Jag Jog - Run

This race was a fundraiser for a school so there were lots of elementary-aged kids and their parents and a few serious runners. A bunch of the kids of course jumped out to the front and there was lots of "I'll see you at the finish." "Oh yeah? Well, I'll see YOU at the finish." The path was wide enough for 3 people and after we went down the big hill, I got stuck behind a dad, his son, and somebody else. I didn't want to be rude and go off the path around them, but they were going slower than I was so I finally did. There was a bit of an uphill about 3/4 mi. where I caught up to a dad who was really trying hard but already huffing and puffing. I gave him some encouragement, then passed him. By the first mile, most of the kids had pooped out, although there was one trio who were powering along pretty well. Shortly after I passed them, I heard the girl tell the two boys, "You go ahead, I'll see you at the finish." It was cool to see her running along with her 2 friends and I was sad to hear her pull up.

The water station was at the halfway point. The volunteers there were some high school girls, who giggled when I dumped my water on myself instead of drinking it. I could see one woman ahead of me by that point and I slowly reeled her in. We yoyo'd a bit, and I finally passed her around mi. 2.25. After that, I was on my own.

I'd been glancing at my watch and it looked like my pace was strong. I was feeling really good, breathing comfortably, and not hot or fatigued. By mi. 2, I was starting to think that maybe I'd place in the top 3 in my AG based on the other racers I'd seen at the start. At about mi. 2.8, I was starting to feel fatigued and was a little worried about going back up the big hill that we'd come down at the beginning. I hit the bottom and pushed myself to keep the pace and tempo up. Got to the top of the hill, headed across the parking lot and as I neared the finish, I saw my friend's 6 year-old son jumping up and down, cheering for me. That gave me a little extra boost and I finished strong. I had planned this as a training run and was thrilled that it went so well, especially considering that my previous few runs had felt lousy.

Nothing. This was a great race and I felt really good.

My friend K and her husband met me at the finish line. I was breathing really hard and feeling pretty light-headed so I leaned on T for a moment, then they helped me over to the curb to sit down. I sat and recovered my breath and drank several glasses of water brought to me by their son and a volunteer. I chatted with K and T and met T's dad and stepmom who were helping that week while K goes through radiation and chemo. I couldn't hang around too long because I had choir rehearsal so as soon as I was recovered enough, I jogged to the car and went home. I wasn't able to stick around for the awards and was completely shocked to get a text from K telling me that I'd won my AG. I knew I'd done well, but I didn't know I'd done THAT well!!




Limited running this summer due to knee problems. Despite that, I PR'd and had a great race.


Fundraiser for a local charter school. Lots of volunteers from the high school cross country team, as well as parents. Would have been nice to have had 2 water stations but given logistics, it was hard enough for them to get the water to 1 that 2 wouldn't have been feasible. Not much food or swag but all the entry fees were going to the school so I didn't mind.