Modern Technology is SO exciting!

I'm sitting here "watching" Erica run the Marine Corp Marathon. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the folks at the MCM have real-time tracking of the runners. I simply entered in the name of the runner & BAM! Instant results. Then all I had to do was click on "Map Track" & a map of the course popped up & with a big yellow & black dot that represents Erica. It automatically updates every few seconds & shows her name, bib #, mile location (ie: mile 18.45) pace time, 10K time, & 1/2 time. It is SO cool! I'm actually cheering every time the page refreshes. She has about 30 minutes to "make the bridge" & at the pace she's going, she should have no problem.

GO ERICA, GO!!!

You're gonna make it!!

:D


***EDIT***

She finished in 7:02:13. Way to go Erica! You rock!

It's official

I am now registered for the Chevron Houston 1/2 Marathon. Go me!

I was thinking today how nice it will be to actually have my parents there when I cross the finish line. At least I hope they will be there.

They'd better be there!

Or at the very least, my mother better be there.

That was one thing that would've made the Alaska Marathon perfect (well, aside from the rain going away) would've been if my parents could have been there to see me cross the finish line. It'll be nice to know that they can be there for the Houston Marathon. I'm also excited that I'll know so many people in the race. Since I'm doing the 1/2, I'll be done before most of the full marathoners, so I'll be able to cheer them along as they cross the finish line.

Last Houston marathon I was bitching because I had to find a back way out of my neighborhood to get to my hair stylist for a hair cut because my street is between mile 9 & 10 & all the roads were blocked off, & now I'm actually going to run it.

Funny how much can change in a year, eh?

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Today was the Great Pumpkin 5K Fun Run in downtown Houston & it was definitely a great day for a race. The temperatures started out in the mid 40's & only got up to about the high 50's by the end of the race. PERFECT!!

Originally I was going to run to the starting line, but I had to drop off the coolers & first aid kit to the coaches at TNT & that had me running late, so I did a loop (3 miles) at Memorial Park first & then drove downtown for the race. My time at Memorial was about 50 minutes & I did nothing but walk. I was with a fellow teammate & we chatted the whole time, so I didn't check my watch at all. The cold air definitely had me jazzed & that 3 mile warm-up was just what I needed to get ready for the race.

I got downtown, picked up my timing chip, & made my way to the start. Since it's Halloween weekend there were all sorts of people dressed up, from people with head-bands with horns/spiders/ghosts/witches, etc, to 4 guys dressed as giant bananas. It was pretty amusing.

Since I'd done 3 miles of walking already, I decided to start out the race running, so I wasn't too far back at the starting line so when the "gun" went off. I ran for the 1st 3 minutes & felt great! Then I went into my 3:1 walk/run & kept it up the whole race. I never felt like I was ever slowing down. In fact, I felt like I just kept getting faster. I completely missed the 1st mile marker so I have no idea what my splits were, but when I got to mile 2, I'd been going for 30 minutes. NICE! After that I said to myself "if I can finish this race in under 47 minutes, I will be SO happy!" Since it was so cool out, I wasn't feeling the need for more water, so I passed up the water station & kept on running. I was feeling great & actually passed people! (Woo!)

I saw downtown closing in faster & faster & knew I was almost done. I refused to look at my watch, but felt like I was still on pace. I knew the last section of the race went off to an on-ramp, but didn't realize that it was all uphill until I was right on it. It was pretty damn steep & I just didn't have it in me to run up it. It started having flashbacks to Insult Hill in the Alaska Marathon. Thankfully it leveled out just before the finish line. That's when I saw the clock... 46:25. "I can make it!" I started to run again. I started to pass a woman & she said "I'll race you to the finish line!" "Deal!" And with that, we both kicked it into overdrive & crossed together. My final time?

46:57

A personal best! I was SO excited! I kept a steady pace of about 15 mins/mile. Woo-hoo!!!

I'm really hoping I can keep this up for the 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks. I'll actually be happy if I can average about 17 mins/mile for that race, but my real goal is to finish the 1/2 in less than 4 hours. I'm pretty damn sure I can do that. And if I can do that, then my next goal is to finish the Houston 1/2 even faster. I figure with the 2 extra months of training, that shouldn't be a problem.

Today is a good day. :)

I just got an email with the link to the official pictures from the Houston 20K, so I clicked & looked at them.

Oh.

my.

GOD!

I look absolutely disgusting. I don't ever want to be seen in public like that again. Those pictures are really hard for me to look at. I don't think I have ever hated my body more than I do at this very moment (& I'm not even at my heaviest). I seriously want to cry.

*Note to Self*

Absolutely, positively, NO HIGH HEELED BOOTS are to be worn between now & the 1/2 marathon.

Because of the cold weather, for the last 3 days I wore my sexy black pointy-toed high heeled boots to work. I haven't worn these high heels (or any high heels for that matter) since February & by the end of the day yesterday (which was super busy & had me walking AAALLLL over the place) my feet were killing me. Today was warmer so I decided to give my feet a rest & wore flip flops. About an hour or so into the day, suddenly every step I took hurt like a sonofabitch on my right foot. It felt almost like I broke my big toe & the one next to it. It hurts to put any pressure on the while standing, it hurts to wiggle them, & it hurts when I press on the area at the base of my toes with my fingers.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Stupid sexy shoes. >:(

Quickie

I'm not sure if she'll read this before she leaves tomorrow, but

GOOD LUCK IN THE MARINE CORP MARATHON ERICA!!!!!

I was just checking out the marathon's website & apparently you can track each runner's progress on the course map. COOL! Now I'll be able to see you "make the bridge". You're going to do great! I can't wait to hear all about the weekend. We definitely need to make a date to hang out soon. :)

In other news, I finished up my round of antibiotics & I think I am almost completely infection-free. WOO!! My head finally doesn't feel like it's swimming in soup. We'll see how I feel tomorrow after work when I try to run again. I don't plan on going too far, maybe about 3 miles. I don't want to over-do it, but I also want to make sure I'm well enough to do at least the 9 miles on Saturday. *crosses fingers*

And how the hell did October go by so fast? It seemed like forever ago when I decided to do the San Antonio 1/2 marathon & now here we are almost 2 weeks away from the big day. CRAZY!

Go 'Stros! Please don't fuck up tonight. (Dammit! As I just wrote that some guy w/ the Sox hit a triple in the 7th inning. Bastard!)

Uneventful

Yesterday was another Saturday of me playing "water girl" to the TNT gang & I didn't mind because I knew that, with the way my sinuses had been, I wouldn't be able to run 14 miles that day. However, I was actually a little bummed about that because the weather was absolutely PERFECT for running. A cold front had come through overnight & it was cool & crisp & wonderful out there. Just my kind of day. But instead of running, I sat next to my car on the side of the road, about 4 or 5 miles out on the course, waiting for my teammates to stop by for a drink & a Gu.

Woo.

Fun.

After practice I headed to Oshman's & signed up for the Great Pumpkin Fun Run 5K which is on the 29th. Should be a good time.

Thanks to some super fabulous & extra strong antibiotics, I am feeling 100 times better this weekend than I was on Friday. But as much as I'd love to think, I'm not 100%. Today proved that.

I was feeling so much better today that I figured it wouldn't hurt to get out there & run for a bit... maybe only 7 or 8 miles. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Yeah. Not so much.

I was only able to do about 3 miles. Not too far into it, every time I'd run, I'd get light headed & dizzy. It was very frustrating because otherwise, I was feeling pretty good out there. Apparently my sinuses aren't as clear as I'd hoped they were. So I'm going to finish out my course of antibiotics before I try any long distances again. Hopefully I should be good to go by this weekend. My plan is to run to the starting line, maybe from Starbuck's then run back after the race. That should be just a tad over 9 miles, which is really all I need to be doing, especially since by then, the 1/2 marathon will only be 2 weeks away.

In a totally unrelated note... I'm sitting here watching Grey's Anatomy as I blog & I actually got a bit excited over the fact that I noticed that one of the bit character's on tonight's episode (the father of a patient) played a somewhat key, if not very tiny role in my ultimate favorite TV show, "Lost". (Btw... I am SO pissed I have to wait a whole 3 weeks before the next new episode of "Lost")

Yeah. I know. I'm such a dork.

LOL!

Fuckin' allergies!

Well, nature has done it to me again. My allergies got so bad that when I woke up this morning I almost fell over when I stood up out of bed cuz I was so dizzy from sinus pain & pressure. I took some Aleve Cold & Sinus, hoping it would help me the same way it has for the last 2 weeks, but no such luck. Not long after I got to work, I wanted to just curl up & cry from the pain in my sinuses. Oddly enough, if I could've just sat there all day pushing on my front teeth w/ my thumbs, I would've been much happier because that actually alleviated the pain. Since that wasn't really an option, I decided it was time to go to the doctor (& that should tell you something because I HATE going to the dr. & avoid going at all costs).

It was so hard getting through the day at work, trying to get everything done before I had to leave at 1:30. My brain just did not want to function. I found it hard to think & speak at the same time. I was forgetting words & simple tasks (in fact, it's pretty hard for me right now to make coherent sentences as I type this post). At one point when I was bending over in my chair to pick something up off the ground, I actually fell out of the chair & my boss had to help me up (yeah, that was fun).

For once I couldn't wait to get to the dr. & for once, I didn't have to wait for hours on end to see her. I was actually still filling out the paperwork when the nurse called me in. Within 20 minutes, I was seen by a nurse & 2 doctors, diagnosed w/ a sinus infection, had a prescription in hand for some nice, strong antibiotics & was out the door. It took longer to get the Rx filled than it did to get the Rx.

As soon as I got home, I passed out on the couch. I could seriously go to bed right now & sleep for the rest of the night.

Fuck you Mr. Ragweed & Ms. Mold Spore. You may have won this battle, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you win the war!

I'm so glad I'm only playing the "water girl" tomorrow & don't have to run (the coaches are all in San Fran for the Nike marathon so the mentors are helping out). I don't think I could run if I tried. I'd maybe get 50 feet before I had to take a nap.

Speaking of naps...

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday I was thinking how great it was that even though I got a bad stomach cramp during the race, afterwards & for the rest of the day I felt great. My muscles weren't sore at all & my knee wasn't hurting either. Besides being tired, I was fine.

Not so much today.

Jeebus are my thighs & ass ever sore today!

Stairs are my enemy. They are an evil, EVIL creation & must be destroyed!

Ow.

One more thing...

I almost forgot! As I was nearing the finish line, there was a crowd of people along the sides cheering everyone on. One guy looked at me & said "I've seen your blog!"

"Huh?"

"I've seen your blog!"

"Oh. OK!"

I must admit, it kinda freaked me out. I had no idea who he was, but apparently he's read my blog before. I mean, I know this is a public blog, but I don't get too many readers, so it really surprised me that one of them happened to be in the crowd today.

Crazy!

So random guy who cheered me on today... Hi! :)

I hope to GOD you're not one of the ones who found my blog by searching things like "pee girl" or "fuck under 16".

*shudders*

Fat Girl Running

After last weekend's 10 miles, I was feeling good about myself & was ready to do the Houston 20K race this weekend. However, I was worried about the supposed 2:40 time limit on the race. I knew there was no way I could do 12.4 miles in only 2:40 & I didn't want to get pulled off the course, but at practice yesterday I was told that they really don't close the course until much later. So after practice (I didn't run... it was my week to man a water station) I went to Luke's Locker & signed up for the race. I went to bed at 9:30 last night & was up at 4:30 to get ready for the race. (I needed time for things to "move along"... if you know what I mean. I did not want to have to stop at a port-a-potty during the race.)

I met up w/ some of my teammates (including 2 of my mentees) & we walked to the start line together. One of the girls & I made a quick pre-race pit stop at the Doubletree Hotel then tried to catch up w/ the rest of the gang, but we'd lost them. We went toward the back of the starting line because we knew we were slow & didn't want to get trampled when the gun went off. I ran into some other people randomly (it always amazes me how I'll find people in a crowd of 1000's) & before we knew it, the gun went off.

However, it was quite a while before we actually started to move. The starting line was on a small street & there was a big bottleneck. Finally we started moving veeeeerrrrrryyy slowly & eventually made it to the actual starting line. As soon as we crossed the line, we were able to run. I quickly glanced at my watch. The time was 7:08 am. In the crowd I couldn't start the split timer on my watch, so I just ran.

And ran & ran & ran. NO walking.

I was so caught up in all the excitement & the crowd that I just kept up with them. I couldn't believe it! After a few minutes, the sides of my calves started to burn & I realized I needed to walk. But even as I was walking, I knew I was going MUCH faster than I usually do. I just couldn't get myself to slow down. Even with the pain in my legs! The crowd had really thinned out so I was able to start my interval timer on my watch. It wasn't long before I was at the 1st mile marker. The clock at the mile marker said 17:10, but I looked at my watch. It was 7:21 am.

I got to the starting line at 7:08.

That means I did the 1st mile in 13 minutes!!!!

I thought "that can't be right!" But I re-did the math in my head (I tend to lose all ability for simple math when I run). It was true. I did a 13 minute mile. Are you f'ing kidding me?!?!?! Last week I averaged a 21 minute mile. This was un-fucking-believable!

As great as that knowledge felt, I also knew it was WAY too fast for me. I had to slow it down. I still kept up with my 3:1 intervals, but tried to slow it down a bit. At mile 2, the clock time was 32:02, which meant I did the 2nd mile in 14:52. Better (& again I was amazed!) but I knew I couldn't keep that pace going the whole way, so I slowed down a bit more. By mile 3 I was at 15:06, mile 4 was 15:31, & mile 5 was 15:37. The runners passing me on their 2nd & 3rd loops of the race were patting me on the back, saying how great I was doing, telling me how good I looked. People on the side of the road were cheering me on. One onlooker (who I saw 3 times during the race) pointed at me as I was passing her the 2nd time & said "I am SO proud of you girl! You are FABULOUS! YOU GO GIRL!!!" I was getting goose bumps.

Who the hell took over my body??? This isn't me! I don't do this well! I don't go this fast! What. the. hell??? My legs felt fabulous! There wasn't even a twinge of pain in my knee. The only problem I had up until then was I felt a teeny bit nauseous.

Then it happened.

Somewhere between mile 5 & 6 I started to get a sharp pain in my right side. I was cramping up. Bad. I was pretty sure it was from too much water/Gatorade & it pissed me the fuck off. Why? Why was this happening now? This can't happen! This was going to be the run of my life! I can't stop now! I slowed to a walk (& not a fast one, either). I couldn't run any more. Every time I tried, the pain would get too bad & I'd have to go back to walking. One of my coaches (who was on her 3rd loop) caught up to me & asked how I was doing. I told her what had happened & I knew I wouldn't be able to do the 3rd loop. She said that was fine & that the "finish" was just over 2 miles away. She told me to take it easy & as she ran on, she said she'd come back for me after she finished. She was true to her word & got back to me just after I passed the mile 7 marker. She walked with me the rest of the way to the finish line. I forced myself to run again & by the time I crossed the finish line, I was doubling over in pain. Every single breath hurt like a sonofabitch. I was pissed that I couldn't do the 3rd loop, but at the same time, I was still SO proud of what I was able to do.

Now that I know I can go that fast, I'm determined to work harder & see just how fast & how far I can go. I figure if I really keep up with my training (including training during the week again) then I should be in great shape (in more ways than one) for the San Diego marathon next June. However, my 1st goal is to lose more weight. I'm hoping to lose at least 40 lbs. by my 35th birthday (April 1). If I can do that, imagine how much faster I can run then!

We'll see what happens.

Going strong

The last few training weekends have gone great (for the most part). Last weekend was 10 miles & it just so happened that autumn decided to arrive that morning. I was so. f'ing. excited!!! The temperature was in the 50's with little humidity. Perfect for an early morning run. I got to the park around 5:50 am & as soon as I got there, the walkers were ready to take off. I got the quick low-down on the route (it was a new one that I'd never run before & since it was so dark, I really wanted to make sure I didn't get lost). We took off at 5:55. My coach had me go ahead of everyone so she could go over the route in more detail with me & I guess so I could lead the pack. At about the 1/2 mile point, she stopped to show one of the girls where the restrooms were and I never saw her again for the rest of the day.

Thanks to the crisp cool air, I was going at a really strong pace (cold weather energizes me). For the 1st 2 miles, I walked, then as soon as I left the park & got onto the roads, I started the interval timer on my watch & started running. I ended up at the end of a huge pack of Houston FIT runners. (For a minute, the coach thought I was one of theirs.) They quickly passed me & before I knew it, I was all alone. It was a bit scary for a while there because there weren't a lot of cars on the road & the path I was on (which had thick woods to the right) wasn't very well lit, but it wasn't too long before I made it to the freeway. There was supposed to be a water stop at the Shell station on the other side of the freeway, but I was there so early that nobody had set it up yet. Thankfully I had my fuel belt with me so I could keep hydrated.

With it being so dark out, it was a little hard to get my bearings & tell exactly where I was (my night vision isn't too keen) but I knew the general direction was right. After about 4 miles, I ran into coach Bill walking the other way. He was surprised to see me so far ahead of the pack & said "Hey there Speedo! You're going GREAT!" Turns out the next water stop was just 2 blocks up. I stopped for a quick drink & refilled one of my fuel bottles & continued on. I was doing my 3:1's (walk:run) & feeling SO good! I felt like I could go on forever. I was out there for a good 90 minutes before any of the runners caught up to me (& of course passed me). I was loving this route... it went through a gorgeous neighborhood that had a huge median down the main road with a running path down the center of the median. It was so beautifully kept & a real treat to run through. At one point, Bill drove by & dropped another coach, Anne, off on the trail. She ran with me for a bit & said I was doing great. Apparently Bill even asked "what did she put in her Kool-Aid this morning?" LOL!

By the time I got to the last water station, I really had no idea how far I'd gone. I asked Carissa (who was manning the sation) how much farther I had to go & she said "only 3 miles!" 3 miles? Seriously? That's it? Awesome! I was amazed at how well I'd done. I quickly ran across the street to the convenience store for a "pit stop" & went back on my way. By the time I got back to the freeway, more runners were passing me, but I didn't care. I felt like I was having the best run of my life. By the time I hit the park again, I had suddenly got pretty tired & was walking a little slower. One of my mentees & a friend ran up behind me & walked with me for a little bit, then ran ahead. I ran for a little more, but wasn't nearly as fast as them, but again I didn't care. When I got back to the starting point, I realized that I'd done the whole run in 3 hours (21 mins/mile. I'd never really looked at my watch as I ran. I just listened for the beeps so I'd know when to walk/run.) Not as fast as I'd thought, but still, not too shabby for me either. And what was really great was the fact that even though I was tired, my body felt great. My legs didn't really hurt & my knee felt fine. I just had a bit of a blister forming on the inside of my right heel. The only problem I had was with my breathing. After a run & especially in cold weather, if I breathe in too deep, I go into a coughing spasm. It's sort of a form of exercise induced asthma. Thankfully I was able to stop myself from breathing in too hard so I didn't cough for too long.

By the time I got home (a bunch of us went to breakfast afterwards) my knee was starting to hurt & I was pretty damn tired so I wrapped an ice pack around my knee & took a nap. When I got up, my knee was still sore, but better. By the next day, it was completely fine. I knew it would be fine for the race the following weekend.

The rest of the story...

I promised to finish the story from my previous post about what happened after the 5K, so here goes.

After the race & ceremony, my coach was going to drive myself & another coach back to our cars at Starbuck's. On the way, we called another coach who was helping out with the fall season's 21-miler to see if she wanted us to pick her up. That's when we found out the disaster that was the fall season 21-miler. It was almost noon & there were several people still out on the course. By this time, the temperatures had risen to the 90's & it was pretty damn humid. We drove to the 1st/last water station to see if G (the other coach) had been by yet, but she hadn't. We then drove the course to find her. It was there we came across 2 TNT participants, only they didn't look too good. One girl in particular looked like she was about to pass out from heat stroke. We asked her if she needed help, but I don't think she realized we were with TNT. She said "no, I'm fine" & told us to leave her alone. We knew she needed water so we drove to one of the other water stops, only to find it had already been taken down. THERE WERE STILL PEOPLE ON THE COURSE!!!

We called G to see where she was & she said she was with 2 other participants, one of whom was in desperate need of Vaseline for her horrible case of chaffing. We drove to meet them at another water stop (which thankfully was still set up, but was almost out of water/Gatorade) & the water stop had no vaseline in their first-aid kit. Thankfully E had some in her car. We all gasped when we saw the extent of this poor girl's chaffing. Her under arms were so bad they were almost bleeding & it was almost worse under her breast area. She was in so much pain that she'd been walking holding her boobs so her bra didn't rub against her skin. I just imagined what that was going to feel like when she got in the shower & I cringed! We couldn't believe it when she said nobody had ever told her about the benefits of Vaseline & Body Glide. She was a real trooper, insisting on finishing the run. We left them to see if there was anyone else out on the course. We found 2 more people out there & there was not a fall coach to be found anywhere! We called back to the park to let them know that they still had people out on the course & they seemed shocked to hear that. WTF??? It is their JOB to know where every single runner is & to make sure they are ok & make it back safe & sound. E was so. f'ing. pissed.

We made our way back to the 1st/last waterstop & on our way there, we found the 1st girl we'd come across (the one that looked like she was about to have heat stroke) on the ground. Her partner had called their coach to come get her. When he finally showed up, E told him he needed to get her cooled down & hydrated STAT! He just looked confused. They took off & the girl's partner kept on going. A. jumped out of the car & kept her company for the rest of the way. When we got back to the water stop, G was just getting there w/ the 2 other girls. G had already run 21 miles the day before & had done at least another 12 w/ this group (AND SHE'S NOT A FALL COACH!!!) She was exhausted & we took her back to the park. She told us she got an ear-full from the fall participants. Most of them said that it was the most dissapointing experience of their lives & that they would never EVER do it again. When G helped them & stayed with them on the route, they asked her why she was doing it. She said "because you NEVER leave anybody behind. It's a coach's job to keep up with everyone & make sure they are ok." They said in the whole time they'd been doing this, their coaches NEVER did that. They would just run the route & never go back to check on anyone.

When we got back to the park we saw that some of the coaches had actually gone home! I have never seen E so furious. We decided that we were going to file a formal complaint about the whole event. There was no excuse for the lack of support these participants received. They had all raised thousands of dollars for the LLS & got absolutely no support in return.

We stayed until the very last runner finished & we gave them all a pep talk & tons of advice... advice THEIR coaches should have given them. One of them even yelled "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T ANYONE EVER TELL ME THAT BEFORE???" She said she wished she'd had us as coaches/mentors instead of the ones she was stuck with.

I realize just how incredibly lucky I am. I have the BEST coaches. They made me want to stay with the program & get more involved. If I had just joined during the fall season, I would have quit after only a few weeks & never looked back. Instead I got an incredible group of coaches who supported me (& continue to support me) & made me want to make a difference. My experiences changed my life for the better, giving me a sense of true accomplishment & meaning to my life. It breaks my heart that the fall group is being broken down the way they are. It just breaks my heart. :(

Hello. How are you doing today?

Me? Well I had a super shitty day. There was probably steam coming out of my ears cuz I was so fuming mad. I don't feel like getting into it, so let's just leave it at this.... people I work with suck.

After work I had 1/2 a mind to just go balls out running, but I knew that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do. My luck I'd hurt myself. So instead I opted to just lay on my couch in darkness & block out the world. It was just what I needed to calm myself down.

So let's see... what's the latest in my "running" world?

This past Saturday I participated in the Komen Race for a Cure 5K race in downtown Houston. Of course, 5K wasn't quite enough, so as a warm-up, a few of my teammates & I parked at the Starbucks near Memorial Park & ran the 3 miles to the starting line.

It started out pretty good. A cold front had come through the day before, but unfortunately it didn't really stick around & the heat & humidity was coming back that morning, but it still wasn't as bad as it had been. As always, I started early (around 6:30) in order to get a bit of a head start on the real runners & I was feeling pretty good, despite the fact that I hadn't worked out at all during the week. I loved that it was still dark out & I could see the moon. Even better.... there was a cheshire moon (I have a HUGE love affair with the moon, but particularly a cheshire moon). I looked up & saw it smiling down on me & I smiled back. It gave me a sense of peace.

I've found that I crave the alone time running. I mean, I love that I have a team with great friends to train with who I know will be there for me, but I love getting an early start on them. Eventually the runners catch up to me, but for a good 45 minutes I will be alone... just me, my thoughts, & the sound of my feet rustling up the gravel on the trail. I love it.

On my run to the starting line, I wasn't alone for very long... my coach & the 2 or 3 other girls with her caught up to me & we all ran together for a minute or 2 before they took off ahead of me. I was alone again for the rest of the run. Before I knew it, I was downtown surrounded by tens of thousands of people. I somehow managed to find my coaches & other teammates & we hung out together, waiting for the race to start. It was quite an interesting experience.

In Alaska, there were only about 3000 participants. This 5K had over 25,000! And then there were all the spectators. The park & streets next to it downtown were completely packed & everyone was so psyched. We made our way to the starting line where they had 3 sisters (one of whom with breast cancer) sing the National Anthem a-cappella. Before the gun went off, some inspirational words were spoken, followed by a moment of silence & the release of the Memorial Birds... birds that were purchased by friends/family members of those who had died of breast cancer & released in their memory. It was quite moving & gave me a lump in my throat & tears in my eyes.

Then we were off! It was amazing to be in the middle of such a huge sea of runners. They were as far as the eye could see. I actually started out running. Well... sloooowly jogging. It was very hard to get up any speed with so many people around me. Eventually I was able to get a good pace going. I went for just about 2 or 3 minutes then changed to a fast walk. For the rest of the race, I walked for 3 minutes & ran for 1. I know it doesn't sound like much, but that is HUGE for me. I finished the race in 52 minutes. Not as fast as I would have liked, but then again, around mile 2.5 I did get run over by a guy with a big ass jogging stroller. The front tire of the stroller slammed right into the back of my left leg & ankle. I honestly don't know how I managed to NOT take a complete header into the concrete. I'm sure I looked extremely graceful. ;-) The guy flat out admitted that he wasn't looking where he was going & apologized about a dozen times, but he never did stop to see if I was ok. (bastard) By the time I finished the race, my ankle felt pretty stiff & sore. Amazingly I was able to find one of my coaches in the sea of people & she drove me back to my car. There was no way I was going to risk running the 3 miles back to my car!

Of course, the trip back to my car was pretty eventful, too. But that will have to wait for another time. It's WAY past my bedtime. :)

***EDIT***

It should be noted that Emily, the coach I found after the race to take me home, is a 13 year breast cancer survivor. And what do you suppose her race bib # was? Yup... #13. It was a total fluke, but oh-so-cool. We stayed in the park for the after race festivities & I must say, it brought more tears to my eyes to see her & all the other survivors in their pink race t-shirts standing together in front of the podium in the middle of the park dancing & singing "I Will Survive". I get choked up just thinking about it. I was very honored to be there with her celebrating her life. :)