Thin Mint Sprint

I was on the fence about this race all summer because of my foot, but this week rolled around and my foot was feeling good so I decided to go for it.  Partly because they said every finisher would get a box of thin mints, and I happen to love thin mints.  Unfortunately, this week's allergy flare-up hit my lungs the day after I signed up.  That had me more worried than my foot did, but I had already registered so I stuck with it.  If I cough up a lung, I must not really need that lung, right?

I checked the weather Saturday morning and it said it was about 55, so I was expecting a pretty cool race.  I decided shorts and a short sleeve shirt would be appropriate.  By the end of my warm-up, I was rethinking that decision.  It felt more like 75 than 55, and it was really humid.  One of my racerback running tanks would have been much more comfortable.  I almost decided to run home and change since I had plenty of time, but I decided it wasn't quite worth the hassle.

I took my dose of Serevent around 8.  I was on the fence about using the ProAir inhaler before the race or not.  I had meant to try a faster run at some point before the race to see if I would need the rescue inhaler or not, but since I was sick, that didn't happen.  In the end, I decided to use the ProAir right before the race, rather than struggle to use it in the middle of the race while sprinting.

The race went pretty well.  I didn't start out quite as fast as I normally would, but I knew there was no way I was going to pull a super fast time with being sick and not being in race shape. I settled into the fastest pace that I felt like I would be able to hold.  I was in fourth place overall for most of the first mile, then slowly picked off the two guys in front of me.  My friend Denver was the first place runner, and I knew I would never catch him.  I beat him on this same course back in March, when I was the one in better running shape.  It was his turn in this race.  He ended up beating me by about 2 minutes.  I finished in 20:40.  Not a bad time after all my slow runs and lung trouble lately!

my heart rate was through the roof...not sure if that was because I was running so hard, 

or because of all the asthma medication in my system...

I got my box of thin mints for finishing...and then I got 12 more boxes of girl scout cookies for winning my "age group."  For some reason, they didn't give awards to overall winners, just age groups.

I gave one box away before I went home and took this photo.

As of right now, 5 more boxes have been given away.  

I'm keeping all the thin mints for myself, I'm not attached to the rest...

receiving my giant box of cookies...