Tale of a 10k

MIM (Memphis in May) 10k was held this past Friday night. But NOT in Memphis...it was in Tunica, MS. A few miles down the strech of roard named "The Blues Highway". The 10k was the kick-off for the Memphis in May Triathlon Weekend. I had no intention of doing the triathlon, but I signed Jan and myself up for the 10k a few weeks ago, and asked my mom if she could babysit. Two days before the race, Jan came down with an infection and Friday morning, he was at the doctor's office where he received orders to not run or get hot. I could have gone by myself, but Jan did not like the idea of me going alone or the fact that the money would go to waste. (Probably more worried about the latter there. haha)

When I called my mother to tell her about this, she volunteered to go with me. She even said she would take Jan's place in the race if the race officials would let her. So, as it turned out, it was just the two of us, my mom and me. On the ride down to Tunica, she kept asking me if she should do the race, that my dad was worried about her getting too hot. Let me explain. Mom has been suffering from a series of sinus infections, and is presently on another round of antibiotics. She didn't do the Go Lucy Go 5k for this very reason, and she has been trying to take it easy for the last few weeks. But, Friday, she said she felt o.k. enough to do this race with me, and the race "people" let her take Jan's place with no issues, so we set out to find the START line.

It was HOT! Probably about 85 or 86 degrees at the start of the race. There was a slight breeze which kept it from being hotter than it could have been, I guess. I have not trained nor run much at all in temps over 80 degrees. Believe me, I know this is something I will be doing this summer, and I am not looking forward to it. I don't do running in the HEAT well. At the finish of mile 3, I was incredibly hot. Long stretches of flat road in the sun...whew! I also felt some chills, which made me think back to the fact that I not hydrated much during the day nor eaten like I should have. And then, I started thinking about my mom. If I am this hot, she is probably hot, too. I began to worry. I began to think about turning around to find her. I began to think that my finish time didn't matter, and making sure we both finished this was more important.

I took it as a sign when at my mile 4 and her mile 3, we met on the road. I slowed down and turned around, as she was saying, "You are the 20th female. I'm o.k." :) She had been counting the female runners that passed her to see where I was in the ranks. Too funny...Here I was worried about her, and here she was, worried about me and how I would finish in the race. I am usually worried about where I finish, but not this time. "I'm going to finish with you. It's hot," I said to her. She didn't argue with me too much. She had been pouring water on herself at the first 3 water stations, so she was cooler than I was. We jogged/walked the rest of the miles together, talking and laughing, especially when one of the football players at one of the turns reacted so dramatically when my mother told him she was 64 years old. It was priceless!!

We held hands as we crossed the finish line and they announced us as mother and daughter. 6.2 miles (approx. 7.3 miles for me) done on a hot Memphis evening...then we wasted no time making our way to the food and drink tables!:) A race to remember for sure!

Love you, Mom!