They Called My Name!

This morning, Craig and I were up early to race in the Army Ten Miler.  I was really nervous at first, considering the sheer size of this event, but all the fretting I did was totally worth it.  I'm not sure that I've ever had a better double digit run.  Must be the race day adrenaline.

Caroline stayed with our neighbor this morning while Craig and I raced.  Actually, she and her two friends stayed the night over here last night and when they woke up (after we left), they went over to her friend's house for the rest of the morning.  Sarah is 12, so we didn't feel weird about leaving them to sleep alone in the house. 

I wish I could share more (and better) pictures with you, but it's kind of hard to be a race photographer while actually participating in the race.  Security was tight, so phones, cameras and ipods were not allowed on the course; therefore, I had to turn my camera in before it got light enough to take pictures around the Pentagon, where the race starts and finishes.




As it turns out, security was not that tight.  The way they made it seem, I thought they were going to pat us down or something.  People brought their phones, cameras and ipods on the course. I even ran past a lady who was texting while running!  Oh well, at least I followed the rules.....and I didn't trip over a pot hole while updating my Facebook status (which, I don't even do when I'm not running.)

Anyway, the pictures are virtually non existent, which is a bummer, but the race is still sharp in my mind.  I literally felt nothing for the first 8 miles.  No pain, no breathing issues.  It was great.  The hardest part was weaving through massive crowds and all the walkers who impede the runner's traffic.  I still can't get over how great I felt out there; the last 3/4 of a mile was a little, er...a LOT, hard, but I survived and finished way earlier than I had hoped.  My big goal (besides finishing, not crying and not getting injured) was to finish in or just under 1:40.  My smaller goal was to finish in 1:35.  Well, according to my watch, I finished the race in 1:33:50!   And the best part is after I crossed the finish line with probably fifty other people, the race announcer said my name:  "Alison Smith from Alexandria, VA."  That was a fun surprise.

After I made my way through the chute, I finally found Craig, who had finished the race over 30 minutes earlier.  He's fast.  Last year he ran the race in 1:06:50, today he ran it in 1:05:34.  His only goal was to run faster than last year and boy am I glad he did.  For if he hadn't, it would have been one long and unpleasant ride home. 
Here we are after the race, a little sweaty, a lot stinky and a whole lot tired.

Actually, I think this is a more accurate representation of the way we feel right now.



Okay, enough running talk; I don't want to bore you.  Time to relax, watch some football and secretly hope some brownies suddenly appear in our kitchen.

Happy Sunday!