Never Have I Ever: 10k Race Reflections

Let’s play a quick game of Never Had I Ever, shall we?

Until today, NEVER HAD I EVER…

1)  Run a 10k.

This morning, I ran the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Shore Run.  It’s a race I had been planning to run for a couple months and had started to train for a bit last month.  The event offers both a 5k and a 10k, and I had decided I wanted to do the 10k to get ready for the other events I am planning to do this summer.  In the past few weeks, I threw all training efforts out the window and just did my own low-key running a couple times per week, but was sure I wouldn’t be able to run the race.  Last night, though, it hit me and hung on to me:  I want to run a 10k.  I somehow convinced myself that I could do it–that I could get up, cook my lucky breakfast, get on the road, and get running for 6.2 miles–and that’s exactly what I did.

2)  Run a race while sunburnt.

I spent almost all of yesterday on Crystal Mountain and, while I was applying sunscreen, I still managed to get pretty burnt on my face.  I didn’t think much of it, until this morning when I remembered that sunburns make you hot, tired, and a little sore to the touch.  Wiping sweat, snot, or hair away from my face proved to be quite a painful experience, but I somehow pushed through it.

3)  Run a race days after a heartbreaking tragedy in my family.

My dear aunt very suddenly passed away this past week and it brought a cloud of sadness to my family… and the cloud is still there.  My aunt’s death has had a powerful impact on me and has occupied virtually all of my non-work thoughts in the last several days.  At this morning’s race, I had the opportunity to create a Tribute Patch for a small donation, and I made one for my aunt.  While her cancer story is quite different from the norm, it is still a part of her death and part of why I decided to run the race this morning.  I think that even if the race were a fundraiser for some unrelated organization, or just for fun, I still would have run it for her.  My aunt and our family fill my thoughts almost constantly and it was an honor to have her name stuck to my shirt for the race.

I had also never run with earphones in, nor had I drank the water in the cups they give you while you’re running.  I had never sweat so much that a giant three-by-five-inch sticker fell off my shirt and I’d never smelled so bad after a race.  This might go without saying, but I had also never seen a more scenic view of Lake Washington.  A lot of firsts today, and many more sure to come.

Emily Patton

Emily Patton is one of those not-diagnosed-until-age-27 people with Type I. She is currently living in Seattle, Washington, where she admires Mt. Rainier from her car window during daily commutes. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, but has since lived in Berkeley, California, Austin, Texas, and even served short stints in a small village in the Cascade Mountains.