Well folks, we finished our second race. Praise the Lord!!!
Let's start with Friday night....We all decided to stay in Birmingham instead of fighting traffic on race day. We stayed at the Sherraton. We all stayed in the same room, which was a HOOT. Lashay camped out in a sleeping bag in the floor...bless! We all had the giggles till about 0130ish and had a great time bonding with friends.
Race day we woke up T.I.R.E.D. All that bonding caught up with us. We got dressed, ate the 22 buck buffet and hit the road. People, it was COLD. I'm talking need to run in a parka cold. Thank the good Lord, I was supplied with plenty of thermal, hand warmers and thick socks! We made it to the starting line with time to spare.
The race was beyond sub zero conditions. The last race I tuned out the cold...this race...the wind kept reminding me. It literally took my breath and chapped my face (which I am currently trying to soothe). I ran with 3 layers and froze to death! 1224 runners participated. The atmosphere was incredible. The adrenaline was pumping and there were camera crews everywhere.
The race started promptly at 0745. Meaning, some guy was trying to give a speech and they basically told him to end it so they could fire the gun. BANG!! We are off and running. We positioned ourselves upfront, which later I learned was a great idea because the people behind us were so crowded they couldn't run for a little while. The best part, to me, was the unknowns cheering us all the way. I asked the volunteers handing out water what mile we were on....they had no idea. How do you not know that? The crowd was so supportive, even the b'ham PD. (It makes it easy to run with people yelling at me). Some person had a sign saying "Run like ur being chased by zombies" Lol. When the race lapped back on itself, I saw Heather and then Lashay. We exchanged celebratory 'whooohoos'. I ended up only walking 1/2 mile. I was impressed of my ability to keep a steady paced run with the wind and all. When I walked some lady said "RUN!! The finished line is 1/2 mile away gurl". That gave me the extra energy to kick it in high gear! Then suddenly, I hear the most amazing sound ever....the crowd and announcer at the finish line. I saw Derek, Heather and Ryne cheering me on at the finish line. I was so happy to see them!!! I enjoyed the hugs, high fives and knuckles. It meant a lot to know that the menfolk stood out in the cold to watch us finish this race. It was an amazing experience! We will be back in the 'Ham' doing the half marathon and I'm glad about that!!!
Thank you to all the texts, calls and facebook support. I love my friends so much!!! I am truly blessed to know all of you! A big thank you to Derek and Ryne for going with us. If they wouldn't have came with us, we would still be driving around looking for the parking deck! It is nice to feel supported by family and friends. It makes it all worth it.
Now to the results!
Race #1. Race #2
Heather 33.24. 28.55
Lashay. 38.16. 33.41
Me. 39.26. 34.52
Placements are as followed...
Age. Sex. Overall
Heather 9/65. 80/656. 266/1224
Shay. 27/65. 225/656. 545/1224
Me. 41/88. 263/656. 607/1224
I'm so proud of the time we shaved off!!! Get ready, next race is around the corner!!
Loves,
Jenn
You totally kicked butt. I'm impressed with how much time you were able to cut off even with the cold and the wind. Good job. It's fun when you see the fruits of your labor eh? :) I'm currently on my phone, so if the grammar turns out to be horrible, blame stupid autocorrect. :P I'll write more later. Hopefully web I get my laptop back from my wife. (Hers is probably dead.) :P
ReplyDeleteThanks Justin I was SHOCKED!!!!! Totally took ur advice thanks so much!!!
Delete