Mother’s Day Classic 2008
The Snook and I got up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning to head to the Domain for the 2008 Mother’s Day Classic 8K race. (That’s five miles for the non-metric.) We ran it together before in 2006, but the Snook wasn’t running this year; he was my support staff. We met up with Miss Fee and her running buddy Jan-Maree (and the Sock Victim, who was also there strictly for moral support). The girls strapped on their timing chips and started stretching, while the boys huddled for warmth and talked about computer stuff. I felt cautiously optimistic. My cold is mostly gone from my head, but my lungs are still fighting it off. My goals were to run the whole thing, and to finish at a better than 7:00/km pace (which is what I need for the half-marathon next weekend). The gun fired and we were off. As usual, there was a huge crush at the beginning so I lost the other two girls pretty quickly. (I figure I’m tall, so it’s always the other person’s responsibility to spot me.) I settled into my pace pretty easily, but I could immediately tell this was going to be a slog. Before I caught the cold last week, my shorter distance runs had been starting to feel really easy and effortless. I’d been hoping to feel like that today, but instead I felt like I was really gasping for oxygen. (I’m guessing that was the effect of the cold on my lungs.) I had a stitch threatening from about the 5K mark. I really, really wanted to take a walk break on the 2nd lap, but I told myself how great it was going to feel to run the whole thing. On the last steep hill, I put my head down and channeled Steve Runner, chanting in my head “I eat hills for breakfast. I EAT HILLS FOR BREAKFAST.” It wasn’t fast, but I made it up that sucker. Coming down the path towards the finish line, I spotted the Snook and the Sock Victim waiting at the bottom. I managed to croak to the Snook: “Haven’t stopped yet!” I was so focused on that thought that I didn’t even realize he was filming me. I didn’t have much left in the tank, but I managed a tiny sprint towards the finish line. And then I was done! I’d met my two goals: I ran the whole thing (my longest continuous run to date), and according to the iPod I averaged 6:50/km (which is exactly what I need to do for the first 11K next week). The other two girls finished a couple minutes behind, and we all congratulated each other over apples and some much-needed water. Read on for photos and the aforementioned video…
Jan-Maree, Me, and Miss Fee (along with Jan-Maree’s two girls) before the race. So much pink!

Somehow I missed the Snook on my first lap, but he caught this picture of my back as I zoomed past him.

Miss Fee and Jan-Maree, not far behind me, give a wave to the boys as they finish their first lap.

Here’s the video Snookums shot as I headed into the home stretch…

Here I am checking my iPod time immediately after crossing the finish line.

Sweaty but happy to be done!

I’d meant for this race to give me confidence going into the half-marathon next week, but honestly, I think I feel more scared than ever. I just wish my lungs would clear up as soon as possible so I can get in one or two more “good-feeling” runs…