Celebrating 6 Years of Not Killing Each Other :)

This day in history...six years ago...we officially became a couple. This day in history...four years ago...he proposed for the second time (long story, but I did say "yes" twice!). It's been a fun six years with my best friend...

So what better way to celebrate six years of not killing eachother...than by running a half marathon!? ...and of course, it was run separately, or else we very well could've ended our six year non-killing streak. :)

Today's race was hot. Humid. Sunny. And pretty much less than ideal conditions. Had it been about 30 degrees cooler, I would've been a happy camper. But mother nature deemed that today was going to be scorcher, and she certainly delivered. The race started in the high 70's/low 80's and crept into the mid-upper 80's (with an index in the 90's most likely) by the time I finished.

I had no expectations going into today's race given my oh so strategic pre-race fueling last night. I think it was that oreo/snickers/brownie/ice cream concoction of a dessert that slowed me down. But it was sooooo totally worth it. It was that good.

So it came as no surprise that there was no PR to be had. I wasn't really going for one, so I didn't care. I finished in a respectable (for me) 2:45:24. At one point about Mile 8 I knew I could've put it into high gear and set a PR, but I couldn't get the heartrate under control and had to settle into a slower pace in the mid-12's. Meh. Could've been worse. So no complaints there.

Aside from it being super hot, gross, and freakishly nasty out, the race wasn't all that bad (with the exception of several water stops running out of cups, but whatever). I wasn't fond of the weird weaving at the end, but overall it was a well supported course. I ran with a fabulous woman in her 70's who had finished 17 ironman races and she offered up some advice for the Florida 70.3. And then there was the moment when I got a bunch of the runners around me to all sing the Rocky theme while climbing the Roosevelt St incline. And then there was the little old scottish man who hadn't run a race since a marathon abroad 21 years ago. I love all the great folks you meet out in the course. Definitely restores my faith in the fact that there are cool people in the world.

I saw Mike and two of his high school friends around a half mile from the finish and he handed me a nice ice cold towel with ice chunks...it felt SO GOOD. And before I knew it, I was in the home stretch finishing strong.

After I crossed through the finish line I went back to mile 12.5 to meet Mike, Henna and J, and cheered on the other runners. And since the inner cheerleader in me loooooves coming out to play, I may or may not have gone a little nutty (oh, if only I had my cowbell with me...sigh). I went back and cheered for folks, hoping to give them the extra umph they needed to finish strong and with a smile on their face. I saw my old mentee, Margie, from last year's TNT season. RunnerGirl from Michigan recognized me and so I ran with her for a few minutes. And then another lurker on my blog from the RW forums found me cheering as well (Hi Tanya!!).

And of course, it wouldn't be a kick ass race without a kick ass brunch with friends after. Rockit omelets always seem to hit the spot. Kudos to Ryan, Leah and Jason for waiting oh so patiently for our grand arrival.

All in all it was a great day. The damage isn't too bad. Just some minor blisters, a little bit of red on my neck and shoulders and achy muscles. I'm amazed that my knee wasn't giving out on me considering how craptacular my last 16 miler went (which I opted not to blog about because it was so freakin' bad).

Okay kids, there's lots to be done this week...

You see, OOSG graduates on Thursday...he will finally be a doctor!! WOOHOO!! And then we've got family in town...a fabulous par-tay...and the Cubs/Cards game on Friday...and then Saturday it's Buenvenidos a Miami!! We set sail for the Western Caribbean on Sunday and will be completely out of touch with the world for a week...and I cannot wait! I'll hopefully have a few more posts between now and the time I leave, but no promises.

So for now...I'm going to go make my hubby a delectable anniversary dinner (read as: frozen pizza) and plop my sweet, cute rear on the sofa for an evening of couch surfing and movies with Mike. Life doesn't get much better than this...

...unless, of course, we find a money tree. :)