Hello friends! So in an act of craziness I planned my long run the day before a race this week. I don’t usually run consecutive days in a row, and I have never run the day after a long run, but unfortunately, the universe doesn’t always revolve around the schedule I would like to have. What’s up with that? Get it together universe. Anyway, I woke up today for the first time ever with my legs feeling sore from my run. I mean, my legs have been sore plenty of times. From bodyworks, squats, lunges, etc, but never from running. I was super stiff when I woke up this morning, but figured the run was just for fun and it would be nice to loosen my legs up a little.
Nicole got to our house around 7:30 and we headed out to the race. My only other race to compare it to was the Komen, and I definitely liked that this one was less crowded and legitimately timed. We got there pretty early so we took some pictures in our awesome outfits.
Super hero undies give us super speed powers! That is the goal, anyway.
"I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR!!!!" Or something like that.
We also tried to take jumping pictures, but I ended up with an awful double chin, so that is definitely not getting posted. Sorry Nicole, I’m kind of vain 😉 Also, there was a man wearing the EXACT same outfit as me. Seriously, same undies with tight black pants underneath, same shirt, and green shoes. It was pretty crazy. We shared a moment and I wanted to ask him to take a picture with me, but sometimes I’m actually shy and easily embarrassed.
I loved looking at all the fun (and some terrible) outfit choices and group names/slogans before the race began. All the underwear just gave it a really fun feel. Finally after shivering in the freezing cold Arizona winter, it was time to start. Unlike the Komen, once we passed the starting line, we were able to get our own space and find a good pace immediately. After just the first half mile, I realized how heavy and tired my legs felt. Yikes. I started to feel nervous about being able to finish the race and 3 miles is a short run for me these days!
The volunteer cheerleaders were pretty lame, I have to say, especially at the beginning. We ran by and they gave a half hearted clap and maybe a “yeah.” I was a little disappointed, but to be honest, I’m not used to a personal cheering squad so it’s not something I think too much about in terms of a race. I have a lot of really cool real life cheer leaders that tell me how awesome I am after. Mostly Steve, but also others 😉
Anyway, by the third mile I was sure that I was nuts for doing this after yesterday’s run and I was not feeling warmed up and good, I was feeling slow and like I weighed a million pounds and like finishing an other mile would be an impossible feat. Somehow though, we were still keeping up a pretty good pace and I was so grateful to have Nicole to push me to keep my pace up, and to both of our surprise, we ended with new PRs!!
Don't I look awesome here? I mean, most flattering picture ever.
And here I'm trying to decide the most strategic place to collapse and never get up.
I felt pretty exhausted for a good minute afterwards, but then I was back to normal and really glad I did it! Again, with only one race under my belt, the PR isn’t the HUGEST deal, but it was like a 3 minute difference, so it makes me happy. After the race, we had brunch at St Francis in our undies. It was also awesome. Then I got half way in the pool and called it an ice bath. It was pretty miserable, but I feel better. Then I foam rolled and stretched for what felt like an eternity. These after run necessities are almost as time consuming as the running itself! I definitely regretted not doing all of these things yesterday, so today I tried to make up for it 😉
