The Countdown
The week leading up to the Polar Bear, I had a horrible cold. Snot everywhere, and coughing so hard I either wet my pants or, on one memorable occasion, barfed. Big fun. On top of my usual race stress -- which mak
es no sense since I am so slow, it's not like I'm going to win something for crying out loud -- I was worried about being able to run at all. Bleh.
One Day Left!
Friday finally rolled around. C and I went to packet pickup and the "mini expo," which was three retirees with a pile of t-shirts and a rack of XS clearance crap from a local running store. Considerably less goo coming out of my snot locker, so things were looking up.
Then comes the new stress in the form of an email from the race director:
DOUBLERS - PLEASE READ DO NOT: Wear or have on your person, your 5-Mile number while you are participating in the 3-Mile. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE NUMBERS NOT BE WORN AT THE SAME TIME BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE TIMING CHIP ON THE BACK.Wear the 3-Mile number in the 3-Mile and the 5-Mile number in the 5-Mile. Each number has its own race designation.After you finish the 3-Mile, remove your number and put it in the recycle container near the finish line. Pin on your 5-Mile number and be at the 5-Mile start line at 9:15am (this is the start time).3-MILERS: You must be at the start line of the 5-Mile by 9:15 AM! THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT EVENT!
Crap! C and I are going by ourselves, and we are NOT going to have a lot of time between the 3mi race and the 5mi race. I spent Friday evening obsessing over the course map and city maps of Indy, trying to find a place to park close enough to the 3mi finish that we can dash
over and switch bibs.
Race Day
On the way to pick up C, I nearly wrecked my car in the new snow. But we got there on time, and parked a block from the 3mi finish. And we're off!
For the three miles, I ran pretty well but freaked out inside my own head the entire way. What if I don't make the start of the 5mi? I'm sure C is light years ahead of me, she'll be so disappointed if I don't make it. Do I sprint (ha!) past the finish and just run all the way to my car? Then I come around the last turn and there is C, just ahead of me. We finished almost exactly together, which is THRILLING to me because for our last few races she has beat me by min
utes. Minutes!
The bib switch went smoothly, with plenty of time left over to stretch a little and chat as we lined up for the 5mi. We decided to follow C's intervals -- run 4 mins, walk 1 min -- for this part. And we stuck together, which is unusual for us. The first three miles flew by, and I was shocked to see the marker for mile 4. That last mile was tough, with my snot production team suddenly working overtime and my heart beating so fast. C is a great motivator and we finished strong -- 8 miles total, baby!
Here we are, victorious after the race with the shabbiest polar bear ever - and that's me, on the left, in all my sweaty glory:
The Results
We finished .02 seco
nds apart. Yep, C is still, technically, faster than me but in December she was two full minutes (plus) faster. Nice job catching up
, eh? I finished 12th in my age group for the 3mi, and let's just say I wasn't last for the 5mi. I felt GREAT after the race. C and I agree that we could have gone 5 more miles - half marathon distance - today. I am Queen of the Universe! Or, co-queen, anyway.
The Reality
I came into the post-race area and asked another runner where the water was. She pointed me in the right direction and said, "They should still have some left. It's only stragglers coming in now."
Stragglers. Huh. Guess that's me.
At least she wasn't dressed like a Christmas tree...
