RACE REVIEW:SUBARU DISTANCE CLASSIC

As I mentioned on Tuesday, I've been battling a cold for a little over a week.  I've been doing my best to ignore it with the hope that it wouldn't really come to fruition.  Fortunately, it hasn't.   But, it hasn't gone away, either.  Basically, it has consisted of a cough, some sinus pressure, and an overall feeling of blah.  Earlier this fall, when my family decided to gather down in FL for Thanksgiving, I went ahead and signed up for a the Subaru Distance Classic, a half marathon that was being held about 15 minutes from my parents' house.  I was psyched to give the half a go after having run a marathon in October, hoping my legs might still be strong enough for another solid effort and perhaps even a PR on a flat Florida course.  When we got down here on Sunday, I was still struggling with my cold.  Under the advice of my coach, I took Monday off knowing the extra day of rest would help.  Each day I was getting a little better, but by Wednesday, the day before the race, I still wasn't 100%.  Argh.  What to do??  A few of my Oiselle teammates suggested that I run the race but just take it easy.  Just cruise and enjoy, they said.  Okay, yes.  I thought.  Maybe I'll do that.  Fellow coach, Mick Grant, told me definitely not to race at all.  "You are a coach?" he said "what would you advise?"  Fair point.  When I asked my own coach what he thought he responded, "as long as you don't have a fever, why not let her rip?".  All good thoughts and suggestions, but not much help in pushing me one way or another.  As of 9:00 Wednesday night, I still wasn't sure what to do.  It was just about then that I realized I hadn't brought any fuel for during the race and that I didn't have any pre-race food as my family pretty much eats nothing but bacon, eggs and sausage every morning when we are together.  Not that I don't love bacon.  But, pre-race, not so much.

Every. Single. Morning.

(Mom)

So, I headed over to the Publix and grabbed an assortment of gels and chews, none of which I'd ever tried before, a Gatorade and a very green banana.  And then I headed home to get to bed, still not sure what my plan was.  I laid in bed and weighed out my decision:

I wanted to race because:
~ I'd already signed up and paid.
~ I wanted the shirt.
~ I wanted to get out of the house and move on Thanksgiving knowing that the rest of the day would likely be pretty lazy.
~ I wanted to run a new race in a new state with new people.
~ I just really like to race.

I didn't want to race because:
~ I didn't feel well.
~ I knew my hopes of a fast race and/or a PR were no longer realistic.
~ I wasn't sure I could just relax and run for the fun of it.  That's hard for me.
~ I didn't want to set myself back any further from a health perspective.
~ The race was starting at 7:00am and I needed to pick up my number before that which meant I would need to get up at 5:30 to make it over there in time.  Wait, what?

I thought about it for a long time.  Hours, actually.  I literally could not fall asleep.  This troubled me.  Around 11:00, my cough kicked in.  Not awesome.  I popped a Halls, propped up my pillows, and laid there some more.  At some point, I nodded off.  I had my alarm set for 5:00am, but had no need for it as my lids popped open at 4:30 and I couldn't get back to sleep.  It was decision time.  Well, I thought, I still feel crappy, I'm now hearing a strange crackling noise out of my right ear every time I move my head, and I've gotten about 4 hours of solid shuteye.  But I'm up, I'm packed and ready to go.  So, why the hell not?!  Crazy?  Kind of.  Stupid?  Maybe.  Predictable?  Totally.  Come on, I'm a runner.  My husband heard me getting ready so he rolled out of bed and told me that he'd take me over to the start.  For the record, I did give him the out and he still opted to get up.  Yes, he rocks.  We headed over to the Gate, a huge and strangely awesome gas station that has about 24 flavors of coffee.  I realized, as we filled our very large styrofoam cups to the brim, that neither of had said a word to each other since we'd left the house.  Of course, once we got back in the car with our hot cups of joy, we started chatting away.  Coffee is truly amazing, isn't it?  He dropped me off to get my number and use the bathroom and then he headed over to a diner to grab some breakfast.  I stood in line with a towel wrapped around my legs because the sun wasn't up yet and it was still pretty cold out.  I'm not going to lie, I was pretty envious of Jeff, who was now sitting in a warm, cozy diner eating breakfast and drinking more coffee.  Finally, I headed over to the start and tried to get myself fired up.  For the first time in many, many races, I was having a hard time with this.  I wanted to get there mentally, to be in the moment, to feel the excitement that was spreading throughout the crowd, but I was having a really hard time.  It was then that I realized I had forgotten the GUs that I'd purchased the night before and thus had no fuel.  For the love of Pete.  I put my music on, turned up the volume and danced around while we waited.  I got a couple good stares from the people next to me.  Works every time.  After the gun blew I immediately felt like I had to pee and I couldn't hold it.  Dammit.  I ducked behind a bush and squatted in frustration as I watched the crowd roll by.  At this point, I gave myself a little pep talk.  I said something to effect of:
You have GOT to relax, Rebecca.  There is nothing more you can do.  You don't have your A-game today, and that's totally fine.  The sun is coming up and the temp is perfect.  You need to just get back in there and chill the eff out.
Then I re-joined the crowd, put my chin up and shifted into cruise control.  And I had a great time.  The course was beautiful, weaving me through neighborhoods in Jacksonville that I'd never been to before.  I loved that.  I wasn't able to pick up the pace at the end of the race, but I didn't die off either.  All things considered, I raced well.  With the bathroom break and my lack of fuel, I pulled off a 1:32.  This is a decent time for me.  Not my best.  But not too shabby.  After I crossed the line, I quickly found Jeff, happy to be done and more happy that I was headed home to spend the rest of the day with my family.  I had no regrets.  If could go back in time, would I make the same decision to race given how I felt?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But it didn't matter.  I truly believe that every race we run has a purpose.  Sometimes that purpose is crystal clear - a PR, a win, or just some quality time with friends - and other times, in fact, pretty often, it's not.  Yesterday, the purpose of my race became clear to me after the fact.  In this case, to remind me that I'm a runner, and I can dig deep to race when I'm feeling sub-par, but that I can't pull a miracle out of a hat and that's okay because it's usually still worth it.  And, perhaps, also to remind me that the rest of the day is more important than the race, anyway.

Listen to this:

Borderline - Tove Styrke  

WHY I RUN

Recently, a fellow runner asked a group of us why we run.  He's compiling the answers for a blog post and wanted our honest feedback.  I jumped right in, giving him my 'go-to' response of:

Running keeps me sane.  It is my therapy.  It makes me feel alive.  It makes me feel like a badass.  It makes me feel powerful.  I run because it makes me a better wife.  A better mom.  And a better friend.  I run because it makes me who I am.

And that pretty much sums it up.  But, at the same time, it's so much more than that.  I knew he didn't want me to go into detail with all of my other reasons for his post, but I did take a minute to think about it myself.  What I realized is that while the above statement holds true all the time, each individual run I go on really serves its own purpose on that particular day.  Case in point, today's run.  Let me break it down for you.  Wait, I have to give you some backstory, so bear with me.  Both my kids have just finished battling a nasty cold.  I thought I'd been able to avoid it as I was showing no signs of getting sick, but on their last semi-bad day, my body eventually broke down and succumbed to the germs.  Wishful thinking.  Last Thursday, still in denial that I was sick, I attempted a tempo run on the treadmill.  No dice.  I had to end it early.  I got a couple more short and very slow runs in after that but then I had to surrender to the cold.  My tank was officially empty.  On Sunday morning, we flew down to FL to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents and my extended family.  Fortunately, my kids were now back in good health.  Unfortunately, I was not.  But, the upside of being with family and, more specifically, having my nephews around is that my mom duties are relatively low key.  So, I've been able to take it pretty easy the past couple days, meaning no running and lots of rest.  Talk about giving thanks!

This morning, I headed out for my first legitimate run since last Tuesday.  My legs felt good but my breathing was a pretty labored.  Honestly, you probably could have heard me from a half a mile away.  Within about 3 minutes I was sweating profusely.  I ran my first mile in 9:13.  Ok, I thought, not bad.  Just keep moving.  At this point, Clean Bandit's song,  'I'd Rather Be', came on.  She sang about being 'a thousand miles from comfort', which I thought was funny because I was pretty far from comfort myself.  I tried to settle in and find a groove and, as if on cue, it started to pour.  Ha!  Bring it, I said out loud.  To myself.  At mile 2, I was feeling a hair better, but still moving pretty slowly and, now, completely soaked.  Maybe I got ahead of myself with this run, I thought.  But, I forged on.  Eerily, MIKA started singing 'Relax, take it easy', so I did just that.  I let go and embraced the rain.  Okay, Rebecca. You've got this now.  Let's roll.  And that's when Katy Perry's song 'Roar' came on. YES!!!  I sang along with her, I even threw in some dance moves, as I, too, had the eye of the tiger.  I was cruising now.  My pace didn't matter.  My breathing didn't matter.  I was just happy to be back on the road, rocking out and moving my legs again.  I ran 6 miles total.  I finished strong.  Not fast.  Just steady and smiling.  The rain was still coming down.  The sky was gray.  I was tired.  And still, I felt awesome.  So, why did I run today?

REASON #43: I run to be outside, listen to good music and remind my body how good it feels to move.

Listen to this:
Running With the Boys - LIGHTS* 

*This Soundcloud clip is live.  It's worth listening to both versions.

WHY NOT?

"A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be."

~ Tom Landry

Back in 2007, when I started training for my first marathon I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.  I had never run longer than 12 miles, I'd never eaten or drank anything mid-run, and I was still wearing cotton tees and soccer shorts for workouts.  Somehow I'd missed the memo that explained how pretty much everything had changed since I'd run in college.  Upon completing my first marathon, I realized I had a (pardon my French) shitload to learn.  The single cup of coffee and half of a Pria Bar that I'd eaten the morning of the race lasted until about mile 16.  After that, I started hallucinating and hearing weird voices.  Lesson one, must eat more food on race day.  This spring, I'll be running my 11th marathon.  Holy crap!  Where did the time go??  Over the years, I've done a lot of research and tried several different training plans to both improve my performance and to make the whole experience from day one to race day more enjoyable or....um....doable.  With the knowledge I gained along with a boat load of training, I have been able to bring my marathon time down quite a bit.  Obviously, I'm thrilled about that.  But over these past few years, as I've ramped up both my effort and my mileage, I've started to feel the need for outside support, for tips beyond what the magazines offer and, to be totally honest, for some simple words of encouragement to help lift my spirits when the training gets rough.  Last year, I started working with a coach.  Up until that point, I had always figured that only elite runners had coaches.  I was a working mom and running was just something I did on the side.  Why would someone like me use a coach?  To which I now would answer, why not?

W/ THE LHS XC SQUAD

I coach both high school girls and grade school girls (ages 7-12).  Running, in particular, can be really hard.  Especially for the younger girls.  They don't say it, but I know these kids appreciate coming to practice and not having to think about what they are going to do.   They just want to go.  And having a coach enables them to do this.  I have also seen the impact a few words of encouragement can have.  It's powerful stuff.  So, why would I not give myself the same option if it was available to me?

W/ THE EDGEHILL RUNNING CLUB

After my 7th marathon, I started to poke around and see what my options were.  Turns out, there are tons of running coaches out there and they work with athletes of all ages and abilities.  So, I decided to go for it.  I chose to work with Lowell Ladd of 2L Coaching.  I liked the fact that he was an experienced and competitive runner but also a working dad with 2 kids.  My relationship with my coach is pretty basic.  I follow his training plan, I log my workouts so he can check them out, and once in a while I check in via email or phone if I have specific questions or concerns or for a pre or post race discussion.  It's the perfect system for me, given my schedule.  No, I'm not an elite athlete.  But, I take my running pretty seriously.  I find that I'm always in need of some help, both mentally and physically.  And my husband, bless him, can only do so much.  That's where Coach Ladd comes in.  Here are some key reasons I like working with him.  Along with my workouts, he provides:

~ encouragement
Way to rock the workout.  It would certainly seem that your body had a lot more in it than you realized.  Sometimes the mind helps and sometimes it gets in the way.

~ pre/post race support
After today’s miles, the hay is in the barn and all you have to do is go out and crank out 26.2 on Sunday.  Easy enough, right?  I am sure you will do great.  Just relax, get through the early miles with as little thought about it as possible, and buckle down the last 10K.  Good luck!

~ accountability
Have you done today’s tempo run yet? Just wondering how that goes/went.  I know you were chewed up early in the week, but hope that the day off Wednesday allowed your legs to spring back.

~ freak out management
I know you were not sure about getting in much running this week, but the two runs Tuesday and yesterday were a good way to make sure you won’t lose fitness this week.  I hope you are enjoying extra time with your girls.

~ reassurance
You really rolled a strong 15 today for having to do it in the hot weather.  It certainly seems like you are in a good groove with the marathon training especially for it being summer and far out from the race.  Let’s keep it rolling!

As a runner, I have changed a lot since I started working with Lowell.  I have a new appreciation for the sport and for my own body and what it can do.  I work hard because I can see the results every time I race, regardless of my place or time.  I want to push myself because I know someone other than myself is expecting me to.  I like that.  It works for me.  So, yeah, I have a coach.  Go team!

Listen to this:
Ride - TV on the Radio  

THE 'OTHER' PLAYLIST

Every time I run a marathon, right around taper time, I try to stop listening to my music.  Wait, what? Ok, this is only partly true.  As you know, it's border-line torture for me to run any distance without music.  Do I lean too heavily on it?  Perhaps.  Do I care?  No, I do not.  So, no, I don't really stop listening all together.  But I do lay off my current favorites.  I call it my music starvation period.  It's pretty tough, but it's totally worth it as I know how good those babies are going to sound on race day.  Back in 2001, right after I got married, I was re-bitten by the running bug after having taken some time off post college.  Since then, I've run 10 marathons, 12 halves, and countless 5Ks.  I have playlists for all of them.  And while I am constantly creating new lists with each new race and (eh hmmm) year that goes by, I never delete the old ones.  Many of my favorite songs make it on every list from year to year.  However,  some of my 'go-to's from back then...well, they just don't get the juices flowing like they used to.  But, they're still great songs.  Enter the taper playlist.  This is a group of gems that I have compiled over the years that are not on any of my current running playlists.  They may have stopped getting the job done back then, but since I haven't heard them in a while, I find that they have a new kind of zestiness to them when I listen to them today.  And we all know zest is good during taper time.  I make a point to not listen to this one until I enter music starvation period, thereby keeping it fresh and fun and guaranteeing that it will be a much-needed distraction.  Yes, I am a bit of a musical mad scientist.  I didn't create the flow chart in the photo up top, but I might as well have as my own would be of a very similar nature.  Hey, at least I'm just obsessing about music.  It could be a lot worse.  I got such a kick out this group of songs during my last marathon taper that I decided it was worth sharing.  Remember, I started compiling these babies when I was a young lass of about 25 years.  So keep that in mind as scroll through the list.  Listen to them.  Share them.  Laugh at them.  Enjoy them.  Do what you will.  And if you find your own 'go-to' in there, well hot dog.   Enough talk.  Turn it up!

RUNNINGWITHMUSIC: TAPER ON

Black Tambourine - Beck

Break It Down Again - Tears for Fears

It's Love - Chris Knox

A Little Less Conversation (JXL Remix) - Elvis Presley

Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters

Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson

Let's Go Crazy - Prince

Optimistic - Radiohead

White Knuckles - OK GO

Teardrop - Massive Attack

Hung Up - Madonna

Too Fake - Hockey

Annie You Save Me - Graffiti6

Colorful - Rocco DeLuca & The Burden

Sweet Dogs - Trolle Siebenhaar

Spaceman - The Killers

Sometimes I Rhyme Slow - Nice and Smooth

Sweet Black Angel - The Rolling Stones

Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Great Defector - BellX1

Harold T. Wilkins - Fanfarlo

Take On Me - a-ha

Intergalactic - The Beastie Boys

Slow Dog - Belly

St. Petersburg - Brazilian Girls

Love You Madly - Cake

Let's Go - Eurythmics

Gangster Trippin' - Fatboy Slim

Love - G. Love

Better - Regina Spektor

(Nothing But) Flowers - Talking Heads

Elevation - U2

Block Rockin' Beats - Chemical Brothers

Parallel Universe - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Listen to this:

TAPER ON is available for your listening pleasure

below & on spotify.com  Rock on!

THEY ROCK

Want to know what my high school cross country runners listen to to get pumped up before their race?  Who wouldn't?  These girls have been racing like nobody's business lately and I, for one, have been itching to know what gets them fired up before they get on the line.  So, yesterday after practice we put a badass playlist together compiled of all of their 'go-to' race day songs.  These are the songs that help get them in the zone, the songs that help them block out all the pre-race jitters, the songs that take them to the next level.  These are some seriously powerful ditties.  Once we had our list, I thought it would be fun to add a team photo to go along with it.  Our biggest meet of the season is upon us and we are all a little giddy at the moment, so I suggested we ham it up, get creative, do something other than the traditional arm-in-arm pose.  True, the jump shot is not that crazy, but sometimes the picture itself can end up being pretty awesome.  We lined up, grabbed hands, and went for it.

READY....

SET....

JUMP!!

Okay, so that didn't really turn out as we'd hoped.  But we all got a really, really good laugh out of it, which made it totally worth the effort.  Our final State meet is this Saturday at Franklin Park in MA.  This is it.  The big kahuna.  The one we've been training for all season.  The girls are nervous, wired, excited, exhausted, etc.  I am all those things and more.  Thankfully, we all still have a sense of humor.  In the end, we went with the traditional arm-in-arm pose because we basically ran out of ideas and everyone was ready to go home.  My team rocks.  Here's what they rock out to.

LHS ALL-STATE PUMP UP PLAYLIST

Alex, El, Hannah, Steph, Me, Emma, Olivia, Hayley & Paige

Hannah: Ugly Heart - G.R.L. 

Steph: Fairytale - Milky Chance 

Hayley: Anna Sun - Walk the Moon 

Olivia: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor - Beethoven 

Paige: Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event 

Alex: Hall of Fame  

Alex: Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco

Emma: Holding On - Flume

Eleanor: 300 Violin Orchestra - Jorge Quintero 

Grace: Wildewoman  

Lance: Laughter Lines - Bastille  

Oh, and then Grace came late to practice.  But, she loves music and wanted to add her song to the mix.  So, we had our assistant coach, Lance, who took the above photos, jump in with her for the final shot.  Because they rock, too. GO LEX!!!

Grace & Lance

Listen to this, too

Seeing Stars - BØRNS

RACE REVIEW: EMASS DIVISIONALS

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the 

combined effort of each individual."

~ Vince Lombardi

Last month I ran my marathon PR.  It was, hands down, one of my brightest moments as a runner.  I basked in the awesomeness of it all for a few days.  And then, it was business as usual.  My 9 year old still has a boat load of homework, my 7 year old, well, I'm still trying to figure her out, and both of my kids are still ridiculously busy.  But, here's the cool thing.  I also happen to be a high school cross country coach.  Every day I get to head over to Lexington and surround myself with a gaggle of high school girls who love to run.  It is truly the ideal job for me, though, if I'm being honest, it's not always roses.  Anyone who works with kids, especially girls, ages 14-18 knows what I'm talking about.  It's a tricky age for them.  And it's a really hard age for the rest of us to figure out.  It's all good, though.  The challenge is part of the fun.  These girls are like a second family to me. Just like with family, you embrace the good and you work through the bad.  And with each little breakthrough, whether it be physical or mental or both, I am reminded how lucky I am that I get to do what I do.  On Saturday, we headed off to Wrenthem, MA to compete at the Eastern Mass Divisional Meet, one of the two biggest races of our season.  We needed to finish in the top 4 out of about 15 schools in order to keep going on to the State meet.  Our team, particularly our top 10, is ridiculously strong this year.  We all felt pretty good about making it through and sealing a spot for States.  Beyond that, anything was possible.

STAYING WARM, TUCKING IN & WAITING

As we always do, we arrived a couple hours early, got ourselves situated and then we waited.  The boys team was running before us so we had more time than usual to relax or stress, depending on who you asked.  It was cold.  Really cold.  So the girls bundled up in layers and blankets and then packed themselves under the tent like sardines.  Meanwhile, a couple of the guys who had come along but were not competing decided to spice things up for us.  How, you ask?  By donning their yellow and blue nylon suits and cutting a mean rug.  No, really.

YELLOW? CHECK. BLUE? CHECK. MUSIC? CHECK.
GO LEX!

Was this odd?  Maybe a little bit.  Did we care?  Not at all.  These kids were at the meet by choice.  They were representing LHS, making an insane effort to have a good time and reminding all of us not to take things so seriously.  There were a lot of strange looks from people who walked by.  But there were also a lot of smiles and a few good chuckles.  Some even got the urge to jump in and dance with them.  It was awesome.  Finally, at about 12:45, it was time to get ready.  Each girl has her own set of rituals in terms of their race prep.  Some like more time, some less.  Some want to use the bathroom before they start, others like to wait.  Some of them like to listen to music.  Others like to be off by themselves in silence.  In an ideal world, the girls would all warm up together, but I've learned that it just can't always work this way.  So, off they went to do what they needed to do.  The nerves were in high gear, my own included.  We headed over the line and huddled up.  In so many words, I told the girls that they were 100% prepared for this moment, that they needed to trust their training, and then, when they felt ready, they needed to just let go and race with their hearts.  It's a lot to ask of these girls; to put everything aside and focus on just one thing, while knowing that this one thing is going to be unbelievably challenging.  As it turns out, every single one of them was ready and willing to step up to the plate and throw it down.  They raced like never before, as a team and for each other.  They ran as though it was the last race they would ever run, pouring everything into it.  And then, when they had given it their all, they dug a little deeper.  As a coach, it was just incredible to watch.  Running a marathon PR?  That was indeed a shining moment for me.  But, this race took it to a whole other level.  I wasn't actually the runner.  But, I was part of the equation.  And in this case, I was in it for them, not for myself which is a totally different racing experience and, in truth, almost more rewarding.  The love that flowed after the race was almost tangible.  We all quickly found each other, hugged each other, leaned on each other, cried with each other, and then, when the dust had settled, we gathered around for a final huddle.  "Coach," one of them said, "I think we might have won."  To which I replied, "Girls, I honestly don't care what place we came in.  I could not be more proud of how hard you worked out there today.  I asked you to give it your all and you gave me more.  I could see it on your faces as you ran by.  I could almost feel it.  You are all amazing.  And I can't thank you enough."

POST RACE W/ MY LHS CREW

About a half hour later, we learned that we did, in fact, win our race which made us the Eastern Mass Division 1 Champions, a feat that hasn't been achieved for the LHS girls team since 2001.  All of us were, for lack of a better word, freaking out.  Our shining moment just continued to get brighter.  We packed up and headed over to the awards ceremony.  We listened and clapped as they announced the top 15 runners from each race.  And then it was our turn.  I handed my phone to one of my runners who had been at the meet cheering us on and asked them to snap a shot of us with the trophy.  And she did.  But not before taking this shot with her buds because, well, you know, she had my phone.

AWARDS ARE COOL.  SELFIES ARE COOL, TOO.
EMMA, CAROLINE & STEPH

We work hard.  We have good days and bad days.  And we have a really, really good time.  Over the past 4 years at this job, if I've learned one thing it's this: the races, the PRs, the awards, they're all great; but the joy of just being together is truly what makes this sport so amazing.

Listen to this:

Fly With You - Far East Movement  

WORTH IT

"Always worth it if only to realize

Not always perfect but somehow deserving of time"

~ Sarah Blasko, 'Always Worth It'

This past Saturday it started raining around 9:30am; just as my high school runners were loading the bus for their xc meet.  From that point on, the rain never stopped.  It misted, it poured and everything in between.  It was windy and cold, too.  Good times.  Our first race was at 12:55pm.  We arrived in Wrenthem, MA at 10:30am.  And then we waited.  Fortunately, our bus driver decided to stick around (bless her), so those who weren't yet racing could stay dry on the bus.  Around 12:00, the first crew of racers, my sophomore team, headed out to warm up.  Within minutes, they were soaked. And, by the time they got to the starting line, they were both soaked and freezing.  I'm all about being tough, but this was brutal and I felt really bad for them.  There were three different races throughout the day and as each group and I huddled up right before the start I told them all the same thing:

~ embrace the weather
~ dig deep
~ have fun
~ remember that anything is possible
Basically, I wanted to emphasize that they were in the same boat as all the other runners on the line, that they could still have a great race despite the weather and that as hard as things seemed at the moment, they could still have fun out there.  They stood on the line, freezing, shaking, laughing, and (in some cases) border-line crying.  And then they ran their hearts out.  All of them.  Some of them  even had the best race of their season; rain and mud be damned.  The whole experience was epic for all of us in many ways.  On the bus ride home, as we wrung out our clothes and tried to dry out, I told them how incredibly proud of them I was.  I also told them that although they were totally badass for gritting it out, it would definitely not be the last time they had to run in crappy conditions and that each time they fought through it, they would be better runners because of it.

Translation: Head this way if you're nuts

And then it was Sunday.  I was signed up to run the Genesis Battlegreen 5K in Lexington, where I happen to coach.  Many of the girls on my team were volunteering for the race.  I woke up at 5:30 on account of daylight savings.  By the time I was fully functioning, it was snowing.  No joke.  It was also cold and windy.  On top of that, I was wiped from having run around like a chicken with my head cut off the day before.  As you can imagine, I really, really wanted to bail.  But I knew my runners would never let me forget it if I did and I wasn't going to let that happen.  A couple hours before the race, I got a text from my friend and fellow coach OB, asking me if I was going.  Reluctantly, I texted him back "Yep."  

OB & I were tucked in this crowd....

 attempting to stay warm. Ha!

The snow was in full force at the start of the race.  It was nuts.  I laughed to myself as I tried to recall all the things I had told my runners right before their race the day before:
~ embrace the weather
~ dig deep
~ have fun
~ remember that anything is possible
I put a smile on my face if only just to make myself think that I was having fun.  I did my best to embrace the snow as it spit in my face.  And I sure as hell dug deep, especially on the hills.  There would be no PR.  I knew that heading into it.  But I did give it my all, which was good for the win in the women's category.  And that was pretty cool.  Turns out, despite the madness of the situation,  I had been on to something the day before.  No matter what the situation is, anything truly is possible.  I headed into the gym to dry off and grab some food.  I made a point to find the runners on my team who were still there and let them know 2 things:
First: I could honestly tell them I completely understood what they'd gone through the day before.  I thought they'd appreciate that.
Second: I could honestly tell them that, no matter what, it was almost always going to be worth it.

Post race with OB.  Totally worth it.

Listen to this:
Vagabond - MisterWives