I'm Alive!!!!

We did it!!! We ran the 2ND Annual Tipperary Hill 4 Mile race. And I'm alive!!! But right now everything hurts. My shoulders, my chest, my toes (blisters) and maybe a little bit of my pride.

My sister Teresa came into town to run the race with us. She got up at 5:30am drove from Troy (OK my parents drove, but she still came) and ran with us. She did awesome. I feel like I hold her back in these races.....She says that she does not care, but I do. She is a better athlete than that to finish where she does. I love her for what she does.

I meet my Parents and Teresa at the Y around 9:20am and we head off. We part at the zoo parking lot because we think that it will be better to get out if we do. We start walking over to the race start and we see Jen. So the three of us start for the building where everything is held. There we see Bridget and we all pile up in her van, with Trace, Andrew and Bill. Bridget has great pictures of us in there.

At 10:30 we meet Kris and Shannon and we get ready for the race. Of course, like the good runners that we are we start in the back, that means we have to climb "the hill" even before we start the race.

The race starts and off we go....I try to keep a steady pace with Teresa right next to me. I do great most of the way. Teresa did have to tell me to be quiet because my 1-2-3-4 up the first hill was too loud that the people in front of us were laughing. OK I was loud, but it keeps me going.

I was OK when we went down the hill, over near St. Patrick's, where the Mexico Marching Band had some drums and was trying to bang out a beat. Of course, I knew one of the girls because she lives in Palermo and her brother was on Andy's baseball team. There they had water....my mistake....I didn't need water, why did I take it. I just don't know.

So we turn the corner and head towards Nipsy's bar (A bar right near a church, such a novel idea). I'm OK there also, but in the back of my mind, I know that it is going to be hell from now on....I start doubting myself.

We get to Coleman's Bar and turn the corner.....I can't breath...I just can't suck in enough air. I stop to walk. No matter what Teresa said or did could help me at this point. I know that I frustrated her. I walk up the slow incline, but now I'm determined to run up that hill.

We turn the corner and Teresa is talking me up the hill the whole way. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember seeing our friend Sherrie who is taking pictures at this time. She is at the top of the hill.......I MADE IT UP TO THE TOP OF THE HILL!!! I can't breath again. Almost to the point that of hyperventilation. We are almost done and I'm walking. I finally get enough air and we start running again. Now at this point I just want to finish the race. We go around Burnet Park and we head for the home stretch. Teresa tells me "It is almost 50 minutes....you want to beat 50 minutes don't ya" So we sprint to the finish line. We made it under the 50 minutes.

I don't remember what our actual gun time was, but our chip time was 48:30 (I think Teresa said) I'm still waiting for the actual times on the web site (I really don't remember much of what happened after the race) I do know that Teresa finished 858 and I finished 859 out of around 1200 people. I do think that is good.

The whole group got together after the race and we checked on everybody. Trace did what she set out to do, finish the whole race without stopping. Bridget and Jen did awesome (of course). Kris, Shannon and I finished the race!!! Pictures were taken and the are posted on Bridget's Blog and some should be posted on Trace's.

The only things that I could change.....I wish that I did not hold Teresa back all the time and that I did not walk....I wish I had the guts to just kept on Running the whole time like Trace did!!! But I do believe that I doubted myself so much that thing happened the way that they did. Now I have something to strive.

Next, training for the Tri......I'm going to train the best that I can and we will see what we can do.