2.12.10

We went to Myrtle Beach this weekend for the marathon on Saturday. Some time last year, I told David to sign me up for the 5k on Friday night because I knew if I had a goal in mind, I would work towards it and not slack off on running/working out. Well, I didn't exactly do that, because I was SUPER slack about training and typically ran about 1 or 2 times a week. Having a kid and a husband who works a lot really limits your window of workout time. That's okay, though.

We left on Friday, went to the runners expo and got our numbers and checked into the house we rented for the weekend. Maggie, Rege and Barb (PapPap and Grammy) came too. I took a power nap when we got to the house and then we started getting ready. The race started at 7 so we had some time to kill!

Snow was forecast for the evening but it held off while we were driving to the start line. Barb and Maggie went to pick Rege up at the airport after they dropped us off so David and I went to warm up. I decided that the best place to warm up was in front of the candy store. Then I decided that we might need to go in and look around and I got a sample of a praline. Yummy. It was really cold at this point and WINDY and I didn't really want to go back outside. We ran around Broadway at the Beach a little bit to stay warm and then we went over to the start area. It started snowing while we were waiting so we did some of Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred warmups and jumped around. Hee. I made sure we started at the back of the pack because I did not want to be passed by everyone in the race. Finally, the race started and as I crossed the start line, "Welcome to the Jungle" came blasting out of my iPod and the snow started dumping down. I felt pretty good for the first mile and Rege, Barb and Maggie were waiting for us at the mile marker and that gave me some strength to keep going. David stayed with me the entire time even though I know I was cramping his style. At the 2 mile marker, we walked for 1 minute because I seriously thought I might die and then we kept going. David made me run as fast as I could in the finish chute and we crossed the finish line holding hands. {insert awwwwww here} We grabbed some Powerade, orange slices and bagel pieces and slogged to the car. I was COLD and my feet were soaked and I was ready to sit down.

We had a celebratory dinner at Kings Pizza, our favorite restaurant at the beach, and I had a big meatball sub. And coffee. I was SO COLD. My fleece was absolutely soaked but after I took it off, I warmed up quickly. We went back to the house and I took the hottest shower EVER. My stomach was bright red when I got out. I was really proud of myself for running the whole race (minus 1 minute) and I'm really glad David ran it with me. I think I might be running another race sometime soon.