OVER THE RIVER RUN 2013

The Over the River Run was this morning. I ran the 5-mile and James did the 1-mile fun run. I'd been nervous for the past day (I'm ALWAYS nervous before races, just like in high school cross country and track, and youth roller skating), but I had reasonable expectations for myself (running a pace I've hit during tempo runs, or faster) so I knew I could perform well as long as I didn't completely freak out. I'd trained smart over the past week, rested up, and iced/stretched/rolled until my legs felt awesome. I even did a little warm up run around my neighborhood before we left for the race so that my calves would be loose. I felt good! Just nauseated. And my hands were like ice. Once on site, we met up with the Sanchez, Kennedy, and Hall families at the starting line. Jay and Alex graciously volunteered to watch EIGHT kids while the rest of the parents ran (mind you, Alex is sick with bronchitis and has ZERO voice, and with his back issues can't lift kids, while Jay is still a one-legged man for the most part - though his voice works just fine!) Once they called the runners to the starting line, we lined up and took a group photo, got our Garmins to search out the satellites, and awaited the beep (no gun was used). 

Me, Sophie, Christina, (one of Christina's friends - sorry, I don't know her name!), and Emmie

My mile splits were 8:14, 8:29, 8:33, 8:56, 8:40 for a grand total of 42:52 (8:34/mile pace), a finish time that I'm very proud of (my goal was to beat 45:00)! The first mile and a half or so is a nice, barely noticeable downhill slope over the bridge. My start pace didn't scare me because I knew I was using the downhill, even though I had to weave around folks a bit to keep my pace. At 3/4 mile in, Sophie bounced past me with her headphones in and I saw her slow up to chat with Lee for a quick bit (one of the ladies I run with on Thursdays at 5am), so I set my sights on Lee, then passed her. I had no plans to chase Sophie down because I know how much faster her 5K pace is than mine. After that I didn't see anyone I knew until I neared the turnaround, as the fast runners came flying back past me: first Kristi, then Ashley, then Al, then Lori (another 5am runner), then Sophie. Next thing I knew it was my turn, and I saw Christina running with Lee shortly after I made the turn. I also spied JP (another 5am-er) heading to the turn. I watched for Eric (Ashley's husband), Amy and Terry (more 5am-ers that I thought were racing today), and Suzanne (my new coworker), but I never saw them. I cheered loud and proud for all my buddies (and I didn't care if I used "precious" energy doing so - racing is all about the fun for me right now, even with time goals in mind, and I wanted to cheer on my friends). I kept looking at my Garmin every few minutes and was surprised I was holding an 8:30 pace so regularly (I figured I'd be running 9:00 miles). I felt like I was working hard, but not so hard that I was dying. I wanted to be able to keep a consistent pace all the way through the finish. As I got back on the bridge, with just over a mile and a half to go, my pace slowed to 9:00 and I was totally OK with that, since it's a slight UPHILL climb all the way back across the river. I fell in stride with a girl wearing a Pentagon shirt, and we basically paced each other until we hit the final uphill ramp to the finish line. At that point I started sprinting to break away from her, but she stayed right with me and we came in right next to each other. I thanked her later for pushing me all the way to the end. You never know what's going to happen in a race and whether the day will be a good one for you, so I am just so grateful that I had a good day, that my legs are still getting stronger every month, that I enjoyed myself, that my family was there to cheer me on, that I have so many friends here locally that are also runners fighting the personal PR fight with me, and that I am healthy and happy and MOVING FORWARD. It was a great race!

Moms and their boys

 After cheering in the other runners and walkers, we got the boys ready for their 1-mile race.

James did SO WELL. He ran the whole mile (except for a quick water stop walk break at the halfway point), most of it while holding my hand, and with zero tears or worries. He had FUN! He high-fived all the volunteers out on the bridge and thought he was hot potatoes for doing so! I kept asking him if he was ok, if he needed a break, if he wanted to let go of my hand and run by himself, and he just kept telling me "I want to keep doing THIS!" with a big 'ol smile on his face. He rocks. And I'm super proud of him for trying so hard. He finished in 11:43 (official) and was so happy to get his medal. He told me "You have to run the WHOLE TIME to get a medal!" (I explained that it's ok to walk in a race if you need to, but I don't think he was listening. He was looking for his buddies so they could take a victory photo.)

 We can't wait until daddy can "walk on his two legs" again (as the kids say) and get back into running, and we're hopeful that Cora will find a love for the sport as well. It feels SO GOOD to get out there and work your body to its limits, build those muscles (including the HEART!), and enjoy that runner's high. We want our kids to know how important it is to us that they love exercise and keep themselves healthy, their whole lives. Plus, lots of races have discounted family registrations ;-)

Official Times:
Kristi - 34:35 (1st in her age group, 19th out of 450)
Eric - 35:28 (24th out of 450)
Ashley - 36:46 (2nd in her age group, 35th out of 450)
Al - 38:59 (55th out of 450)
Amy - 40:37 (1st in her age group, 76th out of 450)
Sophie - 41:40 (3rd in her age group, 98th out of 450)
Lori - 42:06 (102nd out of 450)
Terry - 42:56 (115th out of 450)
Denise - 43:12 (5th in my age group, 120th out of 450)
Lee - 44:30 (140th out of 450)
Christina - 44:47 (150th out of 450)
JP - 47:48 (193rd out of 450)
James - 11:40 (7th in his age group, 50th out of 68)
Manu - 13:24 (61st out of 68)
Will - 15:33 (63rd out of 68)