The morning was a bit hectic (especially since we had had a very stressful Friday night) with me trying to get everything ready and be out the door in time to meet my brother in Minneapolis. As I was leaving, I realized I had forgotten my bib and chip (that would have been good!) and it took me a while to locate them, despite the fact that they were right where I had stored them months ago. I was out the door much later than planned, but had a nice 30 minute drive to chillax and calm down.
After parking, I kicked back and forth with what to wear. There was a light breeze, but I knew I'd warm up once I started running, so I elected to stick with my green sleeveless shirt rather than the pink short-sleeved shirt (St. Patrick's Day race and wearing green...how festive!). I got my chip on my shoe, pinned on my bib, fixed my iPod, grabbed my beverages and Clif Bar and we headed across the river to the potties starting line.
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| Game Faces ON! |
This was my first race that had time corral's! Jason and I popped into the 9:30 corral and bopped around until it was time to go. This was also the first race where I wasn't all nervous and jittery...it was pretty exciting. We gave bumps, wished eachother luck, and we were off! We kept together for quite a while, despite having to weave through people walking within the first 500 feet of starting. After crossing the Stone Arch Bridge and hitting 2k, I checked and realized I was running 8:29 miles. Way to fast for me! I slowed down a bit and kept going. I realized that I lost Jason somewhere after that, but realized I was sweating so much that I could barely see. Just kept pushing...pushing...WATER TABLE around 4k! Ugh...big, stupid Plymouth Avenue bridge/hill at 5k or so. Gotta pee...gotta pee...keep going...have to be almost done...gotta pee...don't pee your pants...where the $*&# is the finish line?!?...don't pee and embarass yourself...finish line just ahead!...SPRINT!!!...DONE!...don't pee...weave through finishers over potties...don't pee...don't pee...
FYI: I made it to the Jimmy Johnny just in time! What is it about running races in this area that makes me want to pee myself?!?
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| The 7k Course...Very Similar to the Dave Ryan 5k Course |
I finished with an official time of 40:38. Better than I thought I would do, but I would have loved to break 40:00. Oh well! For the course being so packed and it being so warm, I'm happy with how I did. My 9:21 pace was right on with my fastest 5k race, so I'm good with it. The race was fun. I finished my second race of the year and got my second medal of the series.
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| Jason and I with our newest medals! Ignore my weird sweat/water spots... |
While Jason was resting, Lee showed up to surpise me! Mom and Dad kidnapped Bean and took her to see her cousins and so Lee and I had the afternoon to chill. He took me to a post-race lunch at Granite City (and bottomless mimosas, thank-you-very-much!). It was a good day :)
Now, I want to vent a bit:
I have to say that the more races I run, the more I find things that irritate me. Example: people that jump in a pace corral that is CLEARLY not what they intend to run. IE: If you run a 12 minute mile, please please PLEASE do not jump in the 8 minute mile corral. If I am running in my proper corral (or even one behind), I do not want to have to weave around you in the first mile. And, my goodness, if you intend to walk the entire race, please don't start in the front of the pack...go to the back and wait for those running the race to get out of the way. It is just courtesy. It takes so much out of you when you spend all of your energy bobbing and weaving around groups of people in front of you walking three people wide. I'm not the fastest runner and have never (and will never) claim to be, but COME ON PEOPLE!
That is all. Until next time...
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| 2 Races Down...10 To Go |
XOXO
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