Cheesy

Today was about nothing but about so much. My running group of girls decided to run the Wisconsin Half Marathon today and since I was missing a girls running weekend with my other group of girls I decided to be cheesy!

We were up, out the door and on the road by 5AM. Eight girls in 2 cars with a mission...run 13.1 miles and garner some sweet bling.

The ride up was rainy and we were a bit panicked. Running in the cold rain...running in the rain at all...is no fun. We arrived safely and waited out the rain in the car. soon we would need to head to the start line and the rain was beginning to let up. The gun sounded and we were off. I tried to start my Garmin and it failed. Tried again and FAIL. So that was it. I started to used the timer on my watch. At least I could run with something.

The course was very pretty. We ran throught the downtown areas and some residential areas as well. I was eventually without my group and before I knew it there was a sharp slap on my butt as some of the girls passed me. I tried to keep up but they are fast!  I just kept pushing on, taking off my jacket at some points and putting it back on as I ran through the course.

We we turned to run along the Lake the wind picked up...not only did it pick up speed but it picked up water and sand. Several miles of running into the wind were no fun. It was tough but we powered through. Up the hills and down the hills, into the wind and Lake spray. Finally we hit the turn around....it actually had a sign that said turn around. I laughed and turned to run back towards the finish. I thought that now the wind would be at my back and I would have an easier time running...no such luck. It was not as bad but it was still wind. My tutu was a constant source of discussion and comments from other runners....and it was my inspiration to keep moving...forward was my pace.

Heading back towards the finish was good mentally but there were still miles to cover. Back along the Lake, up and down the hills and  the wind.  The last 2 miles were totally mental. the temerature had dropped, the wind had gotten stronger, and the spray off the water was now heavy. We passed the turn for the finish line...it was in sight but we still had 2 miles to go...

Water and Gatorade at mile 12 then another turn and heading to the finish. As I got to the last 2 blocks, people started cheering and yelling. I thought this was for me...thought they were loving the tutu...I was wrong. The winner of the marathon was closing in on me and people were cheering him on!  We crossed the finish line within seconds of eachother...the marathon WINNER and me!  Yup...he ran 26.2 in the same time I ran 13.1...LAPPED!

I had a wonderful volunteer drape a medal around my neck, another wrapped a blanket around me and then I  got some snacks...CHEESE and a brat. I was so happy! I found my frinds and we watched our other runner CRUSH her PR by 15 minutes!  We were so proud of her!

We were cold and wet and miserable but so very happy at the same time!  We headed to the car cheering on other runners as we walked. The drive home was filled with race stories and discussion of what we would do ...after a nap!


The most important thing about this race was not the time with friends(but they are awesome), the medal (I love bling), the time on the clock(other than for those crushing PRs!), the weather (not the best), or my sassy tutu(I can rock a tutu like no one else!)....the most important thing is that all of found something we had lost...our running mojo. Peace.