Running, Teaching, Eating: Thought I was going to die!!!!!!

Okay not really, but I was close :)

Last night, I laid out my race-day wear and tried to get to bed early. Shana and I babysat our summer-job-family last night(more on this later.) I got home and watched some of Saturday Night Live...after Chad reminded me about daylight savings...oops.

I set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. and hoped to get a good night's sleep. The alarm went off a little too soon for me!! We drove to St. Paul and tried to find Como Lake. We drove past the pavilion and saw all the green gear and had to pull a U-turn.

It was A LOT colder than I thought it would be...brrrrrr!!! I checked in, got my t-shirt and waited for my parents.

My parents arrived and we hung out and tried to stay warm until the race started. I was starting to get nervous. My shins REALLY hurt yesterday. I iced them or 2 hours in the afternoon and then again at night. I stretched a lot today and tried to get them warmed up...

Malley was donning her St. Patty's Day collar...she got so many compliments. She is such a pretty dog!

We were in the middle of the crowd and a ways back from the start line. I started my stop watch when we hit the start spot and not when the race started...We were running around the lake backwards...so the mileage markers were off. That was a little confusing and kind of a mind-game.

The first lap around the lake was easy. That's why I look so "fresh."

As soon as we finished the first lap, I started to crash. My breathing got really heavy and uneven...I slowed my pace down a lot and got passed by a few people. I REALLY wanted to walk. After a few minutes, I told my dad I wanted to walk. Of course, he said I couldn't stop. He started asking me questions and talking about who we were going to pass. "See that guy? We are going to pass him." I didn't try to pass anyone until the finish line was straight in front of me. We passed a group of 7 as we sprinted to the finish line. I saw Chad and my mom and was so glad to be done!!

You an see the big group behind us...we were that far behind them and we passed them! You can also see my dad's hand on my back...sweet :)

The time says 33 minutes and 9 seconds. We subtracted 30 seconds from that because we were not right at the starting line when we started. So I will say my time is 32 minutes and 39 seconds.

I look like I am going to die, but notice the woman behind me. I had to hold onto my dad to make sure I didn't pass out after sprinting and then stopping. That guy in front of me was the guy I really wanted to pass, but I didn't. BOO

Also, thanks to my husband for the hard-to-pronounce last name. "And here is Joanie Ra-ch-ee".

I walked straight to a rock to sit down. After a few minutes, I felt great and was ready to celebrate!

My husband was pretty proud of me...that made me happy!!

We left the race and headed to Pizza Luce for breakfast. My mom and I ate breakfast at the Pizza Luce in Duluth. Of course, I kept on my race gear for breakfast!!