just beka...that's all

the weather reports were not looking promising for sunday morning. 90% chance of rain. some people enjoy running in the rain. i am not one of those humans. the morning came, and while it sprinkled some as k. and i drove downtown it all stopped by 6:30. 

i decided to move back in the corrals to start with k. right before the race started i realized i was going to have to pee. i looked over at the lines for the porta potties and realized that was going to happen, so i made peace with having to stop during the race. 

the first two miles were ok, but i needed to go to the bathroom. i stopped right after mile 2, and felt so much better. i tried to make up my lost time during mile 3, and ran it at a sub 8 minute pace. when my tracker told me my time for the third mile i was surprised, and told myself i needed to chill out. this race wasn't for speed. it was just to finish. 

during mile 4 my hips/back started to bother me, and i settled into my race pace. most of the race took place in west dallas - which isn't the prettiest of views. it’s mostly industrial parks, but as we started mile 7 we crossed the margret hunt hill bridge. it’s a beautiful bridge that has great views of downtown. i think dallas has one of the prettiest skylines out there, and getting to see if from this view was neat. we also got to run down the spirally exit ramp and on i35 for a minute. that was fun. 

i saw b. and a few other people who came out to cheer at mile 9. by then i was feeling my hip, and my foot was hurting, but i felt ok. seeing them really gave me a boost of energy. which i was going to need, because mile 10-12 were uphill. i think that’s just rude. 

almost all of mile 10 was uphill on oaklawn. there was one hill that was so steep that i finally started to walk. i was proud that i made it to mile 10 without walking. i walked about half of mile 10. all together, i walked less than a mile for the whole race.

at mile 12 i saw a man collapse and the medics preforming CPR on him. that was extremely scary. as i ran past him all i could do was pray. when k. passed him a few minutes later he was being loaded into an ambulance. 

the last half mile of the race was all downhill, and it was amazing. when i saw the sign for mile 13 i started to tear up. i was so glad to be finishing this race. runner’s high is a real thing, and i love it. 

with taking out some time for my bathroom break i finished in 2:15, and 4,377th out of about 15k runners. i’m pretty ok with that. 

this year was a new course that i didn’t love. it was pretty constricted which made it difficult for spectators come out and cheer. also, it had more hills than in years pasted, and it was kind of an ugly run. the rock n roll dallas usually winds through turtle creek, mockingbird, and swiss ave. i hope they go back to the old route next year.