The Cupcake Run

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 982.8 (running: 796.8; walking: 41.2; biking: 144.8) Money Found For Food Bank: $5.28

 

2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 982.8 Aaron: 701.2 (b: 619.6; w: 79.6)  Elly: 285 Total: 1969

-- 46 miles remain in our 2,015 in 2015 Challenge --

It would have been totally cool had our total mileage landed on 1968 today since that's when I was born! Just sayin' ...!

So, WAHOO!!! I do so love my birthday!! And, what better way to start it off than with a run?! Okay, in truth, I would have been super happy sleeping in, too, but I really wanted to do this virtual Cupcake Run with Pit Crew #2 and virtual running partner extraordinaire, Mary Kate, so this was a huge winner, too!

Look what we were running for!!

I mean, really, there was no way I was passing up earning that!! And, PC#2, our very own cupcake queen, was totally ready to get out of bed for this one! I can't speak for Mary Kate's genuine level of interest in getting up for it (sounds like someone else I know ... oh, wait ... that's me ...), but I can speak to her enthusiasm for our continued trio adventures, so she was all in! Besides, as soon as she answered the phone when I called for our start, she did so with a lovely round of "Happy Birthday," so it was a great way to get this run rolling!

 

There we all are ready to go!



I'd warned PC#2 that we would be taking it really quite easy which is not something she's a fan of hearing. She tends to want to run harder than I do, but we've definitely found a mutual groove that works for both of us. But, to be warned that we needed to take it easy indicated we might be taking our normal pace down a notch, and I knew that she wasn't too excited about that. That's when I told her to trust me, that the additional mile and a half we're adding today from what we usually run together would make a big difference at the end. That, and she hasn't run in two weeks. That's not the best combo for any kind of running much less jumping into a 10K! Regardless, we were off!!

Can I just say today was not birthday weather? When you're born in December, you don't expect it to be 55 degrees at 8 a.m. and it feeling a little balmy! This was much more of a Spring-like morning than almost Winter, but whadda ya do. Mary Kate had 70 degrees surrounding her; yuck!

So, there we were plodding along just after the first mile when I found my long-sleeved shirt choice somewhat regrettable, and, out of the corner of my eye, I was catching PC#2 pull at her running jacket. She said she was going to take it off, and, because I assumed she would need to stop and tie it around her waist, I called out, "Save it for a hill! Save it for a hill!" One needs to learn to never stop on a straight away or down hill if an up hill is a possibility, amiright? She said she didn't need to stop to take care of it. But, right at mile two, we did need to make an unexpected one:

Just after our little detour, we were back on the route and facing my most hated hill of the whole thing. PC#2 has finally deemed it the worst on the route, too. It's three quarters of a mile steadily up hill. And, it sucks. Singing to myself for distraction helps quite a bit. High fiving each other at the top doesn't hurt, either! The vast majority of this particular route is up hill; I'm not quite sure why I ever think it's a good idea to use ...

I did know this was out there, though:

I'm gonna get you, penny! FINALLY!

It's been sitting in its intersection for weeks, and I see it when we drive by. This penny is precisely why I knew we'd use this route. Well, that and the fact that I know exactly where 6.2 miles is, and I don't have to spend time mapping it out. Win. Win. Add that penny to the other 17 cents we found, and I call that a banner day seeing as this is far from a target-rich stretch.

On and on we went finally to a point where we could hold fun conversation and not just grunt about another hill ...

And, then there was this time we had to stop when I got a rock in my shoe (drat!) as well as pause for just a brief moment when the boys drove by, and we waved them down to retrieve the aforementioned jacket PC#2 had been carrying:

THAT is some Pit Crew SERVICE!

When we got to the last mile, I was ready to be finished, but PC#2 was really ready. She never complains about running and certainly did not this time. But, I could see it in her face that the last mile caught up to her. How could it not?! She was a trooper, though, even the time I had us cross when traffic was completely clear but I picked a place that was more steep than probably any other spot to do so. It was one of those super-short-super-painful inclines. My eye was on the finish just ahead and not on the street. I earned the groan from both of us there!

But, the reward was worth it!

Of course, we had our end-of-race call with our teammate:

She's looking at me.

It's always fun to have those wrap-up calls where we can debrief and share any highlights. It's fun to know someone else is out there with you! Thanks again, Mary Kate!!!

I looked closer at our medal ribbons and noticed they have "5K" on them which is when I said out loud, "Huh. I wonder if I signed us up for a 5K ..." which is when PC#2 bugged her eyes out and stared straight ahead. I'm glad she wasn't looking at me at that moment, just sayin'!

So, that wrapped that part of the morning up, but there was some walking to do after breakfast because there's a certain puppy who was none too happy about being left behind. I knew a walk would do the trick:

"No run and no presents for me. You're darn-tootin' I get a walk!
Thanks for it, by the way. SLURP!!"

And, that's a wrap on the main event for the day! Truly, it was great, but I'm taking myself up on the idea of sleeping in tomorrow!!

Enjoy every part of the rest of your Saturday, and I'll be checking in!!