Also know as...my personal worst 5k time!

Woot!

I'm blaming that on the two Hs. HEAT and HILLS.

I don't think I've talked about it on here before, but I absolutely cannot handle heat. Anything above about 70 degrees (for exercise purposes) wrecks havoc on me. I would seriously rather run in a snow storm than in the 81 degree weather we had today. My body just doesn't function normally when its that hot. I'm a big sweater to begin with, but I overheat way too quickly when it's also hot out.

And now the hills. The race was part of my new town's SummerFest. It wound it's way around a 3.1 mile loop around the 'burbs of the city. And there were tons of hills!

While I'm doling out the blame, I'm adding another H to the list...Hubby. This was the first race since we've met that he was unable to attend. It's just not the same without him.

But, I did convince my friend AZ to join me. It was so nice to catch up with her!

Hot and sweaty!

Other than all those Hs plaguing me, it was a fun race and I'll probably do it again next year.

And on a side note--I didn't wear my Garmin. He's out of commission right now.

And after all the complaining, with my time of 33:35 (ouch), I placed third in my age group and scored some new hardware. Amazing. You know it was a small race!

Next race: GFITN 5k next Saturday! Hoping to not score another PW because the heat will only be worse.

Caitlin started Operation Beautiful last week, and I'm in love with the idea. The premise is to leave an encouraging note for yourself or for another woman to find (like in a public restroom).

I left my first note today! On the mirror in the doctor's office I left a note that said, "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL, inside and out!" But, I didn't have my camera to take a pic. :(

I hope it made someone's day

An update about my friend and her son:

An EEG yesterday showed that her baby has "virtually no brain activity." Invasive therapies are being used and a follow up EEG will happen in a few days. We are all hoping for a miracle.

I visited them at the hospital today, and baby boy is a perfect little angel with tons of dark hair. It broke my heart to look at him.

Pray for my friend. Send her your good thoughts. I love this girl and it hurts me that she's hurting.

EDITED TO ADD: For the full story click over to Baby Joel's Carepage.

This post could also be called Race Report:  Mackinaw FAILURE.

Before I get into all the complaining and wrath I have for this race, I'll tell you the good stuff. I had a great time with Hubby, lil sis and her BF and my Dad and Stepmom. This is the third year my Stepmom and I have ran this race and the second for my sister. It's more about hanging out together than the actual race.

But...

This year we were sorely disappointed with the race. This is the bridge for which the race gets its name:

Nice, right?

This year, instead of waking up early to be shuttled across the bridge we got an email on Friday (the day before the race) stating the race would not be on the bridge due to road construction. That was my first beef. What is the point of running the "bridge race" if you're not running across the bridge? Also, this is Michigan, road construction doesn't just "happen" it's planned months, if not years, in advance. I think the Mackinaw Area Visitors Bureau knew about it and kept it under wraps so that people would still run the race.

If that weren't enough (because it definitely was enough), here's what else happened:

First, we were told that the new course would be the same length as the bridge course (5.4 miles) but run through the city and along the lake shore.

Second, we were told to arrive at 5:30am, race beings at 6:00am in waves of 100 runners.

Not only was the race cut short to only 3.8 miles, it started at 6:30am, which left us to sit in the cold for over an hour before running, in a building which didn't have adequate electrical power to house the event and the lights kept shutting off. And we DID NOT run on the lake shore. I did catch a small glimpse of it along the way, but definitely not running on it.

Here we are, pre-race, sitting around complaining.

Here's where the complaining stops and I get to be happy again. Because I had not expectations for the race at this point, I totally exceeded my running expectations. Overall, running-wise, I had an awesome race. I finished the 3.8 miles in 34:01 minutes. Not too shabby, but I was highly impressed with myself when Garmin told me my splits:

• Mile 1-8:39
• Mile 2-9:09
• Mile 3-9:02
• Last 0.8-7:09 (9:15 pace)

That is FAST for me! I was thrilled with the results! I finished between Super Speedy Little Sister and Speedy Stepmom.

Around mile 2, still smiling

Working hard as the finish line is in sight.

And that is where the fun stopped. Normally as you finish you are handed a pretty cool finishers medal. They decided not to do it this year.

Also, after the race a breakfast is hosted. Last year the breakfast was amazing-bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, coffee, juice, etc. This year it was OJ and muffins. Fail. We skipped it and got some BK on the way back to the hotel.

The three of us unanimously decided not to run this race next year. The race fell so far below our expectations and we got the feeling that it was on purpose, that it totally ruined it for us. So, I am in search of it's replacement.

But, I did learn something from this race-I am doing something right. I'm getting faster and stronger, and I like it.

I apologize for my lack of posting. Bar prep classes are more time intensive than I anticipated and I don't have a routine figured out yet.

Please accept this adorable picture of my three kitties snuggling on the bed as an apology gift: