Lucky #13... Not quite....

White Rock Lake Girls. Ready to Roll.

Seems like this race was a really long time ago, but it's actually been less than 10 days since we jumped into a rainy, wet mess in downtown Oklahoma City for this Race to Remember.  Some of us had the race of a lifetime, crushing PRs, and others had less-than-ideal days, spending time in the medical tents after battling the elements.  But for sure, all of us who toed the line that day will remember May 1 in Oklahoma City. 

Dinner in Bricktown with Mike Moore, Kris & super-cheerleader Megan.

There is so much to tell, yet so much that cannot be described, about this weekend. If you weren't in the car with me and Kris and Megan, then you missed out on the laughs and the hysterical giggling over bad Cosmo magazine advice, and the realization that the elevator really works best if you ACTUALLY press the button. If you weren't at dinner in Bricktown on Friday night, then you missed discussing what kind of a handgun can squeeze into a fitness belt. We cut out sticky letters and figured out how to spell backwards so our nicknames on our shirts would be readable. I IRONED, for goodness sakes (those of you who know me well know that this is a feat more miraculous than me running 26 miles!)!  At the expo, we had pancakes and met up with friends like Glenn and Jen.

At hotel after a very sketchy 2-mile run.
For the record, the concierge at the Marriott is probably NOT a runner.

Kris and PANCAKES! at the expo

Yay! Met DailyMiler Jen C at the expo!

Missing Mel at the expo. But we got her packet & bib! 

We took turns getting foam rolled by Megan, who barely survived getting blown around Lake Hefner during her long run Saturday morning while Kris and I ran around Target buying sweatpants and jackets and stocking up on Nutella. Afterward we hung out with Marci and Bojana, revisiting the Cosmo articles (nope, advice did not get any better on second reading!) and relaxing and enjoying each other's company in comfort for once, instead of out on some sweaty path somewhere like we usually do.

Taking the limo to Bricktown. Because it's all of .16 miles away!

When Mel and Jason arrived  from Dallas, we exchanged big hugs and then jumped into a stretch white limo for a four-block ride to dinner. Because that's how we roll! When we got to dinner, we were lucky enough to meet Nicole and Christie, along with their friend Melissa, and got more of a chance to talk to them in Oklahoma even though Nicole & Christie live in Fort Worth! (and, yes, Nicole, we *will* be running it out at your house this summer so we can jump in your pool!!). We laughed, we ate, Marci threatened anyone stealing her bread with death or at minimum loss of a digit. And then it was time to go back to the hotel and get ready for the next day. Because it was almost time. 

Marci & Bojana - lovely ladies!

Kris and Mel! Can't tell Mel is a beast in this, can you?

Love, love, love this pic!

DFW Runners at Zio's

Carbed up & ready to roll!

Yes, it was almost time. The day that we had been training for and waiting for after months of preparation and and training and excitement had actually arrived.  We had run together for our long runs, in varying permutations, throughout the spring. Mel and Fiona, Mel and Kris, Marci and Mel, me and Fiona, me with Mel and Kris, me with Kris and Marci. We had run miles at White Rock, miles at GRAW, loops around Marci's neighborhood and down Katy Trail and in Rockwall and in Allen. We had trained hard, and we had trained smart. We each had fits and starts with our training, tweaks and twinges, lung problems and GI issues, shoe fit problems and knees and IT bands and all manner of things that can get in the way, and none of it mattered on Saturday night. None of it. Because ready or not, we were there, and it was time to do the damn thing.

Marci, Mel, Kris and Fiona were each running their 2nd full marathon, and this was number 13 for me, but we all had the same goal. Sub-Five. Sub-Five or Bust. Let's Do This. We Got This. Everyone had lessons learned from their first race, and everyone was dialed in to what needed to happen for that goal to become reality.  Kris and Fiona had to keep their stomachs in line, and get their nutrition right.  Mel had to be able to breathe with both lungs. Marci had to get out of her head and let her legs do what they needed to do. I needed to have both knees work for a full 26 miles, and I needed to not give in to the urge to walk it out and just finish when it got hard.  We had talked, and I had even posted, about how we decided that we would have our own race to run. Could we do it? We sure as hell were going to try.

All week long, the weather forecast had been getting better and better, with the highs dropping into the mid-50s. This was heavenly for us, as we had already been slogging through temps hittting high 80s for our last long run. We had already had our inaugural sprinkler run on our 20-miler in Grapevine, even though it was barely mid-April. After hideous heat both at Chicago and at Cowtown, we were excited about cool temps. We were not quite as excited about the forecasted winds, but figured any quarter we had to give to a headwind early on or at the lake we would get back with a nice tailwind heading into downtown in the homestretch.  It was a sacrifice we were willing to make to have cooler temps.  The chance of rain, well, 30 percent is kind of a low shot, right? And it wasn't supposed to move in until mid-day. With a 6:30 start and a 5-hour goal time, we'd be showered and having post-race cheeseburgers before the rain hit. Right? Maybe.

To Be Continued...