Big House Big Heart

What a great weekend! It has been a whirlwind 24 hours but it was a great way to spend my very first weekend in my 31st year.

My friend Emily and I go way back. 2003 way back! We did Americorps National Civilian Community Corps together and although she wasn't able to finish the entire program, we still stayed in contact all these years. Thanks to Facebook, we have been able to communicate even better over the last few years. She lives in Pennsylvania but lucky for me, she has family in the area. We finally (!!) were able to coordinate a weekend where she could come visit. I mentioned that I had already signed up for a 5k the same weekend and so instead of rescheduling, she signed herself up for her very first 10k!

Got my fancy gear on!

Last night she got into town late and after catching up, we decided we should probably go to bed since we had a wake-up time of 6:30am. Morning came far too quickly! The rain was also pouring buckets and there were thunderstorms every so often. If it would have just been me, I'm not sure I would have gone but thank goodness we had each other so we could be equally freaked out of running in the rain (our first times). After some frantic Googling of "beginner running in the rain," we figured out the best clothing to run in and how to protect our various electronics. Thank goodness for Google!

After some coffee, banana, minor freak outs, and pep talks, we headed out. I dropped Em off at the start for the 10k while I went to park the car since I had some time to kill until my start. The rain poured, the wind blew, and I waited in the car til I felt like I just couldn't wait anymore. Within about three minutes, I was soaked! But it's all part of the fun so I just sang a jaunty tune in my head and tried to bounce around to stay warm.

 

I got very, very lucky as the rain ceased once my 5k started. Pour Em ran most of her race in the rain but just makes her better prepared for the future! I felt good through most of my race and played little games with myself to encourage more running in between the walking pace. I thought I would have done better but I was 20 seconds slower than my first 5k. I blame the hill! Trying not to beat myself up too much about it and will prepare better for the next one. Overall, the race was so much fun! Everyone had great energy and the coolest thing about the end of this race is that we get to run through the tunnel and into University of Michigan stadium to cross the finish line. It felt so cool to end there! I saved up my energy so I could run through the tunnel and across the finish. Em was there to cheer me on til the end!

After trudging (ow, ow, ow) up a huge flight of stairs to exit the stadium, we grabbed our bagels, bananas, and cookies and then headed back to the car. A quick stop for coffee at Starbucks on the way home and we could not wait to warm up and change clothes! Lots of stretching and talking for most of the afternoon before we finally hit up Sidetrack Bar & Grill for lunch. It has to be one of my favorite places in Ypsi. We had some seriously strong Bloody Mary drinks to celebrate! After lunch, Em had to head home but we made plans to meet up again before I make another big move to another crazy part of the country. TBD, of course.

Truly one of the best weekends!