It took a pair of unpleasant alarms to get me out of bed at four-thirty this morning. But the sun broke in a slow drawl above the mountains and into clear skies on the drive to Balboa Park, where my teammates gathered for the Susan G. Komen 5K Run/Walk for the Cure.
Our sixty-plus member team walked the course which started at Sixth and Olive on the west side, then looped us through and around the park. We were all psyched — giddy, even — to learn that the course included a stretch of highway 163, which runs underneath the Laurel Street Bridge:
Having the opportunity to stop and look up at the bridge without experiencing a flat or engine trouble was too cool for words:
That last hike up the Quince Street exit — one of my favorite freeway exits anywhere because it leads directly into the park — doesn’t seem like much of a climb when in a car, but the incline and the left-leaning tilt to the road mocked my fitness-challenged self. I persevered, though, officially out of a personal need to face the hill head-on, but privately because I really didn’t have any other options available to me.
Our team wore individually-decorated wings in honor of the coworker we had organized around, who has been a lifelong fan of Tinkerbell. I was rather proud of my winged cuteness, if I do say so myself:
Originally scheduled to take place a month ago, the event was postponed not long after the start of the October wildfires. Did I take advantage of the extra four weeks to walk, or to buy and break in better-fitting walking shoes? No on both counts. Do I regret those decisions? Yes. By the end of the walk, did I become rudely acquainted with muscles in my legs that I had hitherto been unaware of? Bloody hell yes. But it was a lovely morning for a walk, I had a great time chatting with my friends, and our team was able to raise over $7,000 for the cause.
Post a Comment