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. :)