I've never met Chelsea King....but last weekend I ran my first 5k for Chelsea....Yesterday I took the kids to RB park and we were part of the "world's largest human sunflower" in honor of her!! It's amazing how close of an attachment you can feel to a person you've never met.
First...we'll talk about that 5k that I didn't intend on running! I was asked last minute to join a couple of girlfriends at the race. I haven't worked out in a month, but what the heck...I'll go...I'll just walk it! I woke up extremely early (like no person should ever wake up that early...early)...and went to Balboa Park for the race. We got there around 7am. Spending an early Saturday morning in March in Balboa Park makes you realize exactly why we pay outrageous amounts of money for our homes here in Southern California! The skies were blue, the birds were chirping and the park was packed with over 5,000 people there to support the Chelsea's Light Foundation and run/walk the 5k! I have an overwhelming attachment to Chelsea King...I never met her, but the man that took her life was living in my townhouses...YES...the EXACT same townhouses that I live in!! He had been staying at his moms house and she is the one that lives here in my neighborhood. I never had met or even saw him, but knowing he lived around the corner was the creepiest thing. Chelsea went missing from a park just down the street from here. When we had dogs, we were at that park several times a week. So...needless to say....it hit REALLY close to home...TOO close!
Back to the 5k! My friends and I all had "timed" numbers because they had been training a little and were ready to actually run the race...Me...not so much....Oh well...I started off running with them and made it to about the 1/2 mile mark and decided I either needed to pick up the pace and run a little faster or give up and walk....I'm SO proud of myself for picking up the pace...I felt bad leaving my friends behind, but I take REALLY long strides so running slow is way harder for me than running at a faster pace. I ran non-stop to the 2 mile marker...walked for about 2-3 minutes...then ran to the bottom of the hill at the 2 1/2 mile mark. I WALKED the hill...That hill was a killer...then at the top I ran to the finish line. I finished in 35:34!! My first 5k ever!! Although I haven't gone out running since...I want to go do more 5K's and beat my own time!! I kind of "get" the whole running thing now! I'm not...never have been a runner, but being with all of those people gave me the adrenaline that I needed to get out there and run! I felt SO great!
I even made it into the online version of the San Diego Union Tribune! Well....the back of my head is in the paper! See the post here. My ponytail with a sunflower is about half way down.
I've never let Chasey know about what happened here in our neighborhood...I never told her about Chelsea King. I never fully explained to her why the helicopter told us to go inside and lock our doors the day after Christmas when the kids were riding their new bikes. (the first attack on a runner that the "creep" made...but she got away") I've never explained to her why we have sunflowers and blue ribbons on every light pole in town. She's too young...I don't need her to worry about living here. She's been taught about strangers, etc, etc....but there are some things she doesn't need to know. We don't even watch the news at home. I read it online or watch before the kids wake up in the morning.
Yesterday...I DID feel it was important for her to take part in the "World's Largest Human Sunflower." My friend and I took our girls out of school about 20 minutes early so we could all participate. It was a great event! We ended up being out in the sun for 2 hours and the little ones (the 3 year olds) got a little antsy...and FILTHY playing in the dirt....but when it was all said and done, I couldn't be prouder that I took my little family to this amazing event! Someday I will show Chasey this picture and she will know about Chelsea and she will know that she took part in something great!
My heart goes out to the King family. They were at the race on Saturday and I wanted to hug them. I feel like I know them.
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