Aim for Disease

June 2011 - "The most common denominator for Westmoor track is DiMaggio, who not only loves the sport but loves teaching the kids. He knows most won’t be going on to participate in track once they graduate high school, but he instills in them a work ethic and desire to be the best — lessons that go beyond sports."

As I was running this evening I was thinking about the past 30 years... From the moment I stepped onto a track and decided to be part of a team... knowing I wasn't good enough to win, but wanting to be part of something bigger...

At 15, two things drove me to that field...  1)  a cute unattainable guy I just wanted to watch and dream over, and 2)  I had spent the previous six months trying to drink myself out of the memory of being raped... I chose one day to LIVE instead, and living meant putting my big girl panties on and getting over it....

First, I just wanted to help out the coaches with set up... then I was talked into trying the high hurdles... when my former boyfriend (not the rapist) became hurdles assistant coach I choked and backed out...  so what do you do with a slow runner who will keep running with a smile on her face?  You put her on mile/2 mile and cross country... and patiently wait for her to finish every race..  I was one of those people that the cones are picked up behind, everyone else gone or ready to go... My sweatshirt had "Pokey" on the back...  But I went to the practices and the team events and enjoyed every moment of them.

I have memories of those days... Driving back from one race from the other side of the bay in Coach DiMaggio's old classic car...  Another memory... it actually was a flash towards the future of what I could and WOULD achieve... was a cross country race in Antioch... One of the hottest places in the East Bay to run... I have always started a race... found my pace and kept it throughout... this day I kept it... up and down hills.... and I found myself in a mysterious position... I was catching up to people from the other teams... I'd tell them to run with me til they caught their breath... That they didn't want to be beaten by a gal with a "Pokey" jersey...  most would and then sprint off a mile later... But what ended up being truly memorable... Was the last half mile of this race... I saw people ahead of me... barely running... and for once in my high school running career I thought "I can BEAT them"... so I threw everything I had left in me and kicked it to the finish line... I remember seeing Coach DiMaggio's face as he realized that I was actually competing instead of just jogging for fun... and he started screaming like I was coming in for FIRST place... Being cheered in was a novelty for me... and I beat a few people who just didn't have it in them to catch me with that kick...  I nearly died on the other side of the finish line but the coach's encouragement was so bloody HUGE!

Coach DiMaggio... this little engine that could has been running for 30 years now.  It IS my fitness of choice.  It is still what I go to when I have issues I'm dealing with in my day to day life... I run, I think about what's going on, and I work through trials and tribulations in a healthy manner....

While I was still living in the Bay Area, I ran Wharf to Wharf every year.  I can tell you, I STILL have my pace that I'm happy with... I run a 10-11 minute mile in races... I STILL kick it to the finish line... and I remember that moment and smile... I don't finish in the end anymore though Coach... At 45 I finish in the top 27% of women my age and top 1/3 of ALL women - that's me in the black on July 4th here in Atlanta - the Peachtree Road Race (10k)... Everyone is slowing down and I'm still Pokey finishing the race... I figure by the time I'm 82... I may win one... :)

Today I did a 4.5 mile run along the country roads I live on... I thought about my high school running times... How I still breathe like Laura Ellis taught me to...  Those years DID make me the runner I am today and I'm grateful... Today I'm training for a half marathon for the American Cancer Society in Savannah, November 3rd... Hoping to raise $3000 for the cause, while checking off a 'to do' on my list for life... When I get to the end of that race.... I promise I will kick it as always and be grateful for the lessons learned, my health, and my support system along the way...


Until there's a cure...
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