A Sweetheart 8k with my Sweetie

Happy Valentine's Day!! Now that I got that out of the way on to the blog....You know, I didn't want to do this race. I hated the thought of doing this race, I hated the training I was trying to do with my chest feeling cement filled. But I did run this week to try and prep me.

Fast forward to this morning, it's 6:30AM and I get out of bed. It was so warm and felt so good in there. I didn't want to get up and put layers on to run an 8k I didn't even sign up for, WTF??? But I got up and started the shower. I hadn't showered from my 2950 yard pool swim yesterday, I should have blogged about that, it was a fabulous work out and the longest I had ever swam. I couldn't stand the chlorine smell in my hair. I went and had a yogurt and granola for breakfast, got my coffee, went back and hopped in the shower. It takes that long for the water to get hot in my bathroom on cold mornings. I am almost done when my husband comes in and he is in a total frenzy. "I wanted to leave already, I wanted to be there now". He is on the verge of losing it so I get out in a hurry and go to get my running layers on. As luck would have it, I couldn't find a running bra. I tore my closet apart and threw on one I finally found at the bottom of a heap of running stuff. I went downstairs to get my heart rate monitor, my hat, my gloves, my sunglasses and my favorite jacket. Couldn't find my jacket, had to substitute another, okay, I can deal. Where are my gloves, I have one pink and one black one that I run with, can't find those. Got my heart rate monitor and strap and here comes Brad, still in a frenzy. "Let's roll", it's what he always says when we get ready to leave for a race.

Just as we are leaving I hear the pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs. It's my 6 year old, "Mommy, I don't feel good". At this point I am ready to say I am staying home. Too many little things going wrong, I can't stand it, and now Heather doesn't feel good. But she gives me a hug and tells me she's going back to bed, Brad in the meantime has headed out to the car. What to do, what to do? My race season ended with me not racing my last 2 races due to illness, is this how my season is supposed to start??? Okay, I will go.

I get in the car and we drive away, that's when I realize I don't have my sunglasses and I don't have my heart rate monitor with me. Looks like I am racing natural today. I hate that though. One of my favorite noises in a race is every one beeping as the hit their monitors at the start. And I need my sunglasses, contrary to the weather report, it is not cloudy, but vibrantly sunny and cold. This is going to stink, my eyes will be watering the whole way, which they did.

We get to the race and I realize how hilly this is going to be. It is worse then running in my subdivision, which is really hilly. We go on a warm up jog to get the blood flowing and our heart rates up, plus to warm us because gone are the 50 degree mornings we have been enjoying.

We get in line for the port-a-potties. There are two for around 350 racers. Brad looks at his watch, HE didn't forget his monitor, and says, "we will never make it, the race will start before we get to them." I tell him we will and we do. As we are waiting on line we always play this game, which port-a-potty door will open first. We bet on it and every time, regardless of what kind of race, I always win. Today was no different.

After that it was time to line up. There was no wave start, no corrals, just a mass of runners milling and waiting for the start noise. Can't describe the noise, it's one that the megaphone makes, but there's the noise and off we go. I grab Brad's arm, tell him to run his race, and that I will meet him on the other side, which, if you read this blog, you know is my standard line when we race. He smiled at me, and went ahead. That's where we hit the mother of all hills, I swear the thing was like a 45 degree angle and it lasted for the first 5 minutes of the race. By the time we hit the top of that hill my heart rate is soaring, but I couldn't tell you what it is because I DON'T HAVE MY HEART RATE MONITOR! We hit a nice downhill for a bit and then I see the first mile marker. I thought to myself, I thought we had run further then that, but okay, one down 4 more to go. The course went looping around this water hole of some sort and up through a neighborhood. Did I tell you this was the hilliest darn course I had ever run. I mean seriously we were up and down and up and down and uuuuuuuuuupppppppppppppppppp and down. Those hills would come when I thought I could least handle them. I had seen the second mile marker, but darned if I could find the third one. I must have passed it without noticing. We make our way through a nice neighborhood, come to this little foot bridge and there's a sign that says "Mile 4". I could barely contain myself, actually I didn't. I yelled for every one's benefit, MILE 4!!!! To which we all whooped a collective cry of relief was it?

But I was tired, and the little man in my head hadn't made an appearance yet. Where was he, I needed him to talk to me, because I swear, I wanted to walk, I wanted to give myself just a little break, but I told myself I couldn't. Could I be the little man?? Nah, I'm not that mean to myself, anyway, I trotted on through the neighborhood the race started in, hey, this is all familiar to me I got thinking. I come flying down the bottom part of the hill we ran up, we intersected the road at a halfway point, thanked two police officers for blocking traffic and wished them a good morning, got to the intersection where the race started and I am looking for the finish. This is good, I am done, NOT!!!!!!!!! The signs show we need to run around this lake in the middle of the subdivision. I can see the finish sign looming on the other side. What the heck?? What masochist thought this course up? But I can't stop now, can I? That's what those sneaky so and sos want you to think. So I run, I hit the little hills, increase my turn over, start pounding away, the finish line is closer, I see my Sweetheart waiting for me, I am running faster, imagining this is that road the leads to my street. The one I always try to sprint after a long run, the one I check and see if there is any fuel left in my tank. The light is on, I might only have a bit left, but I am flying on those fumes....I fly past Brad, through the chute and I am done!!!!!!!! Woot Woot! I look to see my time and it was 46:35. I broke that 50 minute mark I had hoped to break without breaking anything on me.

Maybe I need to not be able to find my running bra, or gloves or favorite running jacket. Maybe I need to forget my sunglasses and my heart rate monitor next time. I still think I would have preferred a box of chocolates...maybe next time.