Mommy runs, the umpteenth.

Today was the day of my 10K, or 6.2 miles for those of you unaccustomed to metric conversions. It involved getting up at 5:00, driving to a college campus parking lot, following other runner-looking people to the start line, and a lot of waiting around until actual race time, or 7:00. Mercifully, Mike shepherded the kids to the finish line just in time to meet me, so they didn't have to leave the house until about 7:15 - nothing like a couple hours of dead time early in the morning in the cold *and* dark to piss off your littles - I was glad they got to sleep in instead.

At the race, there's a marathon, a half-marathon, and a 10K all held at the same time, so the participants ranged from the moderately fit (me, for instance) to the people who are lean and knobby and high-energy (the marathoners) and the people in between, who were really fit but less keyed up about the whole thing. Best overheard dialogue: "It's important not to start too fast!" Yeah, no kidding! Also, the wit who yelled just before the race started, when the main organizer got her teeny little race pistol out, "She's got a gun! She's got a gun!" And then there's the guy who wheedled a female aquaintence into telling him her usual pace, and then said confidently, "I'm better than that." Nice!

It was chilly, so while I'm standing there waiting for the race to start, I notice a woman whose teeth are actually chattering (she had not, like many people, put armholes in a plastic bag and put it on for additional warmth, a technique I had not seen before outside of wilderness or homelessness situations.) I actually sidled up to her and said, "You're shivering, and I'm just going to stand next to you to share some body heat." Instead of saying "Yeah, right, freakish stranger," she was touched (it was genuinely pretty cold in shorts and a tank top) and we chatted for a while about faculty politics (she turned out also to be a professor), running skirts (I am enthusiastic; she was unsure) and the various local half marathons and marathons (word is that Lincoln has a really good one, but it's early in the year, so it requires lots of indoor treadmill training.) She slowed down a bit at mile five and we ran for about half a mile together until she wanted to go faster and I wanted to walk so I could resume normal breathing. So that was fun.

The race itself was great for about the first three miles, good for the next two, and really tough for the final mile plus. I should have taken a walk break a little earlier, so as to feel better at the end, but it was still good. My adjusted time (the "run time," which is from where my shoes crossed the chip-activating start line to the end, vs. the "gun time," which from the official start of the race until I crossed the finish line) was just over 61 minutes, or about a 9:50/mile pace, which sounds modest until you realize I'm Not Really An Athlete and am New At This. I was really, really pleased. Anonymous friendly professor runner told me that anybody who can do a 10K can do a marathon, it just takes the time to train, and while I'm not that ambitious yet I'm eyeing the half next September.

Next weekend: Gracie and I are doing the Race for the Cure; she's doing the kid run, I'm doing the 5K, pink will be worn, fun will be had, and pictures will be taken; flattering pre-race pics may even make the blog cut. (Of me, not Grace - she always looks adorable.)