Big House Big Heart Race

Roary the Lion and Detroit Tigers dude!

5:15AM came really quick. I was not moving fast with the sound of rain and thunderstorms beating against the house. I thought "This is the kind of weather that we should be sleeping in to NOT waking up to possibly go running in."

We were in the car all 6 of us heading to Ann Arbor by 6AM for The BIG HOUSE BIG HEART 10K AND 5K. The lightning was dancing across the sky and Andy was not in his happy place. Dad and I were remaining optimistic while the boys were half awake and mom wasn't much for conversation. I think mom was internalizing her thoughts.
Mom was really looking forward to walking her 5K. She had been working so hard for the last few months and was excited and all prepared to go and accomplish her goal.

Why Did Mother Nature have to ruin the fun?

I was bent. No way was I paying all this money, driving over an hour and NOT RUNNING. Rain or SHINE suck it up BUTTERCUP. Even the thunderstorms were not going to prevent me from running this race. This is one of my favorites. You actually finish on the 50 yard line of the Big House Stadium!! It is a BLAST!
NO! I was RUNNING and that was it.

There was NO ONE in the bathrooms B4 the race..This was a 1ST!!

We stayed under cover when we arrived at the stadium and picked up our shirts and bibs. We were all trying to stay as dry as possible. My boys, Austin and Alec decided they were going to sit it out. Dad was still wishy washy on his 5K and Mom...she was still quiet!
Andy and I were going to be taking off at 8AM for the 10K. As we were making our way to the starting line I was getting nervous because I couldn't get satellite for the GARMIN. I didn't even have time to get my prerace jitters because I was too busy fudging with the stupid watch. The National Anthem was finishing and I had no signal...CRAP it was a GO.. Oh Well..Go..

Before the Race..still dry!

And just like that I was crossing the starting mats to run with the cats and dogs!! But the beauty in it was that the temperatures were in the 60's. It really was a warm run..with a dash of thunder boomers!

As you ran you could hear the distant booms of thunder. Everyone actually cheered it on with laughter. But no one ran away with their tale between their legs. The only thing that was wrapped around my legs were the nylon NIKE running shorts. My shorts were once light weight and aero-dynamic had now transformed into compression shorts glued to my thighs!
SPLASH puddle after puddle..Unavoidable. I chuckled as I passed these poor volunteers passing out water. I wondered if they just passed out rain water or actually filled the little 4 oz cups with bottled H2O.
They were all smiles and encouraging. I was so impressed for the conditions they were working under how light hearted and motivating they were. I even caught one worker with a High Five!! He was trying to catch runners to give him a clap but most of the runners were miserable and left the poor guy hangin! The worker lit up like a light bulb when I took his High Five invitation, I think that smile carried me another 2 miles!

Running this year with the rain got in my head a bit. I shadowed a guy most of the way keeping a couple feet behind him, Then there was a girl in Blue shorts who was going tit for tat with me. About mile 5 Blue Shorts girl started to fall back. I turned my head to her and yelled " You have been with me this whole time, don't get behind!"  She pulled back up running next to me another half a mile where she was breathing pretty hard and started to drop back again. So again I yelled to her, "You Got this, You are almost there, Bring it in!" Blue shorts girl then shook it off, she got her second wind and came foreword a few steps ahead of me. I thought "Good for you, you can do it, keep going.'

I saw the Big house, I was feeling the fatigue at this point. My shoes were like cement blocks and I was sweating in my layers. I knew I could run harder I just did not want to feel the pain in all my discomfort yet I knew I was a half of a mile from the finish and now was the time to turn the over.

As I entered the tunnel into the Big House all you could hear was their Victory song..."Hail to the Victors..." The walls shook with excitement and singing. I was running downward right onto the field. The light was shining at the end of the tunnel where I was running now a 6:30 pace coming out of the tunnel. I just let the momentum lead me to the light and carry me onto the turf. As I reached the opening I heard "GOO Anita!! Come On!" It was DAD!!  I also saw the girl in the blue shorts and was so proud of her just ahead of me making her way to the finish line. Taking that last turn to the straight away I was running on the 10 yard line..20 yards line..I saw my banner and felt the company of 2 male runners by my side. I looked at them and thought.."I got this...With my warrior like instincts I threw my body into High Gear leaving them behind I  crossed the finish line strong and victorious.

I soon joined Dad and the boys. I removed my timer off my bib to find Andy and run with him through the finish line. It was just a matter of minutes I spotted him coming down the tunnel. I jumped through the rope and joined Andy to the finish. It was so fun to finish AGAIN with him!!
Andy did so well. He ran 49:26. That was a 7:56 pace!!  He is so strong. There is never anything left in the tank when Andy runs, soo inspiring.

We caught up with dad to figure out what to do about mom.Dad decided not to walk. He really had not trained.  Mom was really wanting to walk her 5K. The rain looked like it was drying up. Dad decide to catch up on mom and get a game plan. Her race started at 9am, just 10 minutes away. Andy and I took the boys and headed back to the truck to get dry clothes.
That was hilarious, trying to change soaking wet on leather seats with all these people going to their cars. The seats were like a slip and slide. Poor Andy is so stinking tall he was so funny to watch trying to remove his wet garments without all his "stuff" advertising to Ann Arbor!

When we arrived back in the stadium we looked at the results. I heard Andy say "Anita You Came 3rd in you Division." I yelled back..Yeah, but how many were in my division,10?!"  I was shocked to find out
1. There were over 100 people in my division. 34-39.
2. I ran a 7:10 pace!!
3. 43:35..LAST YEARS! oops!

Mom decided to do her 5K!! She was so lucky..It STOPPED raining!!

Side by side to the finish line, my 3rd time crossing!

By the time we got back from our changing clothes side show mom was going to be coming down the tunnel with in just a few minutes. There she came with her head phones in and speed walking like a champ. I jumped through AGAIN and put my arms around her and headed to the finish.
We laughed together holding hands across those finish mats!! SOO Fun!

Throwing the football on the Field!

TEAM HARLESS! Rain or Shine.

Austin and Alec

It is done. I am not too sore. Which is good. I normally do my long run on Sunday. I hope I feel good enough to run tomorrow..it is 22 miles!

This is a great race. I wish the boys would have run it..that was 80$ down the drain..Oh well they got the tee shirt! And I got the Medal!!

Have a great night!
Anita