Lake Winnipesaukee: Take Two

Sometimes life feels a little bit like deja vu.  For instance, last year the weather was still finicky in May.  We would have days where the morning was nippy and cold, requiring jackets and long pants.  But by afternoon it was hot and sunny, with sweaty children exiting the bus at the end of the school day.  The grass was growing in green and flowers were popping up out of the ground everywhere.  Moods were lifted with these pleasant days.  There was still a moderate amount of rainy days....hence all the green vegetation surrounding us, but not as much as in April.  I was also busy running multiple days a week and looking forward to spending a morning with good friends next to Lake Winnipesaukee running the "Big Lake Half Marathon".  I was nervous and excited, being that I had never run that far before.  I felt adeqautely prepared after spending many Saturdays slowly building up my mileage, with long runs accompanied by friends.  I felt like I was in pretty good shape and was feeling the high of lots of endorphins. 

I have been experiencing all of these things this year with two big exceptions.  Number One: I am definitely not a seasoned pro, but with two Half Marathons under my belt I know what to expect just a bit more than last year.  I still feel nervous as the race approaches but I know that I can do it...since I've done it before.  Number Two: I walked into last years race MUCH more prepared.  Last year I had begun running steadily since beginning of March, thanks to unseasonably warm weather.  I had slowly built up my mileage and had run 6-7 long runs prior to the race.  This year, I basically decided to run consistently three weeks before the race.  I had been debating back and forth whether I was going to do the race.  Because of this, I never really got serious about training.  Finally I hit a point where I decided to just go for it.  I knew this would be my last long race with these friends so I didn't want to miss out. 

At that point I knew I had to start doing long runs immediately.  My first week I ran 3 miles on a Friday and the very next day jumped to 8 miles.  I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this.  I hurt badly afterwards and felt horrible on that long run.  Thank heavens over the course of the remaining weeks I put more short runs interspersed with the longer runs.  By the week of this race, I felt much better but still not where I was in 2012.  This year I only did three long runs: 8, 9, and 11. With that knowledge it actually made me more comfortable entering this race.  I am a competitive person by nature and tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to finish beating previous times/records.  Because I knew I wasn't prepared, that stress was off me immediately.  I knew I wouldn't beat my time from last year so it essentially didn't matter when I finished.  My only goals were to finish feeling good about myself and enjoying the run.  My fall 2012 race ended badly with me hurting and hating the last half of the run.  I think that is partly why I quit running for so long paired with cold weather.

Amanda, Amy and I decided to drive up the night before the race and stay at a local motel in Alton, NH.  We had a great time spending some girls only time (despite the fact I had worked the night before and was TIRED).  It was nice to settle in early for the night and to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go.  Luckily we were able to sleep in until after 7am, get out of bed, dress quickly and then head over to the starting line.  We were a little discouraged when we looked at rain clouds, and dismal weather.  We figured we were in for a miserable, wet, cold 13.1 miles.  Thank goodness this wasn't the case.  There wasn't any rain during our race and towards the end the sun even appeared!  I am happy to say I accomplished both of my goals.  I felt great nearly the entire race and in fact sped up the last two miles which normally never happens.  I ran with Amy and Amanda (two women I work with at DHMC) for about the first 7-8 miles before I slowed down and they ran ahead on one of the many uphills.  I enjoyed myself immensely and spent much of the race on my own.  Those two phrases normally are a contradiction to me....I usually hate running long distances on my own.  This time was different.  I was able to relax and really listen to my music, love the scenery, and like running at my own pace I set.  I didn't feel the compulsion to speed up or slow down for someone else.  I didn't feel like I needed to come up with conversation pieces.  I didn't feel like I was racing to beat a time or I would fail.  I just ran.  For the first time as I crossed the finish line, I immediately thought "I can and will do this again".

The only thing that could have topped off that feeling was what came next.  I turned around to these little voices screaming my name.  My kids and sweet husband had driven nearly two hours that morning to surprise me at the finish line.  I couldn't believe it!  Apparently I had been so focused at the end that I missed them a mere 100 yards from the finish and ran right past.  Oops. I loved hugging those sweet kids of mine as they congratulated me.  I also loved seeing all my friends that finished and continued to finish.  What a fun race, what a fun day.  We topped off the day by stopping at some outlet stores and KFC before heading back home (I rode home with the family).  Maddie and Robby's highlight was stopping at the Gem Store near home and coming home with a bag each of pretty rocks to trade at school.  Right now that is the latest rage in the Second Grade per Miss M.

Thank goodness I had such a great time in Winnipesaukee because unbeknownst to me I later was super sick.  By that evening I was aching all over.  At the time I figured I must be really sore from the race.  Later I found out that I was coming down with a 6 day stint of strep throat. Yuck.

My ER family: Hanna (Kristi's daughter), her friend, Kristi, me, Amanda, Amy, David, Jen's fiancee, and Jen

*it was so fun to see all of these lovelies at the beginning of the race.  Heather was missing from this picture but she also ran and finished like her typical speedy self*

My New Hampshire family: Tiffany, Ashley, Michelle, Catherine, and Maren

*Seriously love all these ladies so much.  4 lovely ladies that I go to church with. 3 that moved here within a month of us. 2 that have run all three Half Marathons with me. 1 missing from this race because she is preggers (Andrea).  I am glad that we were able to squeeze one final run in before we start heading our separate ways. 

There was a live band performing at the finish line that Maddie rather enjoyed.  Her and I both got out there was strutted our stuff for a little while.  Eli took a break from his stroller as well and did his own version of dancing with a cast :)

My family: my loves, my life, my reason for smiling, my best friends, my pride, my joy