Christmas Run

We had to pick up our camper from having some minor repair work done and decided to enter a run. Kent had always wanted to participate in the Pass To Bay 10k Christmas Run so we thought this would be the best time to do it. Probably wouldn't be able to do this again since it's during the Christmas season and everything is so hectic. The only difference with this Bay to Pass Run and the ones prior is the new Bay Bridge. The one destroyed by Hurricane Katrina was flat and the new one is highly arched! It is very nice with a wide walking/running area all the way across the Bay and every tenth mile is marked as well as how much further across the bridge you have to go to get across.

I am always nervous at the beginning of my runs. And though this feeling accompanied me this time, it was the nervousness in my ability to run such a distance with this monument bridge (2 miles and mostly uphill) to have to do in the last half of the run. The weather was warm and the fog was intense. I looked over the crowd at the start and it seemed like there were only a handful participating. My anxiety increased as all I could think about was that I didn't want to come in last! I always have this fear; don't know why, but I do. It is good to be doing this whether you are the last or not.

Although I missed the one mile mark, the other miles were documented. The second mile showed that I ran quite fast for the first two - under 9 minutes; boy was I surprised! Everyone seemed to have passed me at the beginning of the race and I felt like I was running in slow motion. The run went a different direction than we anticipated, mostly on a back road to include crossing an active railroad track (a passing train stopped some of the runners but not either of us). Then all of a sudden, the road opened up and we were at the base of "The Bridge". That scary thing! The base began the 3 mile mark. That means we were not even halfway - 3.1 is halfway - and now we are starting a steep hill for 2 miles! You could hardly see the water while you were on the bridge, it was so foggy! I strengthened my thoughts, bowed up to it, and decided I was going to do the best I could regardless of how tough it seemed. Everyone seemed to be slowing down. I ran up to a young man that had stopped and was violently vomiting everything he had in his stomach! I felt so sorry for him. For some reason, I felt good and kept my pace. Focus, focus, focus. I knew if I could just hold on, we would be going downhill soon. It felt like the entire run was uphill! Only a couple of times did it feel like I was running in a flat area.

Then, all of a sudden, it happened ... the bridge leveled out and now we were starting downhill. I tried to see Subway (where it ended) but couldn't; it was too far away. Another mile and the 6 mile marker appeared...whew! Only .2 left! I felt good and began to pick up my pace hoping I could make up some time from all the uphill slower pace. The time clock appeared ... what?? There were two of them! What's going on? The first one showed 1:03:?? and the second one slightly behind it showed 50 something. I was glad to be coming in at the first clock's numbers so it didn't matter to me which they used. I watched for Kent and during this time they removed the clock that wasn't working, the first one! Now, I really wondered what my time was! He appeared, drenched with sweat and looked wore out; we all looked like yard dogs and I'm sure if I could smell would tell you we were all high on that end of the scale, too. He came in on the better end of what he was shooting for. Great job!

As it turned out, there were more people running than it seemed, there were about 212 runners. Subway provided sandwiches for us and there were bananas and Cokes; but everything ran out early. The water supply ran out and I really felt for those that came in later because you really need to replenish your fluids with water, not Cokes and beer! We waited for the awards ceremony to see if we were eligible for anything. It was manual and hard to tell by the chart. No times were available for the awards. Most of the runners were seasoned runners and several were from New Orleans. Anyway, I came in at 120th and won 2nd place in my age group...I couldn't believe it; I came in at 59 minutes even! This was the same identical time I ran the last 10k and on a totally flat course. I was shocked and determined more than ever to improve and not give up. The lady that got first place I will never be able to beat. So I felt honored to be "up there" alongside of her. I learned to stay focused and will determine to do my best in every race I run regardless of how I feel. I think that was the key in this race! We were glad we did the run, but now we can say "check, done that!" Now on to the next one!!

We left there and went to my SIL to see our two neices whom we haven't seen in about 4 years. There's a new little girl (about 20 months) we've not seen and "mom" is not long from giving birth to a little boy. Both "girls" were just beautiful with a funny, cute nephew-in-law. We had a wonderful lunch (thanks, Jenny!!) and a fantastic visit. Hated to leave, but we were wore out from the run. Still had our running gear on. Hope it won't be as long before we can meet up again.