June 26, 2010, Firecracker 5K, Chesterton, IN

Jackie, expertly avoiding the camera.....and Chris, always ready for the camera!!!!

After the run......yup, he get's the #1 and I get #2..... I'm gonna beat him someday, I will......

So, yeah -- another cheesy pic of us after the run!

This was one of those races that makes you wonder why you started to run in the first place......everything about it was......almost right.

This was the first time my kids have EVER had a 'real' babysitter (meaning she is NOT related to us, and we have to pay her!!!) Our sitter was supposed to be her at 6:00 am....... and was 'almost' on time, arriving at 6:15. We gave her hushed, quick directions and were out the door!

It had been storming for a few hours, pretty bad thunderstorms, but it was clear skies by the time we left, yay!!!!

On our way there, Jackie (my sis) calls to say she is 'almost' there, but her map quest directions have her (and several people who were following her to the race) parked in front of some mans house, and he's outside....less than happy about the traffic situation in his front yard.

The perk of this race, because all races have a 'good thing' is that we get indoor plumbing and sinks with soap for the mandatory 17 bathroom breaks before a race. But, in true Firecracker 5K, the first time I used the bathroom, my stall was out of t.p., AND they were out of soap.......'almost' the perfect bathroom stop.....

We didn't have too much time to spare at this race, we walked around for a brief while, and made fun of the people there....... (1216) then they made some announcement on a bull horn that we could 'almost' hear, i think they forgot to turn it on though, so it was more frustrating than anything!!!!!

Soon there was a whistle (or something minor) to officially start us. Chris took off like a rocket, I took off at my usual whopping (:-/) 9:30 pace, and Jackie was jogging somewhere behind me. We traversed a very busy road, but they did have police blocking one lane, so at least we didn't have to fend off cars there...... but the next road was all us, and there were a couple glitches with drivers not knowing how to drive past 277 organized runner/walkers, and THAT was 'almost' a disaster.....

Shortly after road #2 we wound our way through some subdivisions, nothing spectacular to see, it was kind of nice to just run with no real agenda for this part of the race. I got to the 1 mile station at 8:58....... 'almost' believable. I have NEVER run a sub 9 minute mile, and I highly doubt I ever will. I HAVE to think this was more like the .9 mile mark.

Mile 2 was also uneventful, although, the turnaround was perfect!!! They had us run down to a cul-de-sac and circle it for the turn around, I love these, it makes things 500 times easier than the dumb "run around this pole" turn arounds......Oh yeah -- at the 2 mile mark, I got a 17:56.... again, 'almost' believable.

Mile 3 did have some weird ground, they are apparently re-grading one of the roads we were running on, so the surface was fairly pot-hole-y (is that even a word... oh well, it is now :-))It was also 'scratchy' and uneven, but it was only about .15 miles long, so it wasn't that big of a deal....about 3/4 mile from the finish, we get a little (and I DO mean a little) crowd support, and I realize that even though I skipped my usual pre-race bowl of multi-grain cheerio's, and I also skipped my usually mandatory 20oz bottle of water, I am feeling hyped!!!! And then it occurs to me, I am still passing people! I start picking out ladies who appear to be in my age range, I am gonna try to place this race!!!! I get a nice steady clip going, and I am passing women every minute or so, most of whom appear to be around my age. Suddenly, I see the man in the red shirt at the 3 mile mark, and he yells 26:14 (my watch says 25:43), well OK, it's a one minute sprint to the finish, and I see 2 ladies who just might steal my place in my division......So, I haul some serious a$$, and come in at..........28:23?????? WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!?

I am thinking their time was off somehow, because I haven't gotten a time like that in a long time, plus my watch said 27:51 when I crossed the mat...... 'almost' right.

As I am standing there downing my water with Chris (who, by the way, grew wings and flew this race) we see Jackie coming down the road. She looks GREAT, and still has about a 1/2 mile to go. So, I hopped out there and ran with her.... yes, she was still running!!!!!! She had taken several walk breaks, but still had enough in the tank to run/walk the race, the whole race!!! And, the little booger pi$$ed me off, b/c as we were running, I realize that, when she runs, she runs FASTER than me!!!!!! Her legs are so short, how can that be??????? She has a goal of 38:00, but will settle for 40:00. As we pass Mr. Red Shirt at the 3, he mumbles something about 38:blah-blah-blah.......so we are really running/walking fast!!!! A little while later she sees the finish line and takes off!!! She finished just over 40:00 ('almost' goal time)and was pretty bummed about her time, but I am so very proud of her for setting goals, and sticking with them. She truly is an inspiration to me, anyone who can continually get out there and conquer something so darn personally challenging is just amazing to me!!!

I am certain that this is not one of those races that I absolutely will NOT do again, but I think if we forget it next year, or try a new race over this one, that would be just fine with me..... I 'almost' don't want do it again, and I 'almost' do want to run it again.....

Oh, and btw -- I 'almost' placed in my group, I came in 4th!!!!

Chris:

finished in 25:51

8:20 mile

6th out of 11 30-34 male

78 out of 277 finishers

Julie:

finished in 28:23

9:09 mile

4th out of 14 30-34 female

106 out of 277 finishers

Jackie:

finished in 40:24

13:02 mile

13 out of 15 25-29 female

213 out of 277 finishers