I ran my first Capitol 10K!

With the remains of a sinus infection and cough, and in the rain no less! All things considered, I'm very pleased with my time. I ran a solid ten minute mile throughout and have only just stiffened up a bit. I'm tired and will likely be sore tomorrow, but I'm really glad I went through with it, cough and all.

I woke up late this morning, finally rolling out of bed after hitting the snooze button a half-dozen times, and promptly had an argument with myself about whether I should go at all. Obviously, my lazy self lost the argument, and I got my butt in gear. I dressed, handled the dogs, pinned my race bib on my shirt, took my shot of cough syrup and bolted out the door with water bottle and extra Clif bar in hand

The race started at 8:45. I walked into my place in the middle of the red pack (which is basically the middle of the middle) at about 8:35, just before the rain started coming down. It was mostly a light rain, but it was definitely constant and I was sopping wet before I even started running.

I have to say it was a great experience; it was so surreal to be running down Congress Avenue toward and around the Capitol building with no cars around. Just the sound of other runners' feet on the pavement and the soundtrack on my mp3 player. Then all the way around the backside of downtown, up past MoPac (Loop 1) and back through the heart of the city and finishing at Auditorium Shores. [By the way, my running soundtrack was great and quite eclectic. It consisted of some of the Legally Blonde musical numbers, about half of the soundtrack to Mortal Kombat--probably the best workout music EVER--and a little George to top things off. In fact, I was listening to Flawless as I crossed the finish line at 1:02:30.]

I don't want to get too crazy about this, but as I was running and the rain ran into my eyes, music in my ears, I was fortunate to find and listen to a little voice inside my head that kept a smile on my face for most of the course. Today was almost a year to the day since my husband left, and with every mile I reflected on just how far I've come in that time. I'm not the same and I'm not completely healed, but I'm alive, I'm hopeful, I'm daring and I'm proud. A few years ago I would never have considered doing an event like this and I would certainly never have shown up and done it on my own, but today it felt good...it felt comfortable and natural. Looking up at the sky through the trees over Enfield road, I said my great big thank you for a year of time well spent.

I can't wait to see what next year brings.