Those aren't tears, my eyes are just sweating.

Ok, ok, I'll admit it, I cried after I crossed the finish line.  The feeling of accomplishment overwhelmed me and I got a bit weepy.  Gag, right?  It wasn't just about the race, or the 12 weeks getting ready for this.  It was about the two years I have been struggling to lose the baby weight.  It was realizing I didn't give up when I so easily could have.  The thought of losing 80 pounds is overwhelming, but I didn't give up.  I could have thrown in the towel and said, "oh well I guess I'm overweight again."  But I didn't.

When I was tired, I went to the gym.  When I wasn't feeling like it, I went to the gym.  When I wanted to go shopping, I went to the gym.  I made up my mind that there would be no excuses.  I wanted to see my kids grow up, I wanted to see my future grandkids grow up, I didn't want to live a life plagued by the complications of being overweight.  It took me longer than I wanted it to but I got there. . .and I won't go back.

Ok, enough of the emotional crap.  The race was great!  This is what the forecast looked like last night when I checked it.  Snow?  Seriously?  For those of you not living in the Rocky Mountain State, snow in mid May is not actually unusual.  The words outdoor event and Colorado should strike fear in your heart because you just don't know what you are going to get here.  Scorching heat, rain, snow, blizzards, tornadoes, locust.  I mean, you can just get it all.  So I set out new stuff, brought layers, then packed some more layers, and obsessively checked weather.com until it was time to go to bed.

I woke up at 3:30 because I was way paranoid about finding parking (and I am glad I got there early).  I made my breakfast and coffee, grabbed my stuff, and made the trek out to City Park.  At this point it was still raining but it had slowed to a steady drizzle.  It still enough to drench you if you were out in it for long.  By some miracle the drizzle stopped about 15 minutes before race time and didn't start again until I was back in the car.  It made the run nice and cool and actually very pleasant.

Here are some of my thoughts from the race:

• Having a race on East Colfax is kinda odd.  Um, it is a little bit sketchy.  Instead of the "the best urban tour" I think they might want to try these tag lines:  "Running East Colfax; it's better than "walking" East Colfax."  "The Colfax Marathon: Where you get cheered on and high fived by Firemen and a homeless guy (seriously)."  "The Colfax Marathon-where you need to pack Gatorade, energy gels, and heat."  Coming back on 17th Ave. was actually really nice and overall it was a good race.  But East Colfax isn't a pretty place to run.
• 'Tis better to be cold at the beginning of the race than overheat during it.  I mentioned the layers and had most of them on.  But I befriend a lady (Heidi from TX) parked next to me and she told me to ditch them.  I am very glad I did because I really would have gotten too hot.
• You never know who you might see.  There were over 7000 runners and I just so happened to end up right next to someone I taught with.  It was great to chat before the race and keep my mind off my nerves.
• I run with a hydration belt and debated using it or not.  After all, there are water stations.  I decided that I really like to be in control of when I drank, what I drank, and how I drank it.  I hate stopping when I run, so standing in line and trying to drink out of a paper cup doesn't suit me.  Plus, I didn't have to waste cups or litter!  I would definitely run with it again.
• Whatever time you think you are going to run, subtract some off of it when you fill out your estimated finish time.  You will probably get faster when training and then you will be stuck in a wave that is running slower than you.  This happened to me and the first mile was really slow and frustrating because I was trying to pass a lot of people.  I would bet it was my slowest mile.
• If you stick to your training plan, you will be prepared and able to finish.  I am so glad I didn't wing it.  I so easily could have over or under trained.  

Indy wearing my medal (Mason put it on her)

 My overall experience was fabulous!  I ran it in 2:06:16.  It took me longer than I wanted it to but I got there. . .and I will go back.