Gabe asked me this afternoon if we could go out to dinner tonight. We go out to eat with them occasionally, but it's not something we do all that often, and I think it's good that they consider it kind of a treat, because with the four of us, depending on where we go, it can get expensive. And that's one of the things I was explaining to Gabe this afternoon; that we don't go out to dinner all the time because it costs a lot of money.
His answer - "Well, we should get a lot of money."
If only it were that easy.
He did offer the money from his piggy bank, which I thought was very sweet, but since he probably only has about two dollars in there, it really wouldn't buy us much.
Dante made me laugh today, too. He took a beach ball out of the toy box outside, and it had lost some air, so he asked me to blow it up for him, and while I was blowing it up, he was trying to figure out why it had been flat when he took it out, and he asked "Was it blown down?"
Logical conclusion, really - if it's not blown up, it must be blown down.
I did want to jot down a few more thoughts about the 4th of July race. It's so funny how I've approached these last two races I've done - so relaxed, and so carefree about the whole thing. It's hard to even think of it as a 'race.' But I'm out there with a number on, running with the pack, so I am racing : )
The race started at 8:30 on Saturday, and I got there with just about 15 minutes to spare - plenty of time to get my number and throw my shirt (nice technical shirt!) in the car, and had time to watch the kids' fun run, which was really cute.
It was already getting warm at that early hour, so I knew I'd have to be extra careful not to overexert myself, and I lined up near the back of the pack. I admit - I don't like being back there. I much prefer the middle, or the front of the middle, but I'm getting used to this temporary back-of-the-pack status.
The first mile was the least hilly of the entire race, so I covered it pretty quickly - 9:07. After that first mile, the course was exactly the same as the 5K I ran in April - the definition of rolling hills. I knew this, so I knew those middle two miles would be my slowest, and I dropped my pace accordingly. Mile 2 - 9:30, Mile 3 - 9:25. I was doing ok, though. I stopped at the two water stops they had, and continued chugging along.
It was warm, but not too warm, so the heat wasn't really getting to me quite the way I thought it might. And I was really enjoying being out at a race again, and just soaking up the whole scene.
The last mile was a little less hilly, and when I came around the final corner and saw that I was going to be able to finish in under 38 minutes, I was pretty thrilled, and had enough energy left for one final kick to the finish, and was really happy to run the final mile in 9:02 and cross the line in 37:39.
One other major difference in my races now is that I'm actually hungry after I'm done running! Usually when I run a short race like this, I'd be pushing myself so hard that, frankly, I feel like throwing up when I'm done. But since I'm running nice and easy these days, I'm starving when I finish up. So I made my way over to the food area, and ate a huge bagel with cream cheese. After that, and a few glasses of water, I checked out the results and headed home.
Even though I know I'm not in contention for any awards these days, I still like to see the results being posted and get an idea of how I did. I'm a numbers junkie, and can't resist the stats.
So, without further adieu....
4 miles, 37:39
17 out of 34 in my age group
194 out of 284 total
I'm really hoping I can run a race in August, and stick to my one-race-per-month schedule, but it's going to depend on the weather. It's just not going to be safe for me to be out there racing if it's ridiculously hot and humid, so I'm not signing up for anything in advance. I'll just play it by ear, and hope I can sneak one in. If not, there's always September....
Wha? You don't just write checks? That's what I do. That's why they give us all those blank checks. So we can eat at the finest restaurants and have the finest caviar!! :-)
Great job on the race! I'm doing a 10K on the 25th, and I really need to find out if I can hold a sub-9 minute pace for 6 miles....
Posted by: Wes | July 10, 2009 at 05:37 PM