I got up at 4:45 am this morning. I actually felt good when I woke up and had no issues shaking off the sleep.I met Beth at 5:15 and we were on the road. The trip there was pretty uneventful and took us about 1:50. We found the park no problem and got a really lucky front row parking spot in a lot right across from the start. We got the last place in the lot, so that was cool. I had checked the weather and it was supposed to be 32ish at the start, but it was FREEZING. Both Beth and I were contemplating what we should wear. It was way colder than I expected. I ended up running in my pants (thank goodness right), a fitted tank top with a long sleeve tech shirt over it and then my vest, ear band and gloves. IT ended up warming up quite a bit and turned into a gorgeous day. We got signed in and got our numbers, etc. For doing this race, you get shorts, get it, just a short run. They were nice Brooks shorts and were maroon. I had also paid extra for a tech tee, but it was an enormous small!

Beth and I decided to run to warm up since we had some time. WE managed to do 2 miles. Then it was 8:30 and time to go! There was a 5K, HM and 30K. The 30Kers started a half mile up the road from everyone else. Then we ran the 5K course which had a monster hill, that killed me, but I got up it and back down and all the sudden we were running back by the start and getting ready for the 3 - 5 mile loops. This race took place in a park, so it was very scenic. There were over a 1000 people, so there were folks around me for a lot of the race. I did the first 5 mile loop with very little problem, I felt good and ran anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30, there were 3 rolling hills on the loop. Once I started the second loop, around mile 9 my stomach really started to bother me. That's my running curse. I had taken in 1 gel and a few short blocks, they had them on the course. I decided to just slow down and try to run through it and after awhile it calmed down. Around mile 11-13 is kicked in again and then around mile 16. But I managed to run through it and didn't stop to go to the bathroom, which is actually a big accomplishment for me! Aside from the stomach I ran strong until mile 14 (which was really 16 b/c of the warm up) my hamstring and feet were just killing me, I wanted to be done. I started walking the water stops and slowed down quite a bit. By the time I took the final turn I was so ready to be done. I kicked it up a notch for the last 1 mile. I finished in 2:59:30. So, under 3 hours, which was m secret goal. I ran it all in around a 9:30 pace, but there was a good chunk ran around 8:45-9, I just slowed down with belly problems, etc. I was surprised my feet bothered me so badly. I can't say I feel super confident for the marathon at this point. But I am on target to finish around 4:20 which is my goal. Oh yeah, I forgot to say the race course was long today. Both Beth and I had 18.8ish on our garmins. And Ms. Beth got 1st place in her age group with an awesome time of 2:38 and change. I was so happy for her.

At the end of the race, if you were still there they had a bunch of raffles. Not many people were there, so the odds were good, but I didn't win anything. They raffled off a bunch of running painting and a vacation to ocean city. At the end they did give away the rest of the tech tees, which were XLs, but I grabbed 2 for Gary. Then stocked up on the leftover fruit and chips. I came home with some serious swag.

I am very worn out. Gary is at his dads, but should be home soon. I think we'll go see a movie tonight. Tomorrow I need to swim and bike. fun, fun. And if it stays this nice, I'll need to do yard work.