I had a tough time getting to the street I needed to be on for the Animal rescue League and I had a horrible time finding this South Ridge Mall it was housed in. So after 30 minutes + of wasted time finding the place kids and I walked in to find out there were several Animal Rescue Leagues in Des Moines and the one I needed to go to was in Ankeny. So pack of the kids and head back across Des Moines to Ankeny. Made me feel better when I picked up the race day package I commented that next year they should put the address where pick up can take place. The guy said I wasn't the only racer who had gone to the wrong Animal Rescue League that day.
So head back in the care back into Des Moines near Merle Hay Mall where our friends live. About 15 minutes after getting there I realized I had forgotten a very important part of my race day attire- nope not my shoes- those who know me well enough that next to my shoes the worst thing I could forget would be my sports bra. So after dinner I ran to the nearest Kohl's and found a high support Champion underwire sports bra- thank you Kohl's. Then after getting the kids to bed I sat and talked to my friend and painted my nails green- I was going all out for the Leprechaun dash. About 1 hour later I went to take a quick shower before bed- no really it was quick. Half way through my shower I looked down and saw green stuff on the shower floor- yep- all but my thumbs and pinky finger nail polish had came off. I was really beginning to think I wasn't suppose to run the race. Well I reapplied the polish, read a little and went to sleep.
Morning of race day.
There's good old me waving!
After Race shot
Despite all of the above craziness I ended up having a great race. It was very cold in the beginning. It was in the 30's but with the wind shield felt like low 20's. However, the lasses and lads stepped up to their named shoots and we prepared to start the race. Lasses get a 5 minute start and then the lads follow trying to catch up. I got in between the 9-10 min/mile pace group. I started out pretty fast, I think because I really couldn't feel my feet due to the cold and I wanted to warm up quickly. I ended up going really fast (for me) and able to sustain the pace throughout the race. The race course was fast, wound around a lovely park/lake area. My kids and friends saw me twice and they had a ball (no pun intended) throwing football around and chasing each other to keep warm during the race. Following the race we headed to my friend's law office which had a really nice shower/bathroom. I was able to get cleaned up and head to the Green Block Party to pick up my free cup of green beer- winning gender won a free cup of beer at the end- Girls kicked butt (36:19 winning time). Last funny of the morning. When I got out of the shower and got ready to change into my clothes I found that I had packed my blue pull on snow pants instead of my blue running pants. Luckily I didn't look to dorky with a sweatshirt and coat to cover the hideous 1980's snow pants. Anyways, great race I will definitely sign up for next year's, but this time I will call ahead for clear driving directions to race day pack pick up and also remember my sport's bra. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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