Back in May of 2009, I had set the goal of completing a pikermi "one day." (See original blog post here.) I am amazed that just over one year (and one more miscarriage, which definitely sideline my running plans but also solidified my running goals) later, I already achieved my goal - and it was awesome! It was definitely hard work, but I did it. And just so you can all share in the experience, I'm going to now post a painfully long summary for you all to enjoy :)
The Urban Wildland Pikermi
The morning started off bright and early with a 5:30am alarm clock buzz - which is particularly brutal on a Saturday morning. By 6:25 I was at Amanda's house, and then we were quickly off to the Richfield Ice Rink, where the race started. After waiting in a long line for the bathroom (which, like always, made me think of my HS health teacher who referred to it as "the nervous tinkle" and, like always, made me question why one of the men's bathrooms wasn't converted to a women's bathroom just for this event), we got to line up. It wasn't a huge crowd, but I was still pleasantly surprised to see so many other people up for a little 13.1-mile jaunt that morning.
Amanda was particularly excited that O'Neal (from the Biggest Loser) was the "special guest" who fired the gun to start the race.
And we were off! We started off a bit fast, carried by the adrenaline of the crowd. We had decided ahead of time that we would follow our 5+2 running plan (5 minutes running, then 2 minutes walking) for the race, but it did feel a bit silly walking only 5 minutes into it. No worries, we told each other, we're just doing what we need to do in order to finish.
Just over 3 miles into it, we found a new friend! Kate was visiting for the weekend from Arkansas, and had registered for the race with a (much faster) friend of hers. She liked the idea of our 5+2 plan, so we invited her to join us. It was really nice to have another person to chat with in order to keep ourselves motivated.
Around mile 6 it started to sprinkle. No worries, we told each other, it's just a little water and it'll help keep us cool for the rest of the race. By mile 8, however, it really started to rain. Yuck!
Luckily we had some supporters come out to cheer us on! Kate's mom showed up around mile 6.5, Amanda's friends were cheering at mile 7.5, Mike came to boost our spirits at mile 9, and Christopher (Amanda's husband) was there at mile 10.5. I am so incredibly grateful to all of them for their support!
Here are Mike's cell phone photos of us:
Here's one of Christopher's mid-race pictures of us:
In another burst of good luck, the rain finally stopped around mile 11. My previous distance record had been 10 miles (remember back when it was 3.5 miles?!), so it was really cool to know that each step was setting a personal distance record for me.
Around mile 12 my legs were heavy and tingling, and I remember thinking that it felt like the longest mile I had ever run. Amanda charged ahead for a bit while Kate and I continued at our penguin pace.
And then we heard it - music and cheering in the distance!
And then we saw it - the finish line beckoning us closer!
And then we did it! We finished our Pikermi!! Yaaaayyy!!!
(Official race results are here.)
My race results:
Turkey Day 5K - 11/27/08 - 36:00 (not officially timed; 11:37 pace)
Heart of Summer 5K - 7/25/09 - (not run due to miscarriage)
Drumstick Dash 10K - 11/26/09 - 1:10:44 (11:23 pace)
Get in Gear 10K - 4/24/10 - (official race not run due to heavy rain, but unofficial race run 2 days later)
Race for the Cure 5K - 5/9/10 - 33:00 (not officially timed: 10:37 pace)
Torchlight 5K - 7/21/10 - 37:00 (not officially timed; 11:55 pace)
Urban Wildland Pikermi - 8/7/10 - 2:41:16 (12:19 pace)
Upcoming races: Medtronic TC 10 Mile - 10/3/10
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