A Beautiful Day for a Run

It's 6:45 am. I'm washing my face, getting ready for the 4 mile Grandview Gallop this morning.

Thunder strikes outside. Crap. Downpour begins.
Joel and I load up Annie, and go, hoping the rain lets up soon. (Annie likes to watch me run in races! Well, she probably has no idea what's going on. She just loves all the people!)

7:30 am
Joel drops me off in the rain. I warm up a little, run around the park a bit, go to the restroom. I come out of the equally soggy port-a-potty, and see everyone walking back into the park. We have to take cover under a pavillion until the storm subsides.
A lot of people leave at this point, and I'm thinking they might have the right idea.

8:50
After about an hour of lightning, rain, and thunder, they decide to start the race (50 minutes late). So out we go into the still-pretty-heavy rain.

Joel snapped these pictures of us....I couldn't keep my eyes open in the rain! That bothered me more than the wet clothes.

Me, Eric, and his brother, Aaron....already soaked and we haven't even begun yet!

Poor Annie...
She loves the people, but HATES rain! If she had her way, she would be hiding under the bed at home right now!
What a good girl though! Out in the storm, supporting her mommy!

Just took off....I'm next to the guy in red (Eric), waving at Joel. What a gorgeous day, huh?!

In the park, after the race. Man, I look gross after a big run!

Eric and I, almost to the finish line


Here is my quick play-by-play of the race:

Mile 1: Feeling good, the rain actually feels kind of good, especially on my gross sunburnt skin!
Mile 2: Yuck. Seems to take forever to get through this mile. I feel like I am carrying an extra 10 water-logged pounds. Squishy shoes. Annoyed by girls in way better shape than me, who keep walking/sprinting. In my head: "If I can (slowly) run this whole thing, so can you, in your matching sports bra and running skirt!" What can I say, I was bitter and soggy!
Miles 3-4: Feeling much better. Kind of down hill (for a pretty flat course). I pick up the pace here. Caught poor Eric and his bad knees. Finished strong. Seeing Joel and Annie rooting for me helps!

Goals I had set for myself prior to the race:
Run the whole thing.
Try to finish in around 45-50 minutes.
Check and Check.
(48:59 final time)

Despite the pouring rain and lack of preparation (ran twice in the last 2 weeks), it was actually kind of a cool race!

Logging Some Miles (or Trying)

I wanted to add the Daily Mile training widget to my blog to make myself accountable for my biking and running miles. So I started a profile on the website.
They ask you to pick what you consider yourself:
1) Runner
2) Cyclist
3) Athlete
4) Triathlete
5) Walker

Ok, so I want to log my biking AND my running, so I couldn't choose just runner or cyclist. Walker is out. Triathlete is obviously out. So that leaves.....Athlete. HA!!! I seriously laughed. But there I am, on Daily Mile. An athlete. Weird.

I thought I should probably have some mileage to log, so I went for a run. Also, I have a race this weekend, that I have NOT prepared for! I set off, intending to run 3 miles, but only ended up running about 2. The side stitches were unbearable today. I had to stop to walk several times, despite the mini-Amanda on my shoulder telling me to just run/breathe through the side pain. I ended up running 31 minutes. I stopped the watch every time I walked, so I could tell how long I really ran.

The worst part was that during one of my pathetic walking stints, this really old guy runs by me. He had to be around 75, wearing cargo shorts, really high socks, no shirt, and very gray hair. And he ran past me! I let him get a little ahead of me, until my current side stitch subsided, and then I tried to catch him. Old Guy just kept truckin.' I tried to speed up, but he just kept going and going. I was determined to beat Old Guy. I mean, come on, I am 28, wearing decent running wear, and have zero gray hairs. Old Guy won. You have to hand it to him, though. Pretty impressive for an old guy running in cargo shorts! Bravo, Old Guy. Bravo.
Despite my difficult run today, I have to run a few more times this week. I am running 4 miles at the Grandview Gallop this Saturday. Yuck.

My motivation:
Pictures of Amanda and me during and after my first 8K

(Amanda didn't get the memo that it was St. Patrick's Day, not Halloween!)

Just started...feeling pretty good! I have no idea that by mile 2, I am going to want to pass out!

Almost to the finish line.....almost in tears, cannot believe I ran the whole thing!

We did it!

If I was able to run that beast of an 8K, I can run 4 miles this weekend....right?!?