Virtual Reality!

Hey, hey, today was virtual race day!! Let's get to it!!

Of course, as this was a virtual run, the morning technically started out like any other long run, but there was a whole different vibe!! Between Aaron getting up (at 5 a.m.!!!) to place the mile markers and getting Elly gussied up in her new-and-particular-for-the-day bandana, it was definitely a special day!

With a 4-mile distance difference between me and PC#2, Elly and I headed out first. The temperature was in the very low 70s (yay!!), but that was really deceptive as temperature doesn't reflect humidity (big boo!!). It took no time on the route to feel the humid undercurrent, but, what does one expect in July? Besides, this was a route chock full of happy ... starting with ...

How totally cute is that?! A route that is marked with cupcake mile markers takes on a whole new groove! Thank you, Pit Crew Boys!!!

Up and around the corner, there was more happiness ... yes, even on a "race" day, there was the WOD:

Most excellent Weeds Of the Day ... I love 'em because they
look like daisies, and I love me some daisies!!

These were Elly approved.

These first four miles passed without real issue. It was quickly getting warm, but I was focused on picking up PC#2 for her big run. So, that's where my brain was. And, before I knew it, we hit Mile 4:

Sweet Elly was all ready to stop! I love that wonky dog!

So ... Elly: Out. PC#2: In!

 With a quickie pit stop to pick her and my hand-held water bottles up, off we went!

For the past few weeks during our long runs together, I've thrown little nuggets out there about how and why I am running a particular pace. Whether it's because I'm managing myself taking into account the distance or because the weather does/doesn't take its toll over a long course or because I'm feeling tired/awesome/crabby/not feeling it/totally feeling it ... she's heard a lot of info. While I've not expected her to retain it, I have wanted her to have something to recall should she have a run more difficult than normal.

Today was that day. And, it was because of the humidity. I'm pretty certain it was before we even hit the first mile that I saw it on her face. She was doing just fine at the moment, but hers was not a face of, "Yeah, I can knock out another 5 and have energy to spare." The thing I wasn't quite certain of, though, was the actual reason. Was it humidity? Or was it that of our first two miles, the majority of it is up hill?

I had my answer soon after passing our second mile marker when I actually heard her breathe. Now, this is not uncommon for me, and I don't even try to hide it. If I'm going up hill and feeling like I'm going to keel over, well, I'm breathing it loud and proud. However, I never hear PC#2 and she glides along, so I knew adjustments were necessary!

Our solution was to take a quick water and walk break. I suggested walking a bit, and she immediately jumped on it. I was super proud of her for doing so, too, and not feeling like there was something wrong with doing so (like I used to feel about myself ... so glad to have not passed that on!). We were at another incline anyway, so it was the perfect time to chill it out. It was at this point I told her about how I started running in the first place which was with a plan to walk all hills and run only the flats and the downs. I went on to talk to her about how the hills start to work their way in as conditioning improves. I also stressed that running in humidity is its own brand of beast and not a condition in which you can accurately assess your ability! Through the next half mile, we did some short run-walk stints, and that helped to happily reset her system!

Also super-happy was coming up to this little surprise!

We crossed an intersection to see our boys with water!!

How cool of them to set up a drink station!! WaHOO!!!

Have I mentioned the boys totally got into this race for us?! They rock!! They also wore their "Cheer Now. Pizza Later." shirts. They had plans!

With three miles to go, we were feeling really good!! It didn't hurt that most of the last three miles was flat or down hill. (I could complain about how the last half mile is up hill, but why dwell.) There was also considerable shade for most of that back half, so we were in great shape. And, all I really kept thinking was how PC#2 was about to hit her big goal!! I also thought about how I was glad to have not fallen on my face when my right toe caught a jut in the sidewalk. Yeah, even on event day, some things remain the same!

My 10-mile point was two-tenths ahead of PC#2's end point. I told Aaron ahead of time that I thought it would be funny to just stop and tell her she had to keep going up the hill to her own end (I was kidding ). He said that would kind of wreck his finish line idea, though. And, what a very fun idea he had!! Not only was there another drink station set up (yeah!!! cold water bottles!!!), but we had our very own finish line!

We're actually running right at PC#3, but
he was watching the cars approaching. He
was in a good spot, but Aaron was pretty
much in the middle of traffic! It all turned
out just fine. No casualties.

Ohmygosh that cold water was sooooo yummy at that point!! While PC#2 and I gulped some down (yeah, I should have sipped it. But, I didn't.), Aaron and PC#3 brought us our our bling!!

And, we thanked our Crew ...

And, we shared the celebratory love ...

A family pic is always a must-do!

As we were taking this picture, a woman running passed us but not without looking from the drink station to our medals back to the drink station ... something was taking place, and she was trying to figure out it. Clearly, her run was not winding up with a blingy cupcake ...

We went home and photographed the three runners, too:

Elly says, "Oh my goodness, I'm so proud of these girls!!"

Elly says, "Wait ... a ... minute ... where's my bling?!?! Waaa."

And, of course, had to do one with my biggest fan:

After PC#2 took this picture, she looked at it and said,
"Awwwww ..." I have to agree.

Oh! I almost forgot to note: Aaron pointed out that PC#2 and I won our age groups!! Ha!! Nothing like no competition to achieve that, huh?! In all seriousness, she and I had a great experience working toward these goals together!! Running in this kind of weather is its own brand of beast; she and I were definitely in this run together more than we ever have been!! It was excellent!! We also had a great time celebrating ... join me tomorrow, and I'll show you how!!