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Sunday, August 06, 2006

This Firefly's on FIRE!!

Yes I am! I am ON FIRE! I don't know where the energy came from, but I am not complaining. I woke up this morning at 7:30 and was out the door by 8 am. The weather was perfect for the race. We just received rain last night and was very cool. Driving to my destination was VERY smooth, but finding parking once I reached the race was another story. They blocked off ALL of the streets and parking lots near Lake Calhoun. CRAP! Time was ticking before the start of the race. I decided that I did not want fight parking near Lake Calhoun so I decided to park near Lake Harriet. It was a good distance to the start to warm-up my legs plus a very good cool-down distance too. I made it to the starting area in a good timing. I had enough time to finish getting the fluids, using the port-a-potty (OH ICK!!), and take my preventative dose from my inhaler. As I stood in the starting gate, I looked over to my right and saw one of my Law Enforcement classmates warming up. I shout over to her and say "Hi" to each other before taking the picture above. Before I know, the race coordinator does his speech before the race (which I did not understand ANY WORD of it) and WE ARE OFF. I start off really good - almost TOO good. When I reach the 1st mile mark, the girl was shouting out times. My time - 9:40. HOLY S$*%! I was going a little too fast because shins started to get a little nuts. I took a little slower and pressed on. I wanted to finish! The hills during the 2nd mile were really hard and I could feel it. I reach mile 2 and another girl was reading out times. My time - 20:50 (11:10 split time). Okay - look a little better, but a little slow. The last mile was the LONGEST mile I ran - at least it seemed that way. My mind was playing tricks on me. I was the little kid saying, "Are we there yet?" Plus the sun was coming out finally out of the clouds Finally, I saw the mile 3 marker and finish line. I heard the gal at the mile 3 marker call out times - still in the 31:40 range. I am set to have another PR. I pressed on and my 2nd wind kicked in. I finished big! I pressed really hard. As I crossed the finish line, I saw the timer had only budged one minute. YES! Well, to prevent you guys from going nuts. I DID IT! I set another PR with my chip time of 32:40. I blew the previous away by a LONG shot. I even blew my pace away to bit - and hit SUB-11 pace. I walked away from the finish line feeling really good. I ate some bagels, granola and smoothie samples. I also had my shoes looked at. I found out that I tend over-pronate, which I thought. It will help when I shop for a new pair of training shoes next month. I walked back to my car and drove away from the area to pick up my kids. Since my husband was still sick (on day 4 now!), I met my ex-husband to meet me somewhere else so do not get the kids sick. We met at the nearby McDonald's so we can have lunch after they arrive. After lunch, we went to see "The Ant Bully." I totally recommend the movie for anyone. Very funny movie! After the movie, we did the annual school supply shopping. Almost everything has been purchased - only a few minors things left, which was have PLENTY of time. Once we are done shopping, they head to swimming lessons. Besides, this being a race day. It's also my husband and I's 2nd wedding anniversary. The celebration will have to wait until he feels better. Oh well! Time to read the blogs and finally get a shower in. (Yes, ick, but I had fun today - sorry!) Tommorow's a cross-training day and Tuesday will be running day since the weather will be very nice. Today's work-out 5K race 32:40 10:31/mile - YEA BABY! Posted by Picasa

10 comments:

onepinkfuzzy said...

yay for PRs!!!

happy anniversary :)

Jess said...

congrats on your awesome race!!! and of course on setting a new PR!

Danielle said...

Congrats on a new PR. That's always a nice thing. For shoes, go to Marathon Sports. They have good people there to help you figure out what you need, and it's really close to your favorite running spot anyway (it's just south of Lake Harriet on Penn and 50th).

teacherwoman said...

Way to go on your race! And congrats on your anniversary!

Neese said...

OH THAT IS SO FANTASTIC!!!!!! YEAHHHHH! Happy PR and Anniversary!!!! Happy Dance!!!! ~!~!~!

Anne said...

Wonderful job. Nothing carries the day like a personal record. I bet your kids were happy too -- movies, McDonald's and school shopping. They probably wish Mom ran fast every weekend.

Laurie said...

Great race! I love the pics of Minneapolis too. You and Dori are making me homesick :(

Arcane said...

Looking strong! Congrats on the PR!

Kurt said...

Good job on the race! Great pics of the race also.

Dori said...

You rock, girl! Congratulations on a great race.