To say I was surprised is definitely an understatement! When we arrived at the beach house Thursday night there were two gift bags sitting on the kitchen island. I knew Karen was putting together a little welcome bag for my mom and just figured she had left a little something for me. The little card had my name written in her handwriting, but when I opened it I read… “Sara- Happy Birthday and good luck in the Bridge Run! Love- J” I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Garmin box with the GPS watch inside. I love good surprises! I must have said to my mom a hundred times, I can’t believe Josh got me the Garmin. As many of you know, I have a passion for running, and I’ve always talked about splurging and buying the watch for training and racing but could never pull the trigger. I am SO EXCITED about the watch. I guess it’s hard to understand unless you feel the passion for running and competition that I feel. Josh does not feel the same about running, in fact he thinks I am kind of crazy to actually enjoy running, but he knows me well. Now I can keep track of my heart rate, pace and distance while I run. It is one of my favorite gifts and best surprises ever, tied with my finger print necklace gift from my parents and second to the surprise of his proposal. He is truly a very special person, and he’s all mine! I am so lucky he takes time to think of me.
So the Bridge Run and trial use of the GPS Garmin watch… My mom dropped me at the start and watched me begin. Actually, first we stood in line for the port-a-potties for about 45 minutes (I always have to pee before I race). We waited up until there was one minute until the start. I ran out of the bathroom, hugged my mom goodbye and jumped into the crowd of people. There were over 38,000 runners and walkers, so for the first mile I did a lot of weaving through people. Eventually the crowded thinned and I had plenty of room. I settled into a good pace, which according to my watch was around a 6:30 pace most of the time. Climbing the bridge I slowed down a little and cramped up in the last two miles, but overall I was happy with my finish. My time for the 10K (6.2 miles) was 42:08, about a 6:45 pace. I finished 72nd out of about 10,000 female runners. Not too bad. Maybe next year I will be Garmin trained and ready to beat my time!
Love the new watch!