Run Like a Champion Today

I had a dream last night that I had to take a ferry to get to downtown for the Sunburst Races.

I took the ferry, then once I got there, realized I had left my bag with all my stuff back on the 'other side'. (The other side of what, don't ask me. I just know we had to take a boat to get there.)

So, I was on the 'race' side of downtown, minus my bag, which had my shoes and socks in it.

Luckily, there was a Wal-Mart kiosk on the bridge, so I bought a pair of shoes and a package of socks. (I distinctly remember being annoyed that I had to buy a huge pack of like 12 pairs of socks and that this silly Wal-Mart kiosk didn't sell single-serving socks.)

The problem was, I didn't have my chip timer with me to attach to my shoe.

I reconciled myself that I was going to have run this race without being timed, and decided I would just pay extra close attention to the timers on the side of the road.

The race started on a bridge (apparently, my dream had transformed downtown South Bend into some gigantic water metropolis) and as I headed out to the bridge for start time, I noticed the big clock that said 7:25. My race was supposed to start at 7:15. I thought, "huh, looks like they are getting started late" and then realized that everyone on the bridge was wearing 3K T-shirts. I started frantically asking everyone about the 5K and they all laughed and said, oh that race left 10 minutes ago.

I saw Ben standing on an overpass just above me, so I called up to him and started crying and said "I'm going to have to run this race without a chip timer plus it's the wrong race because the 5K already left so I'm going to have to run this 3K instead and everything is ruined"

and that's when I woke up.

It was one of those dreams that takes you a few minutes to realize it was all a dream, and this huge flood of relief washed over me as I realized that I still had the chance to run my race right.

By the time I woke up, it was about 5:30, and I wanted to leave the house by around 6 so I could get downtown about an hour before the race (you know, in case I missed the ferry). (Just kidding.)

So I got up and around, got dressed, stretched a little, checked my iPod battery, then whispered to Ben that I was leaving. I told him not to worry about bringing the kids in to catch my estimated 7:45a.m. finish time, but I was secretly super-hoping he would do it. He mumbled something unintelligible and then I was off.

The race itself went well, it was a super-hot day but luckily I missed most of that since the 5K was so early. They ended up black-flagging the marathon around noon because of the heat and humidity.

The race ended inside Notre Dame Stadium, which is actually pretty cool. Ben asked which one I liked better - the stadium, or the run around the Speedway during the mini. They were both pretty neat, but I liked the stadium better because that was the finish line -- it was already a big rush running through the tunnel and onto the football field, and to have that be the end of the race made it that much sweeter.

I think I did Ara Parseghian proud.

My goal was 30 minutes -- I ran it in 30:18, which I'm okay with for my first 5K. I plan to do more, not crazy more, but it's a good race for me.

By the way, Ben did make it, with all three kids, waiting in the stadium for me as I finished. We then went out for a pancake breakfast which I devoured and then regretted about an hour later, as my stomach revolted against that compared to the poor pre-race nutrition I had provided it, since I had forgotten my protein bar & banana breakfast I had planned to eat on my way to the race.

Noah kept asking me, "which place did you get?" (I told him we'd have to check when we got home. Turns out I got 1426th place. That's a bit much for a not-quite-four-year-old to understand.)

(Side note: I did get 63rd out of a total of 259 runners in the Female 30-34 category. Not terrible, considering I'm really a hobby-runner at best. Ben was impressed, which is really all that counts here.)

Travis told me it looked there were "three-hundred" people in that race, and was astounded when I told him it was actually more like three thousand.

Sophie just wanted to cuddle with me, and put her hands on my face, and say "you got all wet, you must be dirty!"

Next up: Urban Adventure in late July. Watch for our training video coming soon.