I am not athletic. I am not a runner. I don't like to be hot and sweaty. I am not adventurous. I don't like to step out of my comfort zone. I don't like to get dirty. So when I heard that The Color Run was coming to Columbus in the middle of July during one of the hottest summers on record.... I signed up. Nothing about this makes sense and to this day I have no idea what got into me. The Color Run is "the happiest 5k on the planet". You pay a bunch of money to run 3.1 miles in the sweltering heat and as you run you get colored powdered paint thrown at you. I know it sounds strange. It is. But it is also a hilariously fun time and I am so glad I did it. Nikki, who runs several marathons a year, was a total sweetheart and signed up to run it with me. I spent almost 3 months training and by the week of the race, sure enough, I was able to run (well, jog) the entire 3 miles without walking. For me, this was a huge accomplishment. I wanted to do The Color Run because it sounded crazy and fun, but I also wanted to to do it because as much as I loved my daily walk around the neighborhood pushing the girls in the double stroller, it was time for something different and a little more challenging. By the end of the training I was actually looking forward to my early morning runs. For me, what I learned about myself and accomplished in the 3 months leading up to The Color Run was actually more impactful than the event itself.
Since the run was in Columbus it meant we got to spend a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was especially fun that Nikki travelled from Stow to spend part of the weekend there as well. We love it when our Piland and Kelley families collide! Saturday morning Nikki, Erich, and I woke up bright and early and headed to downtown Columbus to find the starting line. We are so thankful that Grandma and Grandpa were able to watch Avery and Norah at home during the race. There were over 10,000 runners plus all the spectators... it was insane! I can't imagine trying to manage the girls in the midst of it.
Nikki and I posing for a "before" photo before we left to go downtown. Once we got there Nikki and I headed to the starting line. Erich went to secure a good spot at the finish line so he could be sure to capture the monumental finish on camera. I had my cell phone in my pocket and when we were getting close to the finish I gave him a quick call to let him know to get ready with the camera.
When Nikki and I crossed the finish line we couldn't spot Erich right away so we just hammed it up and acted like fools hoping that he was in the crowd somewhere taking our picture. (spoiler alert: this is not a photo of that moment) Once we finished and grabbed some water, we walked around for 30 minutes looking for Erich. I called his cell phone at least 10 times and was getting frustrated that he wasn't answering. It turns out, he wasn't answering because his phone was in his pocket and he was too busy holding the camera up to his face and watching the finish line like a hawk so he didn't miss taking our photo. Except, he had already missed taking our photo. That poor guy stood there for 30 minutes posed and ready to document this memory for his wife and sister. All the while we were looking everywhere for him! After we finally connected and all had a good laugh about it, Erich made us go back into the crowd of runners and cross the finish line again so he could get it on camera this time. The above photo is our "fake finish" and I laugh at the memory every time I look at it. I wouldn't change it for anything.
Our "after" photo. I am so thankful that Nikki has enough crazy in her to want to do something like this with me. She is an amazing sister in law and friend and I loved doing this with her!
To prevent people from ruining the interiors of their cars on the ride home, they had a "cleaning station" which was actually just a couple of guys with high powered leaf blowers that blasted us with air and blew a lot of the powder off of us. It was hilarious and it did the trick! (Although there was still plenty of color left to scrub off later)
Can I tell you how amazing this man is? He sacrificed his time and adjusted his plans on his days off several mornings a week in the months leading up to the race so that I could have the time I needed to go out and train while he stayed home with the girls. He drove us to and from the event in insane traffic and then waited around by himself for us to finish it. He knows that this was all very much out of my comfort zone and he was a constant supporter and cheerleader. I kept telling him it wasn't a big deal, but he knows me better... he knows it was. And because of that, he did this...
I had no clue that Erich had made this banner and left it with my parents. When we got back to their house I was greeted with a sign, cheers, smiles, and "The Eye of the Tiger" playing in the background. I definitely felt the love. I've never seen a better looking team of cheerleaders... especially that little one in the middle!
Future Color Runner? I think she pulls it off well. That sweet baby Norah is always full of smiles.
I'm still not athletic. I'm still not a runner. I still don't like to be hot and sweaty. I'm still not adventurous. I still don't like to step out of my comfort zone. I still don't like to get dirty. But just think of the fun I would have missed if I'd let all that stop me. Sometimes it pays to stop focusing on all the things we're not and remind ourselves of all the things we are. Today, I'm proud that I'm a Color Runner.
Oh Sarah, I love this!! Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, or maybe the fact that I can relate with everything you said (except that I still have never run a 5K), but this made me teary eyed! You inspire me! Maybe someday I'll do this 5K myself (it will also require months of training!). You go, girl!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks Erin! After re-reading it I feel like I should clarify that I did not actually run the entire color run. That was the plan, but it was impossible! There were so many people that we ran into tons of "traffic jams" in the color zones and we'd actually have to come to a full stop and stand in line to wait and have the color thrown on us. Thank goodness I was doing it with Nikki because I was able to just completely let go of my goal and have a good time. The important thing to me is that at the end of my training here at home I did a 5k (twice actually!) so I know I was capable of it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a huge motivator for me to sign up and do this was to lose some weight. I gained 3 pounds. They say running makes you eat more. That's true. But in my case running made me eat more ice cream (it was hot!), so no weight loss. I need to come up with a better plan.