I got up at 7:30 am today.
To anyone who knows me well, that alone should seem like an accomplishment.
But “Team Playlist” — me, Lacy, Ryan and Oona, all from RealNetworks — was going to run the Jingle Bell 5K today. Ryan’s wife Sarah was planning to run it with us, too.
Lacy was coming to pick me up at 8:15. I’d told her to call me when she was downstairs at my apartment complex. Around 8:19, when I hadn’t heard from her, it occurred to me that perhaps she didn’t have my phone number. I didn’t have hers. We always just emailed. So I loaded up my email and kept hitting refresh until I got an email Lacy had sent from her Blackberry: “Come down now.” I emailed back “OK!” and went downstairs, where Lacy was in the car with Oona. Lacy said they were just about to leave — she’d figured that with the cold weather and the snow, I’d never even gotten out of bed. NOT TRUE. I was suited up and ready to run in 20 degree weather! Never underestimate The Beet.
Lacy dropped Oona and I off near the starting line and went to go park. She told us to go meet Ryan and Sarah on the south end of the Starbucks, and she’d be there in a few minutes. Oona and I are directionally challenged, and waited on the north end of the Starbucks forever, and no one came to meet us. We were like, “I guess everyone else just bailed!” We figured Lacy got so mad at traffic that she’d just gone home and Ryan and Sarah had decided not to come out in this weather. “It’s just the two of us!” we decided. “We’re so hard core.”
When the race started, it was so packed we could hardly move. I looked at my Garmin. I was at a 15 minute mile pace. I was like “Is it gonna be like this forever?” Then I noticed that some of the faster runners were running along the sidewalk, where there was more room, so I followed suit and ran on the sidewalk. The only problem was that the sidewalks were really icy at some parts, so people were slip-sliding around. After about a mile of running on the downtown streets, we all headed for the express lanes of I-5. People cheered like crazy as we entered the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, people started singing “Jingle Bells.” I took off my headphones to listen. So fun! Some of the runners were really dressed up — as Christmas presents or Santa Claus, and I even saw one girl dressed up as a dreidl! Go Jews!!!
The tunnel portion of the run was pretty flat and easy. I ran a lot faster than I do on my practice runs. Like, a lot faster. I just kind of kept pace with the fastest runners without really thinking about it. I need to be careful about that in my half-marathon, because I won’t be able to keep up that kind of pace for 13 miles. I normally run 10-11 minute miles, and all of a sudden I was running 7-8 minute miles. That definitely would not be okay for the half, so I need to be sure I stick to my pace when I run that. Good lesson to learn.
On the last quarter-mile of the tunnel, I felt someone tap me on the back. It was Lacy! “You’re doing great!” she said. “I’ve been behind you most of the race!” I was so relieved to see her. I was kind of worried I’d have to walk home. As we came out of the tunnel and started the last half-mile, the road suddenly got really, really steep. I had pushed really hard so far, and the steep hill kicked my ass. I wanted to stop and walk a bit, but I wouldn’t let myself do that. The hill felt like it would never end, but I just kept running, although I slowed down a lot. Lacy powered ahead of me. Finally the hill ended, and the last two blocks were downhill. As I approached the finish line, I saw Ryan on the sidewalk cheering and waving. He was here! And he was already done!
Miraculously, we all had no trouble finding each other after the race. It took us all about 45 seconds to find each other even without a designated meeting place, which is so bizarre when you consider that none of us could find each other before the race, even though we’d specifically decided to meet on the south end of Starbucks. Life is funny like that sometimes. But we all headed out to brunch, where I had yummy vegan pancakes.
All in all, it was such a rewarding experience. I honestly had a blast, and it was so great to do it with such awesome friends. I’ve just met the coolest people in Seattle. I’m really starting to dig this whole running thing, and I’m kind of getting excited for my half-marathon.
What the hell have I become???
