Sweating for good: Butterfly 5K

Running is not just about getting to the finish and trying not to fall over while you’re doing it.

OK, it’s mostly about that.

But being able to contribute to small but worthy causes is appealing. It almost makes up for all the sweat and the tomato-face. Almost.

The gateway at Julia's Garden.

The Julia Foundation

A glutton for punishment, I signed up for my second event: the Butterfly 5K in North Attleboro, MA. It was in support of The Julia Cekala Charitable Foundation, created in memory of nine-year-old Julia, who died after suffering numerous illnesses during her short life. The foundation supports the local community through the building and maintaining of Julia’s Garden and Playground in the World War I Park in North Attleboro.

The garden is a lovely place that has clearly helped to rejuvenate the WWI Park and make it a magnet for families. You can’t go wrong with that.

An 11.5-minute mile

The 5K was advertised as being “mostly downhill.” Oh joy. No shame for me today! But having just one run under my belt didn’t exactly qualify me for expert status, so I began gingerly, but I found my stride once I hit the slopes. And by “stride,” I mean “shuffle.

This is the run that made me realize how firmly I am in the 11-12 minute mile club. I know I’ve only taken to the streets twice, but I can just tell I’m going to be hard-pressed to get out of double digits.

I never thought I’d ever be able to slip into conversation how fast I could run a mile. And while it’s possibly not something people want me to talk about at dinner, it’s a whole new way of thinking.

I did improve my time by a couple of minutes. But hardly a true measure of ability, seeing as it was “mostly downhill.”

The event: Butterfly 5K Road Race
The location: North Attleboro, MA
The date: August 21, 2011
My time: 35.45
Hubby’s time: 23.40
The T-shirt: White cotton shirt with butterfly image
The aftermath: Chicken salad sandwiches from Willow Tree poultry farm!