i did it!
i ran in my first race today! and i ran the whole thing! and i did much better than i thought i would! bear with me - it's been nine hours since i crossed the finish line and i still can't get rid of the energy from this morning. mamas, hide your sons tonight, because i am taking this mojo WITH ME! (um. or something.)
the race was the charlottesville women's four-miler, which benefits the breast care center at uva's hospital. the weather was perfect - ernesto stopped dumping its rain on us sometime around 5am [let me note that i lost power on friday at 5pm, and it didn't come back on again until 3 this morning. i'd tried to go to bed at 9:30pm, but couldn't because it was so freakishly dark and i was home alone and terrified of every whomping power-surge noise i heard, plus my phone was beeping at me to tell me it had low batteries and all i could do was hope it stayed on long enough to wake me at 5:30 this morning. so when the power came back, EVERY LIGHT IN MY ROOM came blazing on and scared the bejeezus out of me, and it was very hard to go back to bed afterwards. anyways!], and it was cool (high 50's) and slightly breezy and drying out and overcast. after the race was over the sun came out, which felt fabulous on my chilly legs (i can't run in pants unless there's ice on the ground). my goals were twofold: 1) run the entire four miles and 2) do it in less than 48 minutes. i accomplished both, and actually finished in less than 45 minutes, and my last mile was my fastest (a shade under ten minutes, though i note that most of it was downhill *and* my good friend was cheering me on a hundred yards from the finish). i feel like such a badass right now, for lack of a better term - my first race really couldn't have gone any better. i am so pleased!
as soon as the photographer posts his pictures online, i'll comb through them and see if he managed to catch me making my i-can't-breathe blowfish face, and post it for all of you to giggle at.
since the weather continued to be gorgeous, i came home, packed a bag, and went to the lawn to study for my GREs (which are next saturday). i spent nearly three hours out there and probably burned the back of my neck, but i don't care. it was worth it to feel the sun on my skin and the breeze in my hair and the teasingly fall-like air in my lungs.
it's by all means been a fantastic day. huzzah!
the race was the charlottesville women's four-miler, which benefits the breast care center at uva's hospital. the weather was perfect - ernesto stopped dumping its rain on us sometime around 5am [let me note that i lost power on friday at 5pm, and it didn't come back on again until 3 this morning. i'd tried to go to bed at 9:30pm, but couldn't because it was so freakishly dark and i was home alone and terrified of every whomping power-surge noise i heard, plus my phone was beeping at me to tell me it had low batteries and all i could do was hope it stayed on long enough to wake me at 5:30 this morning. so when the power came back, EVERY LIGHT IN MY ROOM came blazing on and scared the bejeezus out of me, and it was very hard to go back to bed afterwards. anyways!], and it was cool (high 50's) and slightly breezy and drying out and overcast. after the race was over the sun came out, which felt fabulous on my chilly legs (i can't run in pants unless there's ice on the ground). my goals were twofold: 1) run the entire four miles and 2) do it in less than 48 minutes. i accomplished both, and actually finished in less than 45 minutes, and my last mile was my fastest (a shade under ten minutes, though i note that most of it was downhill *and* my good friend was cheering me on a hundred yards from the finish). i feel like such a badass right now, for lack of a better term - my first race really couldn't have gone any better. i am so pleased!
as soon as the photographer posts his pictures online, i'll comb through them and see if he managed to catch me making my i-can't-breathe blowfish face, and post it for all of you to giggle at.
since the weather continued to be gorgeous, i came home, packed a bag, and went to the lawn to study for my GREs (which are next saturday). i spent nearly three hours out there and probably burned the back of my neck, but i don't care. it was worth it to feel the sun on my skin and the breeze in my hair and the teasingly fall-like air in my lungs.
it's by all means been a fantastic day. huzzah!