Virtual Sparkle Cupcake Race: The During

With the run and a night's sleep behind me, it's time to recap the Virtual Sparkle Cupcake Race!! Today, we race; tomorrow, we after-party!

You might remember the sponsor of this virtual run had a target date to run the same weekend I'd already registered for the Go Girl Half Marathon back in May. Even though you could pick your own date and distance for this virtual run, I wanted to pick a distance meaningful to me to earn the medal. Enter the idea of imposing a Half Marathon on myself! Da-da-daaaaaaaa!! I really wanted to take on the challenge of pushing my milage through the summer, and this seemed the way to do it. Big bonus: By pushing off the date for this run, both Pit Crew #2 and virtual running partner extraordinaire Mary Kate were able to run, too!

Ready? Here we go!

I've come to expect a really crappy night of sleep the night before a big run. I'm pretty certain this comes from a fear the alarm won't go off in time, and I'll be late to the start. You'd think that would be alleviated when it's a virtual run, but Mary Kate and I planned a 5:58 a.m. phone call from our starting points, and I did not want to be late for that!

Unfortunately, I was still a couple of minutes away from my starting point when she called, but she very sweetly kept me company while I got there. Along the way, I saw one of the mile markers Aaron had gotten up at 5 a.m. to put out for me! Between seeing the markers and talking with my running partner, who lives many states away, I was getting all kinds of excited to take this on!

Normally in a starting corral, it's very loud from so many people and the event fanfare, but I'm never talking to anyone. All of the voices become a lot of white noise, so my time then is pretty quiet. But, for this race, there was no shutting me up! I loved this particular moment of camradarie and basically had to cut my talking off so we could both just start! (Mary Kate's too nice to tell me to shut it!) With last minute good luck's, have fun's and call me when you're finished! exchanges ...

There's Mary Kate on my phone!

... it was time to hit the road!

Keeping in mind this is the end of July, who knew we'd get so lucky on the weather?!

Are you even kidding me?!! I'll take it!! Oh, and see those spots?
Yeah, that's water from sprinklers ... sprinklers I'd normally jump
at the chance to run through at the end of July while running.
This morning? Total avoidance except for the spray I didn't
see coming ... but, I sure felt it!! Brrrr!!

My first five miles were on my own which was actually particularly cool for me because it's also the same stretch of road I used to train for my very first Half in 2010. That stretch of road and some of its hills almost broke me a few times back then. Now, though, it's one of my very favorite places to run. The hills don't feel as steep as they used to. There can be a lot of traffic, but I've figured out the easiest ways to work the route. It's a nice place to just go.

It's a nice, long stretch without much weird happening to the terrain, too, so if you're in need of shutting your eyes for a few seconds while you're running because you got up too early and are still tired, it can totally happen on this route. Just sayin'.

Along this stretch, just before I hit this ...

You know it was dark when he put these
out there ...!!

... I saw these!

So many! And, so small and cute!

The next mile is a little more higgly piggly in terms of traffic patterns and getting to where I was picking up PC#2 to join me, so I had to pay more attention and not do things like stop for pics or shut my eyes. (Had I found a coin, however, that would have -- and has -- been a different story.) Even though I truly was paying attention and being very mindful of cars, I made a point to mentally embrace what I was doing. This was just as real of a Half Marathon as any I've done. Along those five miles, I also thought a lot about Mary Kate picturing her running "with" me at the same time. It's one thing to know you have a friend who is running; it's quite another to know you've worked to coordinate it from afar so as to do it together. Frankly, it was even cooler than I already thought it would be!

Because the weather was so nice with its low temperature and dropping humidity, I cruised those first five miles without the issues we've been having like major thirst or the inability to breathe like a normal person. I rounded the corner, and I saw The Crew waiting at the 5-mile mark ready for some hugs and to pick up PC#2 for her first-ever 8-mile run!

PC#3 was all about running up to greet me!

Five down for me, eight to go for both! Little did PC#2 know
she was about to go eight point one ...!

With a quickie bathroom stop because it was there so why not, the girls took off while the boys went their own way picking up the already-passed mile markers and heading to their next Crew destination!

By the way, did you know Pit Crew membership has its privileges? Oh, yes ... our Pit Crew has a long-standing tradition of getting Pop-Tarts during the race! See?

Back to the running -- I could tell PC#2 was totally feeling the great weather because she had a spring in her step I've not seen for a couple of weeks! Frankly, I had the same one, but that made it all the more important to remind her (us) we needed to chill the pace because we had a long way to go! The great thing about PC#2 is all you have to do is remotely suggest she slow down, and she just does. When she first started running, she was all about being fast which I attribute to the emphasis put on their timed mile run in school. That, and she's naturally pretty fast. However, distance running is a much different beast from timing a single mile especially for we who are not going to the Olympics, so she knows running with me means covering the distance the safest and most enjoyable way we can on a given day no matter what how we ran yesterday or will run tomorrow. It was beautiful weather; it was worth chilling out and enjoying it!

During our run, Mary Kate called to announce she's completed her 10K portion of the virtual running program!! PC#2 and I whooped it up the best we could for her while we were in motion!! Yup, right there in the middle of the street we were crossing, we yelled a big ol' cheer for her!! I so loved getting that call!! She was so excited and just so happy!! The only thing wrong with that moment was that we all weren't together for an in-person smelly group hug!! She was with lots of family, though, so I knew she was getting good hugs there!!

And, with that call, PC#2 continued on a good two of incline. This stretch isn't all that fun, but between the humidity not killing us and my knowing this was the most difficult -- and, almost behind us -- stretch of the route, it wasn't that bad. And, as we were heading toward my 10th/her 5th mile, I had a feeling we'd be seeing some familiar faces very soon!

And, I was right!

There they are! They set up a water station for us at a perfect
junction!! Water for us, Diet Cokes for them!

I did snag a very quick, very small sip of PC#3's Diet Coke
before we took off ... big mistake, by the way. Diet Coke does
not settle in your stomach very well very fast. It did, however,
lend itself to a righteous belch that I presented PC#2 with at
the nearby stop light.

Before we knew it, we hit the 11 and 6 mile markers! Usually, Mile 11 is my most difficult in a Half. I don't know why, it just is. It wasn't better this time just because of the weather even though that helped. Considerably. This time, I was having a lot of fun with PC#2. We'd just seen the boys which was awesome. We also saw them just ahead of us in the car as they'd planned to pick up the 11/6 mile markers when we passed, but someone's Diet Coke abruptly kicked in changing that plan ... So, anyway, I was nicely distracted here where I'm usually not. And, perhaps knowing exactly where I was (it being my own town and not a route in an unfamiliar city) and where we were going helped. Whatever it was, I call this my best Mile 11 ever!

Those last two miles were awesome and finished in what felt like a blink! In a moment I would have never guessed, I'd just finished my third Half Marathon this year (who is that girl?!), and in a moment PC#2 never saw coming, she ran -- without stopping, she noted! -- 8 miles!! Can I get a WAHOO!!!!

The boys had set up their water station again along with holding out a streamer finish line! It was then time for the medal ceremony!

My girl does love sparkle and cupcakes ...
this medal was made for her!

Happy girl and Proud Dad! Seriously ...
8 miles!!! WOW Double WOW!

My boy did the honors!

We weren't the only ones with a very special medal ceremony!!!

There is Mary Kate having broken through her green
streamer finish line (held by her kiddos!) being
awarded her cupcake bling!!

Of course, we had to call Mary Kate to announce our finish, too!

There we are ... yelling at her again!

It's very clear to me that virtual running is exactly what you make it to be ... and, we went all out!! This was a seriously fun run that included seriously fun people!!

Of course, we can't forget a particular supporter:

Elly says, "I cannot believe I didn't get to go. At all. I dressed
in my cupcake duds and everything."

"I forgive you if I can lick that cupcake. Slluuuurrrrp !"

And, tomorrow, we celebrate ...!