Week 3: Running for Sienna

Body Backers past and present showing their support for a great project.

Last weekend my family and I had the opportunity to be part of something really special.

Some of my amazing Body Back friends invited us to participate in a 5K at Mission Bay to raise money for Sienna's Play Garden. The Rancho Penasquitos playground revitalization project was started by the family of a little girl named Sienna who passed away unexpectedly in 2012 at just 16 months.

It was heart-warming to see the more than 500 people who came to show their support for the family.

Before the race started, a woman stood up to address the crowd and I heard someone whisper, "Is that the mom?"



My friend and fellow Body Backer,

Charissa, helped organize this

amazing event!

It was Jennifer Palkovic, Sienna's mom, with her husband and older daughter by her side. It took me by surprise and I was overcome with emotion thinking about how rough her road has been and how strong she was to be able to do something so amazing after an experience so tragic.

Listening to her talk hopefully about the future gave me goosebumps and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It filled me with motivation and all of the sudden, I was ready to run - as fast as I could. For her, for Sienna and for myself and all of the other moms out there trying to do our best each day.

I had never run a 5K race before - I had walked them - and I had run longer races where you have to pace yourself. But I wasn't sure what would happen if I ran as fast as I could the whole time.

My running buddy, and fellow Body Backer, Kimberly, was a fast runner. So told myself I would try as hard as I could to keep up with her. She convinced me to go up to the front of the pack with the fastest runners - I was scared. I didn't want to be in anyone's way.

My running buddy Kimberly pushed me to run faster than I ever have before!

When the race started we took off. There was a pack of super-fast runners just ahead of us, and a few people around us, but we were pretty far ahead of the next group of runners. And I wanted to keep it that way.

I was pretty uncomfortable at first, but After about a mile, I started settling into a pace I felt I could sustain. Soon we were at the half-way turnaround point and I started to think, "Hey, I can do this."

It was so fun to see all of the other runners going by - especially all of my new Body Back buddies. But we all cheered each other on - knowing we were all part of something special. Then came the walkers - including my family and some of our good friends. I got to high-five my hubby and wave at our son in the stroller as I flew down the path! I felt amazing!

Nooooooo!
Then I started to get a familiar feeling... The one where you kind of have to pee, but you don't want to stop running, so you try and ignore it. Nooooooo!

Eventually it got bad enough that I had to slow down a little and I lost my partner. Then it got worse. And I realized it wasn't going to go away.

Soon it got so bad I had to jump off the path and stand still for a minute. I think I may have even peed a little...

Once I regained control of my bladder, I hobbled on to the the closest restroom.

Despite my detour, I was determined to get right back to it. I could see Jennifer running ahead of me and again I was filled with motivation.

I pushed myself as hard as I could and pretty soon I could see the finish line. I sprinted during the last stretch and felt an amazing sense of accomplishment as I reached the end with Kimberly there to cheer me on!

Together, we cheered in the rest of our friends and family as they came through one by one.

When they announced the winners, Kimberly was one of them - she was the third woman to cross the finish! I was so happy for her, and proud of myself that I kept up with her as long as I did!

The rest of the results were just posted to the website and I was so excited to see that I came in third place in the 35-39 age group! I finished in 27:01 - even with a bathroom stop! That's an 8.7-minute mile! I don't know if I've ever run that fast!

All in all, it was an incredible experience! I'm inspired to keep improving my running. And I want to continue to help the Palkovics realize their dream of creating a beautiful place for families.

If you want to learn more about the project and how you can help, visit: http://www.siennasplaygarden.isabellasgiraffeclub.org/

Learn more about Body Back:
https://www.facebook.com/BodyBackSD
http://sandiego.fit4mom.com/