My First Long Distance Race!

Yesterday, I ran my first long distance race....4 miles. This is in line with my ultimate goal to run the half marathon at Traverse City this spring. Mr.Heather has partnered up with me once again as a jogging buddy and we're making great strides (pun intended)! There are a few differences since our last running adventures. First of all, we (as in he) now pushes a double jogging stroller instead of a single. Second, I am now taking advantage of newer technology such as the Nike + iPod Nano which entertains my thoughts and distracts me from my pain, overshadows my heavy breathing, and tracks my pace/mileage. Third, we have actually set futuristic goals (meaning we sign up for races with registration fees) to keep us going and focused. As a result, Mr. Heather and I now have our first official matching running shirts. For anyone who knows us well, we scoff at couples who are all matchy-matchy. We are so hypocritical! Yet, these shirts symbolize our teamwork and what we accomplished together (and it's not like we're going to wear them out in public together!) So...here are some things about long distance races. 1) A typical road can fit approximately 4 people shoulder-to-shoulder. 2) When you pass on the outside, be careful of running into mailboxes. 3) My power song Eddie Murphy's "I'm a Believer" which ironically ends with "I'm out of breath." 4) Listening to "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while you're running is simply wrong. What was I thinking? 5) Passing lots of people on the last mile is kicka**! Trying to make the last 400 meters was painful, but I still had enough in me to kick it up a notch to cross the finish line. 6) Racing gives you adrenaline. I ran most faster than practices. That was a fun surprise! Thanks to Mr.Heather for keeping me motivated, running with me, and inspiring me to run alone on the nights when he was running late, and for supporting me with getting me earbuds that actually stay on my head while I run. He's been great! Plus we had a fun weekend together, he took me out to dinner (Macaroni Grill!), did a little shopping, and we got to hit the hot tub after the race!