Feeling lucky today!

Sometimes even though we're not running a race together, one of us sisters does something cool enough to warrant a post.  Today was one of those times and I was fortunate enough to be the one doing the really cool thing, Awesome actually.  Here's the cliff's notes version...

It started super early in the morning as most grand running  adventures do and also in my messy van which is also pretty normal.  Anyhow, my alarm was set for 5:05, but I woke with a start at 4:55 and hopped out of bed 10 minutes early!  I do LOVE when I'm ahead of schedule and I don't have to wake to my alarm so I knew we were destined for greatness early on today.  Nikki and I met Michele at Starbucks; We all made a quick purchase at Starbucks and our morning got a serious JOLT of awesomeness!  We headed south to Holland and arrived to the finish line area with plenty of time to spare. We took this awesome early morning mugshot, hugged Nikki and wished her a happy 8k and quickly loaded on the bus (last two seats available and we were next to each other... on the aisle!) And we were off to the start of the Holland Haven Half Marathon!  And...The good luck just kept coming!

We also had the good fortune of real bathrooms at the Civic Center before be boarded the bus and at Camp Ganeva when we arrived to wait for our start time.  In case you're not a runner,  REAL BATHROOMS are a big deal at races and given the timing of this race in relation to my womanly cycle this was a true game changer, LIFE SAVER might be more accurate.  Also, we had a last minute running buddy add on in Adrienne (MSU Grad from our run club!) and she definitely helped enhance our experience.  Go Green!  I'm so thankful she showed up!  We felt super VIP with luxury bathrooms, a Spartan Alumni pacer and matching tank tops!  It was special especially given that I was just a low life bandit.  Given a series of unfortunate events leading up to this race involving crazy health issues, a nearly dead dog, all the back to school costs for three kids and my currently empty bank account, I decided to run the race with Michele as an unofficial pacer without signing up; In the racing world, this is know as banditing a race.  Mird and I once accidentally bandited  our St Patty's Day race.  This was also the first time I've run a race that required a bus ride to the starting line and it definitely added to the excitement level for everyone! I highly recommend doing a race that involves a bus ride to the start. You won't regret it! If you feel like training like crazy I think BOSTON would be the most EPIC bus ride you could take.

Here's the three of us at one of the aid stations! I've titled this shot "Vern, Dazed and Confused"


Our good fortune just kept coming the entire race too.  We kept a pace I never dreamed of when I awoke this morning. We giggled and goofed off so it felt fun.  We shared stories, took turns leading our little pack and spent a couple hours with awesome friends getting a killer workout! Oh and despite that my legs felt heavy the last two miles, I didn't trip over the uneven, construction zone sidewalks! More good luck!


Also this race involved bacon....and you know how I feel about bacon!

 Bacon, is the reason I'm not a vegetarian!

Adrienne, the baconator!  I now realize why Mird keeps taking all the goofy cool pictures at all the races we run.  It's because it's so much fun!  So keep on taking your pics, Mird. You were right, it totally improves the race day experience and who cares if we're 3rd or 5th!

The last couple of miles felt hard, but if that's not true in a race, then you probably didn't run the race hard enough, right?!  We really had run hard the first 11 miles, so it made sense we were tired, but we powered through it because we are not quitters and we're too awesome to quit!  We finished in about 1:54.  Not a PR, but certainly a respectable time!

Holland Haven Half Marathon Finish Line

Awesome medals and the lady insist I take one even though I tried to tell her I was just running with a friend, bandit style!

So tonight I'm headed to bed thankful for this most recent running adventure and wishing Mird had been there with us.  Soon the sisters will embark on another running adventure together. Until then, Happy Trails everyone!

Vern out