Camille Crazy

I guess I need to explain “50 by 50 in 50.”

While I was running The Great Human Race in Durham, NC an idea began to germinate. This was only my second race, I was definitely hooked on 5K races, but I have a short attention span. I knew that if I didn’t have some goals I’d soon abandon jogging for the next exciting sport or activity that grabbed my attention. I’ve been through swimming, tennis, golf, swing dancing, pole dancing, salsa dancing, cake decorating, drawing, monthly book clubs, month bunco parties and the list goes on.

What if I tried to run 50 races by the time I turned 50 – at that point roughly two and a half years away? Two races a month, that could happen. This had appeal, but it seemed a bit humdrum. Instead, what if I ran a race in each of the 50 United States? Now that sounded suitably “Camille Crazy.”
Like all my crazy ideas, I kept it to myself for a while. I needed to determine if I could actually stick to jogging for two and a half years as well as determine exactly how I’d pull this off. Finally I hesitantly told my idea to my friend Susan B. as we were taking our afternoon power walk. It was sort of like telling someone you love them for the first time, what if they don’t tell you they love you back? What if they laugh? Or worse, are silent? Deep down I must have known Susan was the right person to reveal this to. I got Sue’s classic response, “Fabulous!!”

Race #2

I just got back from work out at the Y. I'm getting ready for race #6 and I feel like I'm starting back at day one. I'm finally over one of those summer colds that just hang on forever, the germs must get trapped in all this humidity! But I'm getting ahead of myself.



The YMCA has proved to be a great place to work out. The facilities are nice and the staff supportive. I got a bit of stretching advice from Brooke that has truly saved my legs. I start my stretching routine by rolling my legs on a what looks like an overweight pool noodle. Now I rarely wake up the next day with sore leg muscles.



Race #2, The Great Human Race, was a last minute decision. Having just started my more permanent living in NC I was on the look out for things to do in my free time, of which I have plenty. The Great Human Race is a fund raiser for numerous charities in Durham and the triangle area. Not sure how many years they have held this race but it is a mainstay of the local 5K's.



The great part about this race was that the start line was right out my back door. The bad part about this race was that it was only 38 degrees and the course had hills. Remember, my first race was in the warmth of a Sarasota winter and completely flat. I wasn't too pleased with this but once again I only had two goals, 1) run the entire race and 2) not finish last.



The race got started about 20 minutes late which only increased my nervousness. Twenty extra minutes to stand with a group of people that all wanted me to come in last. And that included the 80 year old guy wearing the Boston Marathon jacket. And the three young couples from Cary who quipped "I bet the race is delayed because they haven't got enough Kevlar vests to hand out to all the racers before we hit the streets of Durham." I wanted to turn around and shout "Freeze, I'm from Durham!"

The race right away started with a block long uphill climb then settled into more gradual ups and downs through my 'hood. Crowd support was pretty darn good for such a cold morning and once again it was great to have people cheering us on. To help keep myself going, I started finding people in front of me and told myself I needed to pass that person. For the most part this proved pretty successful, until about mile two. At that point I picked out a larger woman in a pair of faded lime green running shorts - I had to be able to pass her. Looks are obviously deceiving in the running world, that lady could move!

I ended up with a time of 36:02. Worse than my Florida race, but hey, there were hills. And I wasn't last!

Training camp relocation

My permanent residence is in Sarasota, Florida and training for the first race took place at Shapes Total Fitness. Because I'm retired, I am able to beat the crowds and work out in the early afternoon with all the other retired ladies who desire to finish up before the early bird dinner specials kick in at 4:30pm. It was great!

In early 2009 a new chapter in my life was started. I began spending most of my time in North Carolina as the primary caregiver for my 87 year old mother and 43 year old Down Syndrome brother. I've been taking care of "just me" for a long time so this has proved to be quite a change, but a welcomed one. I'm now running errands with my mother, fixing two meals a day, taking my brother to the Y and making sure that the running of my mothers house continues on an even keel. This is a big change from my last real job as a Corporate Controller for a publicly traded wireless communications tower company.

Luckily, I'm still able to find time for an afternoon workout. Now you can find me at the Downtown YMCA in Durham, NC in another air conditioned gym with a fan turned directly on me! Once again I'm working out with the retired folks and I fit right in! As an added bonus, I've reconnected with two former students of mine. Tom and Don were professors at North Carolina Central University and students in the adult swim class I taught at the old downtown YMCA. Both are now retired and hit the treadmill and weight equipment on a regular basis. Who says you can't go home again?

Race #1

Valentines Day 2009. No flowers, no candy, no visit from a distant "gentleman friend" but I'm running my first 5K. Who needs flowers, candy or a man?!?

Jennifer and Kathy are 10 years younger, run outdoors every morning at 5:30am in the Sarasota heat and have included wind sprints in their training regime. I on the other hand make my way to the gym around 2:00pm after my "story" finishes at 1:30pm and put in my time on a treadmill in the comfort of an air conditioned building. And if I'm lucky I get on one of the treadmills directly underneath a fan.

I stick to my eight week training plan but don't quite get to week eight before race day dawns. But it doesn't matter. My goals are few, 1) actually run - oops I mean jog - the entire race and 2) NOT FINISH LAST!

Jennifer, Kathy and I meet at my house and head over to Payne Park for our big run. I wear my pink "I Love (heart) NY" t-shirt to commemorate Valentines Day. Jennifer's husband and four kids plan to meet as there as do Kathy's husband and and kids. My nervousness grows, now there are even more people I know that will witness my humiliation of coming in last!

We pick up our race packet and then there is a lot of standing around waiting for the race to start. The race field is about 200 and the lady at packet pick-up assures me, I won't be last. I start scoping out the field, looking for the person who is going to come in last so I can be sure they stay behind me!

We finally line up and the race gets started. Jennifer and Kathy quickly leave me behind but that's okay. I sort of want to run alone this time and on advice from my brother, don't want to start out too fast. The race immediately takes us up to the highest natural elevation in Sarasota County - 32 feet above sea level! Good news, the rest of the course is flat. I get to the first mile marker and was feeling good. I think my pace is about 11 minutes a mile. At the end of mile two, I started to question just why I felt the need to do this. I was getting hot and winded. Right about that time one of the spectators yells "Go NY!!" and I get my first hit of "cheering-drug." Seems crazy but hearing a stranger cheer me on specifically gave me just a little more energy and desire to finish the last mile.

I ended up with a finish time of 35:40, a little better than a 12 minute mile pace. Not last and I jogged the entire race, no walking. It was a totally fantastic event. Of course Kathy and Jennifer both finished ahead of me but I certainly didn't care, they were there to cheer me over the finish line as promised.

Oh, when do I get to call myself a runner? When I break 30 minutes for a 5K. Yup, another goal.

So I had this idea.............

At 47 I decided to take up jogging (I won't say running until my pace gets a bit faster).

My decision to jog grew out of my own realization, and an admonition from my doctor, that if I didn't have some regular form of exercise the pound-a-year I was gaining was going to really start adding up.

Not being drawn to exercise, I knew I needed to set goals. So I had this idea. In March of 2008 I signed up for the Susan G. Koman 3 Day Walk for the Cure. This fundraising walk covers 60 miles over three days - roughly 20 miles a day of walking through the streets and parks of Minneapolis, MN. I didn't walk the event alone, I had four cousins who walked with me: Mary C., Karen D., Tanja G., and Laura M. - we are The Blister Sisters!! But I did train alone. For 24 weeks I walked the streets and beaches of Sarasota, Florida to prepare for the big event. By the time September rolled around I was ready for the big event, had shed 10 pounds and was in the best shape I'd been in for years. The training paid off. I had the dubious distinction of being the only Blister Sister who did not get a single blister at the end of the three day event.

And my enthusiasm for exercise was growing. Realizing that if I wanted to stay in shape after the event, I needed to keep exercising. But I also have a short attention span and just walking was getting boring. So I had this idea, I decided to try jogging and needing a goal, decided to see if I could run a 5K. 3.1 miles seemed like a manageable distance. I happened to mention my new goal to my friend Jennifer R., an avid runner ten years my junior. She right away sent me an eight week plan to get a novice runner into shape for a 5K. Using a combination of jogging and walking intervals the plan gradually increases your jogging time and decreases your walking time so that by the end of the eight weeks you are running for 30 minutes.

I started in on the jogging plan and at some point mentioned to my brother Craig that I was thinking about running a 5K. Craig runs marathons. He's been running for over 30 years. But he patiently listened to me go on and on about my desire to run a 5K and my anxiety over finishing last. Finally he told me that I just had to sign up for a race and quit talking about it. "Put your toes on the start line!" Just as he said that, an ad came on the TV for the Sarasota Grouper Marathon and a related 5K fun run. There was my sign!

So I had this idea, why don't I get my friend Jennifer R. to run with me, or as I told her "at least stand on the start line with me and cheer me in at the end to keep me from being the last place finisher." Jennifer agreed and recruited her friend Kathy.

I signed up, my first race was February 14, 2009 in Sarasota Florida. Little did I know where this race would ultimate lead me!