Okay, I know I promised...
All right, I know I promised to tell all about the race on Sunday. I figure I'd better type this up now before I 1) forget all about it, or 2) lose my motivation to do so, LOL.
Well, first of all, I guess I didn't make it abundantly clear that Eric ran the race with me, LOL. But yes, he did. And although at first I was kind of wishing I could "go it alone" to prove myself or something, I'm now REALLY glad he went with me. Frankly I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd had to rely on my own motivation and my own mental matter, LOL. It seemed like he always knew when to let me know what kind of pace we were keeping, how far we had gone, or just something like "you're doing great, keep it up!" And I was reminded of just what an incredible coach he is. I see him coaching his soccer players and I don't really get it, but when he coaches me (which is basically what he was doing), it's so motivating. If nothing else, it's like I want to keep it up just to make him proud of me, LOL.
I don't really remember much about the race itself, except that every time there were people walking around the campus I took a little look to see if Paul or Morgan was among them, LOL. Needless to say I never saw them. Of course I didn't know until later that Morgan was in Wisconsin, and I seriously doubt Paul would have been on campus without Morgan. For that matter I never really thought either of them would be on the campus on a Sunday!
The first two legs (meaning the first 2 miles), I did okay. I was a little tired at times, but nothing I couldn't handle. We were given water only after maybe the halfway point, which made me very glad I brought my own. I did drink the water we were given, but it was tough because they give it to you in these little paper cups. Anyone want to hazard a guess about the difficulty of drinking from a cup while you're running? Yeah. It ain't easy. LOL
Just before the 3rd mile, we got a treat--my sister and my daughter appeared at the trail to cheer us on and wave to us. It was wonderful seeing my little girl shouting "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Go go go!" One of the ladies behind us said, "That was cute." It really was!
Another cool thing about the race was passing people. LOL I especially (I know, this is demented of me, LOL) got a kick out of passing people who were walking. Every time I saw one of them, I thought, "Yeah, you came streaking out ahead of me, but who's got the upper hand now??" LOL There were a handful of people who walked the whole time, but I knew that none of them would ever be in front of me.
The last mile was hard. REALLY hard. I was so tired, and I honestly would have slowed down if Eric hadn't been there. I remember at one point he said, "I can feel the carbs kicking in." (We went to Olive Garden the night before and loaded up on pasta, LOL.) I never felt any added energy. I was getting really drained. But I didn't want to say "Eric, please slow down," and so I kept going. He gave me more tips like "use your arms to propel yourself forward," which I had never thought of and wasn't sure would work, LOL. But it did!
Then finally, when we were able to see the finish line, something very strange happened to me. I sprinted. Yes, I was dead tired and just wanted to quit... but sprinting??? I don't know how I did it, I really don't!!! I know why I did it--I wanted to get the d*** race over with, LOL--but I'm not sure how. I really didn't feel like I had anything left in the tank. I know I shocked the heck out of Eric, LOL. He was able to keep up with me, barely... and we both crossed the finish line at the same time.
And then my lungs HURT. They were burning. I grabbed a Powerade, Eric grabbed one for himself and a bag of bagels, and we immediately began chugging and eating bagels. I did a little bit of walking afterward, and we both made sure to stretch out while we were drinking and eating. My lungs eventually returned to normal.
And I just found the results... now I'm not sure why they said my time was 30:21, I know the clock read 30:18 when I crossed the finish line, LOL. But I came in 83rd out of 143. Not bad for my first race. :) I also can't figure out why Eric wasn't listed, unless it's just because he didn't register until that day, whereas I registered 3 weeks in advance.
So there's my story... Angie, lots of luck to you on your race this weekend!! (And BTW, you were right, it was grueling... but you can't beat the feeling of accomplishment, that's for sure!)
Well, first of all, I guess I didn't make it abundantly clear that Eric ran the race with me, LOL. But yes, he did. And although at first I was kind of wishing I could "go it alone" to prove myself or something, I'm now REALLY glad he went with me. Frankly I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd had to rely on my own motivation and my own mental matter, LOL. It seemed like he always knew when to let me know what kind of pace we were keeping, how far we had gone, or just something like "you're doing great, keep it up!" And I was reminded of just what an incredible coach he is. I see him coaching his soccer players and I don't really get it, but when he coaches me (which is basically what he was doing), it's so motivating. If nothing else, it's like I want to keep it up just to make him proud of me, LOL.
I don't really remember much about the race itself, except that every time there were people walking around the campus I took a little look to see if Paul or Morgan was among them, LOL. Needless to say I never saw them. Of course I didn't know until later that Morgan was in Wisconsin, and I seriously doubt Paul would have been on campus without Morgan. For that matter I never really thought either of them would be on the campus on a Sunday!
The first two legs (meaning the first 2 miles), I did okay. I was a little tired at times, but nothing I couldn't handle. We were given water only after maybe the halfway point, which made me very glad I brought my own. I did drink the water we were given, but it was tough because they give it to you in these little paper cups. Anyone want to hazard a guess about the difficulty of drinking from a cup while you're running? Yeah. It ain't easy. LOL
Just before the 3rd mile, we got a treat--my sister and my daughter appeared at the trail to cheer us on and wave to us. It was wonderful seeing my little girl shouting "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Go go go!" One of the ladies behind us said, "That was cute." It really was!
Another cool thing about the race was passing people. LOL I especially (I know, this is demented of me, LOL) got a kick out of passing people who were walking. Every time I saw one of them, I thought, "Yeah, you came streaking out ahead of me, but who's got the upper hand now??" LOL There were a handful of people who walked the whole time, but I knew that none of them would ever be in front of me.
The last mile was hard. REALLY hard. I was so tired, and I honestly would have slowed down if Eric hadn't been there. I remember at one point he said, "I can feel the carbs kicking in." (We went to Olive Garden the night before and loaded up on pasta, LOL.) I never felt any added energy. I was getting really drained. But I didn't want to say "Eric, please slow down," and so I kept going. He gave me more tips like "use your arms to propel yourself forward," which I had never thought of and wasn't sure would work, LOL. But it did!
Then finally, when we were able to see the finish line, something very strange happened to me. I sprinted. Yes, I was dead tired and just wanted to quit... but sprinting??? I don't know how I did it, I really don't!!! I know why I did it--I wanted to get the d*** race over with, LOL--but I'm not sure how. I really didn't feel like I had anything left in the tank. I know I shocked the heck out of Eric, LOL. He was able to keep up with me, barely... and we both crossed the finish line at the same time.
And then my lungs HURT. They were burning. I grabbed a Powerade, Eric grabbed one for himself and a bag of bagels, and we immediately began chugging and eating bagels. I did a little bit of walking afterward, and we both made sure to stretch out while we were drinking and eating. My lungs eventually returned to normal.
And I just found the results... now I'm not sure why they said my time was 30:21, I know the clock read 30:18 when I crossed the finish line, LOL. But I came in 83rd out of 143. Not bad for my first race. :) I also can't figure out why Eric wasn't listed, unless it's just because he didn't register until that day, whereas I registered 3 weeks in advance.
So there's my story... Angie, lots of luck to you on your race this weekend!! (And BTW, you were right, it was grueling... but you can't beat the feeling of accomplishment, that's for sure!)