The Race That’s Good for a Goose

Mother Goose woke up before the 5:30 alarm this morning and began preparing for her first 5K race. Truly I began preparing back in December by walking. Then I added a little running and then more and more running, but still mostly walking. And, shocking as it may sound, Mother Goose only walked a half a block during The Race That’s Good For Life.

I have never even attended a race before. We arrived in plenty of time to enjoy the circus of pre-race activities. The serious runners were warming up. Mother Goose is a serious runner.

It's so important to warm up before a big race.

At least thousands of racers at the Women's Event...

And before you could say “Mother Goose Smiles”, it was time to bunch up at the Starting Line.

Mother Goose flapping with adrenaline-fed excitement.

The gunshot! The shouts of joy! And off we go!

Mother Goose ran. I ran as quickly as an old goose could ever run. The cheering spectators really gave me energy to do my very best. Limping at first because of my recent ankle injury, I decided to push through the pain. Before I reached the one-mile marker, I was limping with both feet, and that actually helped me to establish a strange sort of rhythm. Surprisingly enough, breathing and leg cramps were not a problem for this goose!

Dear family members somehow showed up out of nowhere, running along the sidewalk beside Mother Goose! THAT really cheered me and gave me an extra burst of energy. AnnaRose was ringing a cowbell! Mark and Jessi were snapping pictures as if I was a world-class runner. Imagine! My first mile was about 12 minutes. Imagine!

There she goes, blonde feathers flowing in the wind.

Mother Goose followed the other runners and lost track of where she was in the course. Running west? North? South? I had no idea, but my legs kept going and going. We passed the second mile marker — 13 minute mile. People passed me up, and I just figured I must be the last one to be running down the street. I never looked behind me.

Eventually my running gait became a cute little shuffle, but the Finish Line was in sight! Time to step on the gas, Mother Goose! Time to kick some bootie on the course!

Go! Go! Go!

And then across the line!

(Very exciting video posted on April 2nd, Crossing the Finish Line.)

And there I was flapping and honking and hobbling and crying. What an incredible feeling of joy and exuberation! Probably the hardest work I’ve done since birthing babies, and like that experience, SO WORTH IT. They handed me a lovely rose for my efforts, and I nearly collapsed when my ankles said, “That’s the end of us, Mother Goose.”

I’m having a bit of couch time this afternoon, sipping a bit of wine and snacking on some Dominos pizza whilst I recover from this amazing event. I thank you all for your GREAT support of Mother Goose! I’m thankful to Jesus who never left my side during the race! A huge thanks to Mr. Mother Goose and daughter Jessi for capturing the glorious hour for me to share! It’s so wonderful to have hundreds of friends around the world pulling for me and carrying me through my first 5K race. And there will be more racing, I promise you that!

May the Lord bless you and keep you today! Love, M.Goose