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Name: BMS 5K
Date: May 9, 2008
Distance: 5K (3.1 miles)
Location: Bedford, Indiana
Course: Hilly near the beginning and end (Click here to view course.)
Time: 28:35
Pace: 9:13
Place: 69 of about 700
Division: 1 of 4
Results Link: There is no list of results, but there was a nice story in the Times-Mail that listed the Top 5.
Weather: 50°, wind calm, cloudy
Notes: The inaugural BMS 5K, for which I was one of the members of the planning committee, was magical for many reasons. First, I had not seen so many smiles on so many teenage faces for a long time. Listening to the students talk about their experiences running, walking, and running/walking the 5K was exciting. I can't count how many students said, "I surprised myself! I did better than I ever thought I would!" How awesome to see kids excited about fitness, and asking when they could have a 5K again! Another reason for my excitement about this race was that I was able to run the entire course. The day before, I had received the green light from my doctor. He thought my bone was healed, and that there was a small tissue mass that was still causing me some pain. Therefore, he deduced the pain from the mass wasn't harmful pain, and he told me to go for it. As it turns out, my leg was still broken, but I didn't know it at the time. It actually felt OK throughout the run; it was my lungs that caused some problems. I wasn't yet accustomed to my running breathing pattern after having been out of the training loop. My goal was to break 30, and I did, with nearly a minute and a half to spare. I won the "Adult Women's Champion" trophy for being the first female teacher to finish. The highlight of the day, however, was pacing one of my students, an asthmatic, on his last lap. Everyone was cheering for him; it was so cool! (There's a little allusion to it in an editorial that appeared in the Times-Mail the weekend following the 5K.) I was put back in a cast one week later.
Photos: 17 — See below. Unfortunately, I can't share some of the neatest shots because it would be inappropriate for me to post students' photos online without parent permission. (Some were taken by Julie Wagner.)