A Police Escort

I'm not supposed to have any interaction with the police. Well, that's not exact true. Any police interaction I have, means I need to call my PO and inform him of the interaction. Yesterday, I received a police escort for two miles but luckily, I don't think the cop knew my name, so I think I'm safe from having to report in. Although, I suppose I could've received a ticket for going below the speed limit...

I can officially cross a 5k off my bucket list. I did not run. I did not do well. I was last from the very beginning. I limped my way around the entire race having fallen behind even the other slowest walkers during the first block of the walk. 

My body did not hold up well. My enthesitis (Achilles issues) started going crazy by the 3/4 mile. My limp was very pronounced by the halfway point. At mile 2.2 or so, I was offered a short cut. I said, "no short cuts." If I was going to finish a 5k, I was going to really finish.

The cop car, with lights on, just slowly creeped behind me making sure no one hit me! I wasn't alone. An older lady from the organization was responsible for walking with the last walker, so she walked with me, talked to me, and generally kept me companionship. Joy and Sporty were with me at times, but the pace was a bit too slow for their long legs. I could see them not walking too fast in front of me throughout most of the course. They waited for me at the end so we could cross the finish line together.

The announcer said my name loudly so all could hear that I was crossing the finish line. For me, I was proud to have finished, but I did not want that public recognition of my being absolutely last. No one needs to know the struggles I have to just be able to move my body at times. I felt embarrassment more than pride.

I hope that when "flair season" is officially over for me, I will find I am walking easier once again. Plus, my doctor is changing my medication away from Enbrel to Cimzia this month. Not sure if it'll make a difference. What I do know is that a day later, I am barely able to move and walking 3+ miles is nothing.

I looked around after the 5k for the officer to thank him for the escort, but didn't see any officers around. I suppose it's a good thing. I am supposed to report ANY interactions with police. It would just be a waste of my POs time to have to read a report saying: "an officer had to escort me from behind within his vehicle while I slowly walked a 5k on Saturday and I thanked him after." So, I just put it out to the universe, I'm glad I was not alone and very grateful - I had Joy and Sporty walking a slow pace in front of me, a nice volunteer walking my incredibly slow pace beside me, and an officer driving and staring at my rear end behind me. I was well buffered as I finished my first ever 5k.