Around the Bay in 30k

Well it's DONE!

I DID IT!

The first milestone on my way to the marathon has been completed - The Around the Bay 30km! It went surprisingly well. I had been worried for the entire week leading up to it. But while the race ended well, it did not start well... There was one slight start line hiccup - my iPod decided not to work. Which I realized would mean running for approx 4 hours with NO music. I don't like to run 20 minutes without music! This had the potential to be a MAJOR ordeal!! (Especially considering I had spent over an hour the night before perfecting my race day playlist). My first reaction: F - - - - - - - CK! But then the start gun went off and I had no time to think about it. The first 2km were not pleasant. My knees and shines were killing me. "Great" I thought. I'm going to be in pain and without tunes to help distract me. But thankfully, there were tons (and I mean TONS) of spectators along the route, cheering on the runners. This helped things. Before I knew it I was at the 6km mark, and all lower body pain was gone!

The rest of the run seemed to go by in a blur. I remember being thankful for the kilometer markers along the way (Note to my coaches - it would be awesome to have those on our practices runs - you guys should look into that! lol) Each marker also had fantastic running related phrase. At 3km it was "There is no such thing as bad weather. Only soft runners". 12km was "Just Giver!". At 29km "You are your own hero". I LOVED these. And then there were the spectators! I can not say enough good things about the people watching this event! They were everywhere! Along the entire course. Cheering and clapping. Holding up signs. It was amazing! Literally the music to my ears!

But the BEST part of the day, was running to the finish line inside Copps Coliseum. Hearing them call my name on the speaker and seeing my friends and fellow runners cheering in the stands! Not to get all cheese ball, but without the support and encouragement from the fantastic group of people I train with, I would not have been able to do it! You guys ROCK!

So now that the first step in training has been successfully completed, I'm ready to keep going. Autumn marathon - you are in my sights...