I forgot the best part...

They crowned us and gave us booze.
That's the perfect end to an awesome race!
Excalibur 10 Miler

Run, Fun, and Finish

What could be more fun than waking up at 4am on Sunday morning to go run 10 miles?  How about waking up at 4am to run 10 miles with a theme!  That's right, the Excalibur 10 miler was in full renaissance mode last Sunday morning.  And I was in full running mode.  This was actually my first 10 miler race, so my expectations were low.  Just finish, have fun, and run.  Well, and if I broke 1 hour 30 minutes...that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Starting the day with Tammy and a few new friends.

Great start to the morning.  First 3 miles flew by.  I was in my running/music zone and didn't notice how fast they flew by.

 I might have been having too much fun out there.  I ruined this poor ladies picture.  But yeah, I kinda love races like this.

Speaking of having fun.  Tammy was having more fun than anyone.  She was taking photos, facebooking, and meeting new friends.  She always makes this look way too easy.  But she kept me motivated to keep a solid pace.  We scored this sweet goofball photo along the way.

Somewhere around mile 7 and I was still having a good time, jamming to my music, dancing, and of course smiling.  This was probably around the time that I realized I could actually run a sub 1:30. Maybe all the effort, time, and of course intervals were paying off.

With a strong sprint, I managed to finish 1:28:51.  8/83 for my age group.  Definitely can't complain about that.

Lucky's Lake

So maybe I can swim...in a pool.  But open water is a different story.  I pretend to not being dying inside...but I usually am.  Simply at the fear of really dying.  I've been avoiding Lucky's Lake for some time now, but with Augusta just 7 months away...it was time to sink or swim.  I mean swim, definitely swim.

It was a cold morning and the water was just about 64 degrees.  So not only did I have to conquer to idea of drowning or being eaten by a gator, I also had to worry about not freezing to death.  This is the look of fear covered with a fake smile.  But heck, there were tons of people and Tammy was there to hold my hand (she literally same the first length right next to me).

And that's what a real smile looks like.  I completed a Lucky Lake's crossing and went back for more ("Coach" Tammy kicked in and decided one crossing wasn't enough).

Signing the wall.  Let's do it again!!