Originally posted at laurabowers.net on September 7, 2015. I’m updating my author website by moving all older runDisney and running content here!
A more appropriate title for this recap is…
The race I almost bailed on.
“Suck it up and run,” the race my husband made me do.
Or…
And yet another lesson on seriously screwing up despite seriously knowing better.
Okay, let me backtrack a little to explain why I almost skipped the 40th Annual Baltimore Women’s Classic 5k, one of my favorite races of the entire year. (Here’s my 2014 recap that has more event details, and 2013 recap.) ,
Despite knowing that my youngest son would be having upper and lower orthognathic surgery in June to fix his severe under-bite, (genetic trait from Bob’s side of the family,) I went ahead and signed up for the training sessions and race because, sure, I’ll keep up with my training! I’ll be Superwoman!
Well, I didn’t keep up with my training. And I’m certainly not Superwoman.
Not even close.
Even before Cooper’s surgery on June 17th, I had already let me training slip thanks to a sinus infection and multiple doctor appointments, as evidenced by my rocky Baltimore 10-miler experience. His surgery was a success, thanks to God, the brilliant Dr. Poshni, and team of oral surgeons at Washington Hospital. No cut nerves, no bone grafting, and no wiring was necessary despite his under-bite being in the “top ten in severity that I’ve ever seen,” according to one of the surgeons.
For this we were eternally grateful. We’ve known that Cooper would most likely need this surgery since he was five, so it was such a relief to not have that worry over our heads any more.
Now his recovery at the hospital? Well … my kid went through hell and I’m just going to leave it at that until another day.
Once we brought him home, however, it was amazing how quickly he turned around and got on the road to recovery. Still, we were running on fumes from little sleep and his constant care so my training went out the window. I did put in two miles on the last night of our training session and collect my bib, but the day before the race, I was exhausted. And, quite frankly, I just didn’t feel up to it.
I told this to my husband.
He said, and I quote: “Oh, suck it up and run! You’re a tough gal and you know you’ll whine later if you don’t.”
Uh, no I would so NOT whine, but whatever, I sucked it up, purchased a pass through Parking Panda, laid out an outfit, lined up my running belt, ate some carbs, and went to bed. One little tiny thing I forgot to do, however, is drink water. Like, any water.
(Yeah, you see where this one is going, right?)
Bob always goes with me to this race, so we left early Sunday morning with bagels and coffee, but darn! I forgot to grab a bottle of water to drink before the race. (Again, you see it coming, huh?) We arrived at the parking garage on Pratt Street with no traffic and after a quick walk to the Inner Harbor, we were greeted by this lovely sight as women of all ages and abilities making their way to Rash Field!
I was worried about dehydration, but the weather was pretty overcast, so I figured I’d be fine until the first water stop. (Yep. Dumb, so dumb.) It had rained pretty hard the day before and there were mud puddles a plenty, so I skipped the warm-ups led by trainers at Brick Bodies and headed to the port-o-potties instead, running into some friends of Bob’s along the way.
The course is the same as last year with its hills galore. (Trademark for all Baltimore runs.) And right before the race, out popped the sun in all its glory. Yikes. Now I was really worried about hydration, which is, like, the #1 rule of race preparation.
Sure enough, once we were on our way, I knew I was in trouble by the time we hit that first hill at Pierside Drive. Can’t remember what the temperature was, but it was hot enough to make me recall horror stories about runners who didn’t properly hydrate. So I slowed my pace, drank three cups at the first water station, and swore that I would never, ever be so irresponsible again!
I felt better after drinking some water, so I settled into a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery and camaraderie with so many other ladies. And I finally got a picture of this Ray Lewis art after passing it by for so many years!
My initial goal was to finally get a 25-min 5k PR but yeah, that was not gonna happen. Still, I was thankful to Bob for encouraging me after I made that final loop around the Inner Harbor, feeling cool winds on my face and seeing him standing on a corner, cheering me on!
For more information about Jeff Groleau Photography, click here!
And the best part of sucking it up and running? THIS GORGEOUS MEDAL!
Yeah, Bob was right. I totally would have whined had I not gotten this beautiful pink bling.
After crossing the finish line, getting my medal along with water, a towel, and rose, (BWC treats their ladies well, y’all,) I was once again grateful for not staying home, no matter how unprepared I was. My final chip time was 27:21, not a PR but considering everything, I was very happy.
Bob and I hung around to watch our friend finish who will be running her first runDisney event at the Princess Half Marathon next year!
Normally we enjoy hanging out at the Finisher’s Village, eating watermelon, bagels, and such, checking out vendors and staying for the awards, but Rash Field was a muddy mess. And I was hungry and headache-y. So we headed to Lenny’s Deli the second year in a row for breakfast before heading home.
Many thanks to all the hardworking organizers and volunteers for another great Baltimore Women’s Classic 5k! I can’t wait to run this again next year … hydrated this time. 🙂
