Running RussVegas

Almost three weeks ago I ran the RussVegas Half Marathon for the third time. Two days after completing the Little Rock 10k/Half Marathon Challenge I began training with a break 2 plan for RussVegas. Even though I broke the two hour time when I ran it last year, I loved the plan and wanted to break 2 hours again, maybe even set a new PR.
Training went far better than I could have expected considering the amount of training I had been doing to this point. I was feeling pretty confident. Until the last couple weeks. We had a weather change, that happened to coincide with my knee deciding it was done training. It seemed most runs after that were pretty difficult and if they weren't difficult it was because I cut back miles, laid off the speed work, or just kept things extremely laid back.

When race day came, I was in a good place. I love this race. I love the course, the spirit stations, the finish line energy. It's all fantastic. I knew my number one goal was to finish still loving it all. By this time though, I was most excited about the fact that my dad was running it too! He took nearly a 6 year running hiatus and rather than easing back into it, jumped all in to prepare to run RussVegas.

The three of us got to the finish line by 7:00am. As is our usual, we stood around letting the excitement from other runners soak in. A little later we moved into our corral, took the traditional start line selfie, then with good luck wishes, Scott and I moved a little closer to the front of the corral. Dad was assigned B also, but he didn't want to start too far forward. I was looking for the pacers but it wasn't until we were pretty packed in that I noticed they were all (from 1:55-2:20) at the front. I'm not sure what the deal was, but I wished they had been spread out like in the past. I was really counting on using a pacer to keep me going. Too much really.

When the race started, we did a bit of weaving until the crowd cleared a little. In the process we passed a couple pacers. By the time we got to mile 2 or so Scott and I had passed the 2 hour pacer. I was feeling pretty good. I was quite worried about my knee, but hadn't had any trouble in the day or two leading up to the race and I was hopeful things would stay that way. Unfortunately by the fourth mile I had a pretty good idea that I'd have to lay off the pace if I wanted to finish the race without hurting myself or at the very least still wanting to come back. I know it's hard when I'm on a long gradual downhill early in the race and it still feels extremely difficult. I kept pushing though. The temperature was climbing quickly. It wasn't warm for a typical spring day, but the sun was strong and for a runner who is pushing extra hard, the warmth made a difference for sure.

I pushed for a few more miles. By mile 7 my legs were already jello, but I kept pushing. I held a PR pace for almost 9 miles. I do not have a single regret about pulling back. I am confident I would not have made it those last 4 miles holding the sub 9 min/mile pace. I'm almost as confident that if I had tried, I would have ended up on the side of the course with a DNF. Once I made the decision to pull back, the race changed for me. I stopped looking at my watch (I had no idea of my finish time for quite a while after finishing... who AM I!?). I walked a couple times. I was able to thank the volunteers. I encouraged the early start racers. All the things that are my favorite parts of racing when I don't have a time goal. Scott later said there was a noticeable difference in my demeanor. More than me talking to others, but the way I carried myself and the look on my face.
Between 9 and 11 miles there was off and on rain. I could have cried I was so happy. Another happy cry moment happened as we hit 11 miles... my dear friend Andrea was there waiting! She drove almost 2 hours just to spectate. She's pretty special.

The next mile was pretty quiet. Too quiet for me really. It gave me too much time to think about the stinking huge hill coming up. We made the turn and I set a goal that was about half way up the overpass. About half way to that goal I stopped. Not stopped moving, just stopped running. This hill is the kind of steep that makes my heart rate sky rocket. One day I hope to keep it under control and run the whole thing. For now,  I'm ok with walking and smiling nicely for the camera. :)

At the top Scott said something about barely a mile to go and that made me so happy I flew down the other side. Between a beach themed spirit station, businesses out playing music and spectating, other people cheering, there is a lot to see in the last mile. I was feeling good and ready to crush the last bit of the course. Then, out of nowhere, my knee painfully tried to give out. Half a mile to the finish line. That's all. I tried to limp through it as I've been able to do sometimes before. I ended up walking and gave myself permission to be frustrated for a minute and then tried to jog it out again. I could see the turn to the finish line and all I wanted was to cross the line without anymore walking. When we turned I told Scott I was sure I didn't have anything left. No finish line kick would come.
I was wrong. It wasn't my fastest kick, but it still surprised me. Just like it always does. I was so happy and extremely thankful to be done. I was never worried about not finishing, but somewhere deep down I must have been worried about something because as soon as I finished I felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

I did not break two hours. I did not PR. I did finish the race smiling. I did finish basically injury free. I did still finish with a big love for running.

Chip Time- 2:03:29
Overall Place- 283/1233
Female Overall Place- 102/797
Female Age Group- 19/133

After receiving our medals and getting some snacks we found Andrea waiting for us outside the finisher's area. We talked for a few and then went to find a good place to wait and watch for my dad to finish. Andrea stood in front of the finish line, and we found a place just beyond. As soon as I heard his name I started shouting, startling the volunteers that were on the inside of the finish line area. Oops! :)
I'm so so proud of my dad. It's so fun to see him running again!

We didn't hang around long. After taking some pictures we decided to leave. Scott, Dad, and I were hopeful we could have late check out so we didn't have to drive the long drive being stinky.

This is my third year to run RussVegas. I've loved it more each time. The first two years I got a PR each time so I wasn't sure if my opinion of the race was bias because of that. Turns out it's not. The course is beautiful; a good mix of backroads lined with beautiful green trees and busy city roads full of distractions. The spectators, aid and spirit stations have always been great! And the medals rank up there in my top favorites. I definitely love this race and already look forward to next year!

Stay tuned, one week after RussVegas I ran the National Women's Half Marathon in Washington DC! Hopefully that recap is coming soon. :-D

10k & Half Marathon Challenge- Little Rock Marathon Weekend

Take Two!

This recap is a long time coming. Life's been changing, and so very busy. I can't NOT post my recaps because I do them mostly for myself and I love having a digital journal to look back on. However, I am definitely realizing that as detailed as I am, I really need to cut back if I'm going to keep up with my running blog.

But I don't know how. lol

Four weeks ago Scott and I did the Little Rock Marathon- 10k and Half Marathon Combo Challenge. This was the second time I've done the combo, but a first for Scott. The weather was not great, but I have not experienced a LR Marathon Weekend with good weather. I've done the odd years, and it seems those are the years where weather is less than stellar. Even years seem to be not so bad. I guess I will need to do the races again next year. :-D

Because there is no race day packet pick up we needed to get to Little Rock on Friday for our Saturday 10k pickup. When we arrived things did not seem very busy, but there was some confusion when it came to packets. The couple in front of me seemed to have trouble receiving theirs, and Scott and I both had to wait a bit for ours. I will say, I think we were in the wrong line. I did not see a line that was for the combo racers. That is fully on me and I definitely apologized for being in the wrong line.

We had a hotel for the weekend to make things less complicated with back and forth driving. Saturday morning the 5k and 10k races started at 7:30. We were only about 10 minutes from the start line, but with the anxiousness that comes with race morning I, of course, wanted to allow plenty of time to get there and walk to the start. I don't like to deal with parking downtown, and I really don't like to pay for parking. I'd rather walk a little extra. The race started near the Statehouse Convention Center (also where the expo was held) and we parked in the lot for the Clinton Library. It was a little over a half mile walk. There was no gear check for the 5k and 10k so planning ahead for appropriate layers for feels like temps in the 30's with high wind before, during, and after the race were important. And almost impossible. As we walked from the car to the start line I could tell already that I needed to shed my top layer.

I got my layers situated as each corral started and we moved forward. We crossed the start line and it quickly became clear that I might need to adjust my goal for this race. Leading up to race weekend I had sort of been planning to give it all I had and try to PR. Friday morning I woke up with my throat swollen and by that night I was feeling pretty lousy. I was determined to ignore it, but I wasn't sure how I would be able to perform. I felt the decision had been made for me when I realized we were in a corral with mostly walkers. I will say it every time, EVERYONE worked hard and deserves to be at any race. Scott and I weaved through the congestion of excited participants for over half a mile, and things seemed to open up comfortably by the time we hit one mile. Once things opened up we were able to pick up the pace. Being in the cold seemed to clear me up a bit and the next thing I know our pace had dropped significantly and before I knew it I was suddenly on track for a PR. Scott was a great encourager, as always. The hills were killer. As we were heading back, we had maybe a mile and a half to go, we were heading towards the river which, in my head, should have meant only flat or downhill for the most part. I remember saying to Scott, how can we possibly be going up another steep hill when we are heading back and are so close to the river!? I still don't know. :)
We hit the 5 mile marker and I knew we had to be over the worst of the hills. We started a decent towards the river and I stretched out my stride. I was excited to hopefully pick up the pace even more. As we were coming up to an intersection with less than 3/4 of a mile to go and still a fantastic downhill, I noticed a large number of people. I knew by this point we had rejoined the 5k route so I figured it was a bunch of 5k finishers we would just run around. Then I realized they were stopped. Then a new realization hit. Even the runners that had just passed Scott and me were stopped. I kept running thinking surely I was imagining things in my sick and exhausted state of mind. And then I came to a dead stop because there was car traffic crossing the intersection. There was no way for us to continue. The volunteer at that intersection that was supposed to be stopping traffic was actually stopping racers. I wish I was wrong. But I wasn't. He was holding his hand up to us and waving the cars on by. To say we all just sat there and let it happen would be a lie. A majority of us, including the 5k walkers, were telling him that he needed to stop the traffic and let us go. It was unbelievable. It felt like we were stopped for at least a couple minutes. Based on my watch time versus my chip time it was not long at all. Yes, I did pause my watch. I was not about to have something completely out of my control prevent me from getting a PR. And at this point, that dead stop at an intersection was the only thing stopping me.
Most of us had started inching our way into the intersection and finally took a chance to cross in between some cars. As soon as I was safely across I took off. It helped that we were still heading down a hill. I looked at my pace after we crossed the intersection and I was running a sub 7 pace and managed to hold a sub 8 pace for nearly 1/4 mile. The last half mile has a couple short and not steep hills. I knew after we got over the second one the finish line would be in view. I was only mostly sure I had my PR. I thought I did, but I purposefully had not looked before the race to see what I needed to do in order to PR. Since I had been feeling sick on Friday I didn't want the pressure at the race. I had actually intended to just do the distance at whatever was comfortable. But after encouragement from Scott and a series of texts from my running buddy, Angela, I decided to push as best as possible. And I'm glad I did!

  https://youtu.be/p-kcvP49vog?t=2301

After crossing the finish line there is a bell that finishers can ring. We had a little fun with that and then got our medals. I really like the set up for the race this year. I don't know if it was like this last year, but it definitely was not this way in 2017. The finishers area is blocked off and leads people into the lower level of the Statehouse Convention Center. Medals were handed out as we entered the building. It was so nice to finish a cold run like we had and be able to go into a warm building. The only thing was, we had parked half a mile away and still had to get back to the car. :-P
Just before leaving the finisher's area there's a spot set up for participants to put in their bib number and get the official finish time and stats. I was definitely using my watch for my time, but wanted to compare, and it wasn't until I got the printout that I looked up my last PR.

Previous 10k PR- Time 56:06, Pace 8:59 
Chip Time- 55:02, Pace 8:52
Watch Time- 54:45, Pace 8:42
Placement:
10k Overall- 116th/1169
Age Group- 17th/168
Female Age Group- 5th/104

It's been a month and I'm just now seeing the placement stats. To say I'm in shock in an understatement. Fifth!! I placed 5th in the female division of my age group. Going for a placement in a race of this size has never been a goal of mine. I don't know that it ever will be. But seeing, and knowing, that I was within TWO PEOPLE of getting an award, is pretty stinking amazing. I don't need an award. I'm thrilled just knowing I was that close. Never in my running dreams have I ever thought I'd be where I am now. 
To look at the 3rd and 4th place finishers in my age group, they were basically tied. The 4th place finish just milliseconds behind. And I was just ONE MINUTE behind them. I've been sitting here shaking my head for 10 minutes. I can't get over it. 

We left the finisher's area and Scott and I walked back to our car and spent the rest of the day trying to stay warm. We met up with my friend Andrea and her husband for dinner. Andrea was running her first half marathon on Sunday and was sharing our hotel room Saturday night. After dinner we went back to the room and relaxed. I was starting to feel bad again and just wanted to lay down. 

Sunday morning things went smoothly. I don't think I've been so relaxed before a long distance race. I can't speak for Andrea, but on the outside she seemed pretty relaxed. :) 
While the was no bag check for the 5k and 10k, there was for the half and full marathons. I was so grateful for that. We checked our bags in the same room at the Statehouse Convention Center as the expo was held and a few minutes later we were leaving the building and heading to our corral. From the moment we entered, it seemed like we were constantly moving forward towards the start line. I was so excited for Andrea to be running her first half, which I planned to run with her, and also excited for Scott because I knew he would not stay with us and I had high hopes for him to PR for the first time in 8 years. 8 years ago was the last time Scott ran a half marathon for himself. He's done every other one with me. Which I love, but I'm glad he had a chance to run on his own with no obligation to stay with me. (His feelings, not mine) It didn't take more than maybe 1/4 of a mile for Scott to take off. 
It started to drizzle just as we started running, and developed into a steady light rain quickly. The rain came down for the next hour. It didn't stop for over an hour. That didn't stop Andrea and me from making the most of the race. We talked, we watched for the elite runners to pass by (when we were at about 1.5 miles and they were at about 3), we encouraged other runners, and sometimes we kept to our own thoughts. 

Around 6 miles we began the long out and back section of the course. I was hoping we would see Scott on his way back and we did! I saw him coming and we shouted and cheered for him. He looked cold but was running strong. I was so proud! After I saw him at this point, I started tracking him on the app. I just knew he was going to PR. Sure enough, he beat his previous time by 2 minutes. If he had been more trained (he did most of his runs at my pace) and if the weather hadn't been so lousy I'm confident he would have done even better. He's amazing! 

Andrea ran a strong race. I don't know how much she was keeping track of our pace, but I'm thinking not as much as I was based on her later reaction at the finish area. As best I can remember, we didn't walk once, not even on the crazy uphills in the last half of the course. I say "we". She didn't. Twice I dropped something and had to stop and pick it up. I felt horrible for being in the way of the other runners. We had dry conditions for about 4 miles and then around 11 miles the hail began. At first it was so seldom that I thought it was small petals coming off trees that were starting to bloom. But then about half a mile later those "petals" hit my face. And it hurt. I felt pretty ridiculous when it was pointed out that it was hailing and not raining flowers. 
About this same time is when we saw Andrea's husband and kids. They were just getting out of the car on a corner as we made a turn with a little over a mile to go. Andrea and I didn't really talk about it, but I think it was a pick me up and just the right time to focus and bring it home. I noticed she kept picking up the pace, and we would pull back. We made the same last turn that Scott and I did for the 10k and another runner asked how much further. I did my best to explain the last bit, we could actually catch glimpses of the finish line even with those couple rolling hills still looming ahead. 
Andrea picked up the pace and I told her to pull back for a little longer. I knew she had an incredibly strong finish in her, but I didn't want her to start too soon and lose it before the end. She started to surge one more time just before we hit the 13 mile marker. I told her if she was ready let's go for it. And boy did she go for it! As we approached the finish line all I remember is being so very very proud of my friend. My friend who all through training, followed her plan, did all the right things, still ran through pain, and still ran a stronger race than she knew possible. I heard the announcer say her name, as if he knew this was Andrea's first half marathon. I  know he said other names. There were just a few other people around us, but Andrea was in the "spotlight".  She ran her race and she deserved it. 

https://youtu.be/15N8_i4vg-g?t=4538

Between the finish line, and printing our results, amazingness happened. We got our medals of course, with me making a pit stop at the challenge table since I had done the 10k also. Then we made a turn and the finishers line made its way around a buffet of sorts. It. Was. Awesome. We were given a little bag and there were so many things we could add. I smelled food. There was pasta. It was so good! I have no idea who supplied it. There were so many drinks. Milk, pop, beer for those who drank it, orange juice... all the stuff! My word, I couldn't get my hands on the food fast enough! As we exited the finishers area into the reunion area I found Scott. It took me a minute to realize where we were. Turns out, we exited into the same room where bag check was. Of all the convenient parts of this race, this may have been my favorite. No searching, or walking all over creation in the cold, to find my much needed layers. We got our bags, then stopped at the results table.

Total Time- 2:21:21
Avg Pace- 10:47

My favorite part about running this with Andrea, well, I actually can't pick just one, but a stand out moment was when we printed our stats and she officially saw for the first time her finish time and pace. Tears were shed. Hugs were given. Pride was shining so big I felt the whole room (and it was a BIG room) could see.

We probably spent too much time inside, knowing that we had to make the half mile walk back to the car. Like a dummy, I didn't bring a change of clothes. I promised myself after my Hot Chocolate 15k St Louis experience, that I would be more responsible when it came to winter races. I don't know why I would uphold that when I'm not very responsible in most other aspects of running. I try. I really do. :) Anyway, NEXT time, I will bring a full change of clothes. Seriously. Everyone should do it.

Overall impressions: This was the best experience I have had with the Little Rock Marathon weekend. I loved that the finisher's area was indoors, and the food an beverage options were far better than what has been offered before. I'm wondering if things happening in the Statehouse Convention Center have been happening for a while and I just hadn't realized it in the past. Two years ago we definitely didn't finish and get led into the building. Whatever the case I'm really loving it! The whole experience was so great that I'm anxious to register for next year. :-D 

My training doesn't end there... In four weeks I'll be running the RussVegas Half Marathon, followed immediately the next weekend with the National Women's Half Marathon in Washington DC. I'm super excited for both! 

Hot Chocolate 15k Nashville

Racing in the winter is a funny thing. The fact that I even planned to do a race (two actually) in the winter is an even funnier thing. Training through the winter is one thing. I can push a training run to a different time or a totally different day if the weather is not good. Race day can't be moved. After my last race experience at the Hot Chocolate 15k in St Louis I was really hoping that we would get lucky with the weather in Nashville. I started obsessively looking for other running blogs that would maybe mention the weather for past years. The weather was all over the place, ranging from below 30 to over 60 degrees. As soon as I was able I started watching the 14 day forecast. At first it was saying mid 40's and no rain for the low temp leading into race morning, with a high in the 60's. This seemed pretty optimal, especially for after the race. I was really wanting to show Scott my favorite parts of Nashville. By the time race day came, the numbers had dropped quite a bit and it ended up raining most of Friday and up to a couple hours before the race.

Scott and I really try to not pay for parking when possible and really don't mind walking to get where we need to go. So even though there was a heavy drizzle when we arrived downtown for the expo, we parked across the river and walked a little less than a mile to the Musicians Hall of Fame for packet pickup. The process was pretty much the same as it had been for the Hot Chocolate 15k in St Louis. We showed our proof of registration email and a sticker was printed to put on our bib. The sticker had our name and corral assignment. When the volunteer handed over our bibs I was completely shocked to see we had been assigned to corral A!! Never ever would I have thought that would happen in a race of this size. My guess is that probably not as many people submitted proof of time. Or rather, based on the pacers I saw in that corral (10min/mile on up), maybe the number of people submitting for those ranges was small enough compared to the others. Whatever the case, I was ecstatic!
After we got our bibs we went over to the goodie bag area and got our hoodies. Since I had signed up for the female cut hoodie in St Louis I chose the the other one this time. These hoodies are super soft and comfortable. I love that we get them with registration!

Scott and I didn't stay long at the expo. Our goal was to get checked into our hotel and chill for the rest of the day. Our morning began at 4:00am so we were tired and on top of that Scott was recovering from the flu. Yeah, let's talk about the stress that caused.

I know we aren't the only people in the history of racing to deal with sickness leading up to a race. :) I do think this is the first time for us though. That it's been this bad anyway. I always get the sniffles or a phantom sickness when I'm tapering, but nothing that has prevented me, Scott in this case, from finishing up training.
I've actually been dual training. I have a 10k/half marathon challenge two weeks after this 15k. The distance worked perfectly to throw this race in as a bonus "let's get a medal for training" type of race. I'm running the half marathon with a friend and I'm doing the 10k with Scott. Which means it will be a faster pace. I have kept speed work in my training so I'd be prepared to stay with Scott. Our training had us on track to run a pretty fast (for me) 15k. About three weeks out Scott got a cold. He decided to not run for a few days so he would recover faster, and he bounced back quickly. But then the Sunday before the race he got hit out of nowhere with an even worse cold. That's what I was telling myself he was dealing with, because I could not accept that he had the flu when we had special plans. Not only did we have the race on Saturday, but we had planned to make a weekend getaway out of this trip to celebrate Valentine's Day and Scott's birthday. All week long I stressed about whether or not we would be able to even go to Nashville. Scott didn't leave the house, and hardly left the couch,  all week. After the worst of his sickness passed Scott said he would be doing the race, but would have to decide on the goal later. I knew I wanted to run this one with Scott no matter what so I told him it didn't matter what we ended up doing, even if we walked the whole time. I was just glad he was feeling well enough to consider doing the race.

Our hotel was one mile from race central at Bicentennial Park. Again, because we didn't want to pay for parking, or really worry about looking for a spot on race morning, adding to any start line anxiety I would inevitably have, we walked from the hotel to the park. We could feel the wetness in the air from all the rain and it was cold. It definitely was not as cold as the St Louis race though. Our walk was faster than I expected and when we finished going through gear check we still had nearly 30 minutes until the race started. Since we had taken off a layer to leave in our bag, the cold was obviously more noticeable. We decided to keep walking around until the corrals started filling up.
It felt weird walking through the opening into corral A. I was definitely having feelings of inadequacy. I was also worried about Scott. He'd kept pretty quiet and I was wondering if he should even be outside. I asked him if he was at all excited and he said yes. That helped for some reason. I felt like I could be excited and happy to be there. I did not have any pre race jitters, although I did have some wariness about the hills I knew we would be running. I did a long run in the outskirts of Nashville back in September and I was shocked at how hilly it was.

As usual the wheelchair start happened first. In addition to those in wheelchairs, there was another group of participants with disabilities. Not all were visible to just anyone, but each of them had a guide. I absolutely love seeing how nothing stops these amazing people. Just a minute or two later it was our turn. It happened so fast. I'm used to waiting at least a few minutes before it's my turn to cross the start line. That was good though. Those last few minutes are when I tend to do the most over thinking.

I think I underestimated how Scott would do at the race. I should have known better. My fast is his comfortable. And he can be a little stubborn. :) Barely half a mile in and I was falling behind Scott. I went back and forth on what layers to wear before we left the hotel. There were so many things to consider. Finally after struggling up a couple hills I knew I needed to shed a layer if I was going to run well. It was a good decision, at least for the moment. I felt free, and it showed in my splits. Mile 3 was my fastest of the whole race and I was able to catch up with Scott.
Around 3 1/2 miles Scott stepped aside to get some water and that's when he told me that he didn't think he would be able to continue running the way we had been. I reminded him that our goal was to finish the race and that was all.

Miles 2 1/2 to almost 4 1/2 or so are part of a long section of out and back. Near mile 4 the course enters Centennial Park. Through the trees we could see runners heading back to the out and back long stretch. I was unfamiliar with the course and the number of out and back sections really surprised me. In the moment it wasn't surprise though, it was frustration. It was mentally draining. More than that, the turn around points were sneaky. Now, I realize that is not on purpose. I just don't have another way to describe them. The hardest were between miles 5 and 6. As we were heading up another hill we could see that the course made a T. At the top (or so we thought) of the hill we were on, we would turn left but we could also see  that there were runners crossing our street and continuing to the right. And then runners were coming from the right back to the road we were on.

We turned left and our hill continued. I made an assumption that the turn around was at the top, but it turns out, once at the top we go right back down a hill, and the turn around was at the bottom. It was a very tight turn around leading right back into the up hill. That was painful. The road leveled out briefly at the T, but then we went up another hill. This one curved so we didn't see the turn around to go back until the top of the hill. I was honestly a bit devastated to see the turn around was at the bottom of the hill. Again we had a tight turn leading right back into an uphill.
This was obviously a very hard race. The course with its hills and out and back sections and the weather being wet and cold made it pretty difficult to enjoy. And that's just how *I* felt. With Scott recovering from being sick I knew it was so much worse for him. We walked a lot in the last 2/3 of the race. I welcomed those walks, but it's unusual for Scott to walk so I knew he needed them. Through all this, I really wanted to be for Scott whatever he needed me to be. I probably over compensated to the point of annoyingly overbearing.

Just past mile 7 we turned back onto the long road. I began counting down the distance. Through the last couple (still hilly) miles, our walks grew closer together, but we were moving and however it happened, it got us closer to the finish line. We had a nice downhill as we finished the ninth mile, but we must have taken it a bit fast because then we did one last walk. The encouragement from other runners is one of my favorite parts of any race. I try to make a point to be encouraging, but I know I could do better. With 1/3 mile left we had a good handful of people, runners that passed us and runners that had already finished, tell us how close we were and other happy thoughts. I got focused on looking for the finish line. From the last turn it was maybe not quite 1/4 mile. It seemed to take forever. And then I heard our names and it was like something clicked. This is why I race.

Even when conditions are far from optimal. Even when my husband has been sick but still wants to go. Even when I decided mid race that I probably wouldn't do this one again because it is THAT hard. The pride and accomplishment I feel when crossing the finish line is worth all the hardest courses in bad weather. And for the record, I WOULD do this race again.

Scott and I crossed the line together and I believe our finish line pictures tell our recap fairly well.

The goal when we finished was to first, find a photographer because I wanted at least one picture of us together and smiling.  The pictures are free so why not?? Our next goal was back to gear check. If I learned nothing from the St Louis race, it's that I should not stay in my sweaty wet clothes if I plan to be outside much past the finish line. Did I take care of myself? Of course not. I put my coat on and we tip toed across a muddy field toward the tent where hot chocolate waited. The closer we got to the finisher mug tent, the worse the mud got. There was no tip toeing around. Trudging was more like it. There was not a sign of grass. It was kind of fun, but I was truly worried about slipping and hurting myself.

I was not miserable like I was in St Louis, but by no means comfortable. It was still barely 30 degrees and we had our mile walk back to the hotel. While we didn't stop for many pictures, there were still a couple I felt were necessary. :) Maybe next time I will actually follow through and change my clothes. ;)

While Scott and I were resting before checking out of the hotel we were talking about the race. I truly couldn't get past how hard this one was. I did say a couple different times that I would not do it again. I think though, I would. I won't forget the difficulty, but I think I could train to embrace it. Even though I welcomed the walks Scott and I did, I think I could have pushed myself to run at least 75% more of those walks than I did. Even with our walks though, I still PR'd by almost 3 minutes.

Yep, I can train to embrace it.