronic illness: it's easy to feel like you don't have anyone to lean on. I had my colon removed 5 weeks before I started law school (the delightful adventure chronicled in this blog ). I began law school having lost 30 pounds in less than a month, with steroids puffing up m
Read more