A Race Date - the Wounded Warrior 5k

Jason and I are extremely blessed to have two wonderful moms who will keep our baby girl whenever we ask.  And even when we don't ask, they often volunteer to allow us to go on a date or anything we'd like while they play with and take care of their grand-baby. 

A few weekends ago, Jason and I took up his mom on her offer to come and we went for a race date.  The Wounded Warrior here in Huntsville has been a new favorite race of mine ever since last year when I ran it as my FIRST race pregnant.  It is a great race for a great cause put on by great folks and so when it rolled around again this year, I told Jason I really wanted to do it.  The rules stated that no jogging strollers were allowed, so Jason said he'd come along and I would run the race.  When Debbie offered to come, however, that meant Jason could run too.

We got up that morning, kissed our baby girl good bye and headed to the race.  When we got there we ran a warm-up mile and then stood listening to the National Anthem played with a little hardrock flare as two huge army helicopters landed in a big field nearby. (Don't ask me what they were... Jason told me and I forgot).  It was very patriotic and as always it reminded me how proud I am to be an American.

The race started and we were off!  I ran as hard as I dared, pushing as much as I believed was necessary to run sub 8 minute miles all the way.  I met that goal finishing in 24:04 with splits of 7:37, 7:40, and 7:48.  I had wanted that last mile to be closer to a 7:30, but I was still happy with the overall result.  Jason and I talked with a few friends before running a cool down mile together.  Half way out we stopped so that Jason could help some race volunteers get their car out of the mud.  We then finished our mile and headed out.

We stopped at the new Dunkin Donuts in town to get a cup of coffee and a few donuts.  It was a cold and damp morning so I was good and ready for that cup of coffee.  We got home and hung out with Debbie and Eloise for a bit and I ran 3 more miles to give myself 8 for the day.

I can't recall if this was our first date, but it was a good one.  Both my mom and Jason's mom have offered to let us go out on a more traditional date (dinner, a movie and such) but this was much more our style.