My Heart Still Skips a Happy Beat Just Before the GO!

There is something about the start of the race that always brings a tear to my eye and a little skip to my heart.  I love running in a race.  I love to see my fellow runners before the race in their various attire doing a variety of things to warm up.  My favorites are the ones who are running back and forth, as if the race was not going to be far enough for them to run, really do have to run before the race also.  I love asking random strangers to please take my picture thinking I do not want this moment to go unrecorded on my Facebook page or maybe in my BLOG and then taking pictures for them also. 

Each race is so similar and so different.  I know the distance today was a 10K or 6.2 miles (give or take) today had a little more give at 6.28 according to Map My Run.  I know that I will start out with the crowd and for about 3 minutes I will be a part of "the pack" and then my personal reality will set in and I will slow down just enough to be in what I know as my own personal "zone" the place where I am still able to breath and run at the same time.  

What made the "Las Vegas Run in the Sun" so much fun to be a part of.....it all started with getting up at 5am to do my pre-race prep which includes making a yummy race day drink, filling my water bottles with water and ice, making sure that I have put glide everywhere that I need to glide and not stick, getting dressed in my summer running gear because this is Vegas and it has been around 90 by 9 am lately and then out the door for the 40 minute drive to the other side of town where this run is being held, only to realize as soon as I walk out the door and close the door (alarm set) that is is only about 50 degrees and I will need a few more items of clothing for this morning.  Back in the house grab my long sleeve tech shirt and back out the door again.  Thank goodness for a smart phone that has a map app and shows me just where to go. 

I love arriving at the race and seeing all the people milling around just waiting to start.  I often wonder what is their story?  How did they become a runner?  Is this their first or their 50 race?  I have personally found the best place to glean information is the bathroom.  At this race where we all thought it would be warmer outside the bathroom which was heated was a real hot spot.  This is also where I met 2 women one from Kansas and one from Kentucky who had just flown into town the night before for their anniversary and were running this race with their husbands (nope they did not know each other before the race).  My thoughts were how fun is that, followed by, why are you not cuddled up in your hotel room. 

This race started like they all do with most of the runners crowding around the start line and me on the outside towards the back just enjoying that moment of teary eyed thankfulness that I get each time I know I am running my race, that I will finish this one not in first place, maybe even in last place, but the important part for me is that I am out there running the race.  That makes me a winner every time.

This course was 2 miles up a gradual hill, 1 mile of rolling hills and then about 100 yards of a steep hill where you then turned around and came back the same way(an out and back in runner's terms).  I loved knowing as tough as the hills seemed going up I would love them coming down.

In every race I try to find something amazing, sometimes it is a person, or the scenery, sometimes it is just a feeling I have as I run or a thought and sometimes it is all of the above listed items.  During this run it was the fact that for about 1/2 of the race I could see the Las Vegas Temple with the statue of the Angel Moroni visible.  What an inspiration to me as I ran, this became my amazing today both in vision and in thought.  I paused a moment to take this picture and to say a prayer of thankfulness for it is "but by the grace of God" that I am even able to run today.

All in all this was a great race for me.  Did I get a personal record? No my time was 1 hour and 30 minutes (making my pace just under 15 minutes per mile).  The race just felt great and that is why I love running.  I love feeling great at the end of each run.  I love knowing that I am doing what very few are willing to do or even want to do.  I am an athlete, and no matter how fast or slow or where I place to me I am an elite runner!