Last month, I ran my first 5K, the Lookin’ for a Cure 5K, to support Ocular Melanoma Awareness.

For those of you unfamiliar, we have a pocket of OM cases in Huntersville, right around Hopewell High School, in which there are at least nine confirmed diagnoses of ocular melanoma within a five-year span. This is a disease that reportedly so rare that only 2,000 American adults are diagnosed each year. So, why do we have such a prominent representation right here in our community? Unfortunately, we don’t know why. While the state investigated the “potential cluster,” you can see in the report here, there are still questions left unanswered.

I chose this race because I taught Kenan Colbert Koll at Hopewell during the first two years the school was open. She was one outstanding student and young woman. Though I didn’t teach Meredith Legg, I knew of her, as we were there at the same time. Each woman died before turning 30 years old—actually Meredith was only 26. And now another graduate, Summer Heath, is battling the disease. The other OM warriors include residents of interconnected neighborhoods along this stretch in Mecklenburg County.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am grateful to be able to run, clumsy as it may be. And I am grateful to be able to support a local cause—in my hometown. But, my attitude of gratitude wasn’t necessarily showing that morning. But here’s what I learned:

5 sins of running your first race

  1. Changing your water bottle the morning of: My normal water bottle has a flip-straw but is heavy, so I thought using one of my husband’s cycling bottles would be lighter. It was. But the thing wouldn’t stay open and I couldn’t get water without breaking my stride. It was very awkward and clumsy. And distracting.
  1. Not setting your playlist early: Now you can create playlists directly on your phone. But you can’t move the songs around once chosen. Having to manually switch songs will break your concentration. Especially in the rain.
  1. Letting a detail get in your head: It was raining. While I didn’t mind running in the rain—even in 50 degrees that day—I was concerned about “my precious” phone. My last phone had no sound for more than a year—and I’m still haunted. The Ziploc baggie was cumbersome.
  1. Breaking tempo before you even start: We had preregistered, but the grab bags weren’t preassembled, so despite ordering three of our sizes for my family (again, this race was a big deal to me), we were left with only three 3X-size shirts.
  1. Leaving your Fitbit at home on the charger: This one probably caused my biggest angst. Instead, I used an app on my phone, but I forgot to stop the app until we were headed to the car, which skewed my time. I have no record of my heart rate or my actual time.

This season, remember your gratitude. Share it. Display it. And be sure to check your attitude—and make sure the right one is showing!