After driving for eleven hours, we arrived at my mom's house in Kentucky. My sister and I had signed up for the local Thanksgiving Day 10K race / fun run.
The morning of the race, rain was coming down pretty steadily. My sister bailed on me. She didn't want to get wet ... worried about melting since she's pretty sweet.
I decided that I was going anyway. I hadn't run in over a week in prayer that my left foot would feel better to run on. It didn't feel the greatest, but after a few Tylonel, I could run without limping. I was so determined to run. Running has been such a great joy and stress reliever for me.
I drove myself to downtown Cincinnati. The race was to start and end at the Paul Brown stadium, where the Cincinnati Bengals play. Parking was surprisingly easy.
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| People were huddling inside the stadium since it was raining. |
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| Waiting for the start. |
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| The people behind me. The rain had stopped. |
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| Before the start. Lovin' my new ipod. |
Mile 1: 10:52
First mile was slower than what I wanted. I was constantly weaving around other runners trying to get into my groove.
Mile 2: 10:15
Feeling good and in the groove.
Mile 3: 11:13
Left foot is starting to really hurt. The course took us over the first bridge that crosses the river.
Mile 4: 11:36
Saw a couple dressed as an Indian (bow and arrow) and a Pilgrim.
Mile 5: 11:55
Another bridge crossing back over the river. Left foot is crying.
Mile 6: 11:33
The end is in sight and I focused on enjoying the race. Of course, people watching was a hoot!
The last 0.2: 11:26
Passed by a gentlemen who had collapsed from a heart attack. The paper covered the story and he had lived. He was fortunate that two nurses were running just a few yards behind him and administered CPR within seconds of his collapse. Also, a young runner ran off course to get the ambulance which was only a block away. The gentleman ended up having a quadruple bypass and is on his way to recovery.
Official Results:
1:10:21
(11:21 pace)
342 / 602 in my age group
3135 / 5488 in women
7312 / 10756 overall
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| Finished! |
Hey. you won another of my dealys, btw. The mustard bath... I need your addy again!
ReplyDeletenzeller at shaw dot ca
Don't beat yourself up because you didn't do as well as you wanted. I think it is great that you still ran under less-than-ideal conditions. I have been unmotivated since the paths I usually run on are covered in snow. You inspire me, even on your bad days. :)
ReplyDeleteI miss Thanksgiving day runs . . . my girls are in the Indianapolis choir and the last two years have sung in a Thanksgiving service putting our yearly tradition turkey run on hold. Although this year it was cold and went here too and I was kind of glad I wasn't running! Good for you for getting out. Sorry to hear your foot is bothering you.
ReplyDeletesorry you were having pain issues but congrats running a good race now that you've run a big race do you prefer bigger or smaller races?
ReplyDeleteGreat job you!!! You ran you conquered despite your foot be proud!
ReplyDelete