Chicago Biggest Loser Race

Today was such a beautiful day.  Not a lot of people would love getting up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning but I do.  OK maybe not every Sunday but today I did.  It was beautiful outside.  The kind of weather that you wish for when running or walking in a 5K. And the best part is the 5k was running along Lake Michigan, start and finish at Soldier Field.  Even though the weather was beautiful, after a very sleepless night and not eating before the run I had to say I wasn’t physically ready for the race.  Mentally I was doing a 6 minute mile. Physically I didn’t think I’d finish.  And that what makes the Biggest Loser races so special to me.  Everyone there was so supportive and so enthusiastic that its contagious. So my husband and I go out and get to the starting line.  First person we see was Dan Evans who was a contestant on Season 5 and his mom Jackie. Then we met Danni who just won the last season of the show.  And then if that wasn’t enough to get you going Dolvett Quince was there.  OK…now I’m pumped. Now my energy starts to get going.  I told my husband I was going to walk with him during the race.  He’s not a runner so he walks to races. And bless his heart every time I sign him up for another race he just smiles and goes right along with me.  As we were waiting for Dolvett to start the race I look at him and he just smiles and says..”you’re going to run aren’t you?”  Yep…I’m sure going to try. So off we go and believe it or not I had a personal best.  I cut almost 2 minutes off my per mile time.  I was psyched.  And that is the reason for this blog.  It is so important to have support from friends, family or strangers when your trying to do something you don’t think you can do.  It makes all the difference.  Support comes in all different ways.  A short good luck text, a quick facebook shout out or just a high five from a total stranger.  Just knowing that you’re not alone is priceless.  At about the 2 mile mark I started to slow down.  Tired and my asthma just wasn’t playing nice.  Along side of me I heard a woman say..”come on …we can do this.” And she started to run with me.  We started talking and before we knew it we heard the music from the festival and vendors waiting for us at the finish line. We both made it then we stayed at the end and cheered on all the others that were coming towards us.  So remember just because you don’t like to do something doesn’t mean you can’t be that support someone else needs.