Kona Chocolate Race 10K

Kona Chocolate Run was not looking so good in the beginning of the week when they were calling for severe weather conditions. I woke up at 5 am to rain tapping the window. "UGH" I thought as I rolled over reaching for my phone to check the weather.
It looked like it was going to clear up so then it was time to get up and get rolling.
The boys are used to getting up early for races. This does not mean that they like it, it just means they know the routine.
Alec came around the corner in his kilt asking what matched it. "Your black Under Armor long sleeve would look good." I replied. He smiled and headed back to his bedroom to finishing dressing. I was looking for a shirt to match my kilt also.
The race was in Plymouth Michigan which would take almost an hour to drive.

The closer and closer we get to the race location the more I begin to look at all the early traffic. I always think that everyone MUST be going to the race. What else would people be doing in Plymouth Michigan at 6am??

Between a 16oz cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito from Tim Hortons I had to use the bathroom.
We parked the car at the school to get our registration and I mentioned to Andy I had to hit the bathroom.
While picking up our registration we came across so many people we knew. We first saw "Patty" who is the manager at our Rochester location.

Patty and I

Then within minutes we bumped into Dave and Karen whom we go to church with.
There is someone I have been wanting to meet forever. I only knew what she looked like from her blog. I did know she was going to be wearing a Tutu from a message she left on one of my posts.
As we were walking out of the school I looked at this gal at the same time as she looked at me. We both knew who one another were! It was Michelle B! I have been wanting to meet her for quite a long time. I wanted to chat with her a little bit longer but both of our guys were gone.

Michelle and I

I quickly ran after Andy who was almost at the car. I needed to find a bathroom and we only had 30 minutes until start.
Austin was going to bandit run the race pacing his little brother in the 5K.
Andy and I were running the 10k.
I planned to race this 10K. And I was nervous. I REALLY needed a bathroom!

I separated from Andy and the boys to find a port a john.
When I found the line I started to panic. I knew I was going to be cutting it really close.
It took almost 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. I actually ran into Amber and Leanne in line.

I wanted to laugh but I also wanted to cry with only 5 minutes until start. I was counting people down as I listened to the National Anthem being sung.
2 minutes to go and I quickly entered the Port a John.
I had less than a minute to get to Andy as I ran I yelled his name they announced the start. I still had my coat on and my cell phone in hand.
Somehow I found Andy as I was complaining about my coat that I tied around my waist. I had no idea how I was going to run with my kilt, my heavy coat and my phone.
I was a clustered mess. We crossed over the starting mats and I saw the boys. I saw the boys on my right so I  tried to untie my jacket as fast as I could. All thumbs it felt like it took forever and as I left them I realized I forgot to give them my cell phone.
I could not believe how many runners were out there. I knew we were in the back of the pack but I was surprised at how congested it was.
I love to see all the people out there running. It was really hard maneuvering between everyone. I came up to a 8:48 pacer. I knew I had to get in front of him and several more like him.
The first 2 miles I felt so good. My Body wanted to go faster than my Head. I held back trying to keep a 7:25 pace.
At mile 3 my stupid Garmin lost satellite, it started raining and I was just passing the 8-something pace group.
The course was very flat through a nearby neighborhood. With it being in a neighborhood there were a lot of turns. One guy laughed and said "Geesh, this is like a shalom".
I couldn't get my Garmin to work so I just asked a couple people along the way what our pace was. With each response I knew I had to kindly pull pass them. I would focus on someone in front of me then pick them off. One by one I passed people.
At the 4 mile mark I noticed a guy without a watch. I stayed on his heels. He passed a few runners and so did I. There were a couple runners who tried to keep up. I actually felt bad when I passed them and said "Great job!, Your doing good!, Almost there!"
At mile 5 the guy noticed I was running in his shadow. I commented "Are we almost there? I am trying to keep up with you!"
He effortlessly laughed saying "Oh no don't put that pressure on me."
The course was marked very well. At mile 6 you had 2 turns to make therefore I still couldn't see the finish.
On that last turn I saw the blue Finish Arch. I opened up my gate, dug deep and passed 3 people across the Finish line!

A little Soggy!

I was out of breath as I noticed Anthony T from Michigan Runner. I could barely talk or breath as I tried to communicate with him. We chatted for a few minutes before I took off to find Andy crossing the finish line too.

I was thrilled to see Andy not limping. He has had a calf injury for 2 weeks. He looked great.
We found the boys in just enough time to get them to the 5K starting line.
The skies opened up with rain as they were taking off. Alec as cute as he was looked miserable and hadn't even started running!

Alec crossed the finishing line a little over 29 minutes. He was trying to beat his Uncle Bobs time in Florida. Austin separated from him and we lost Alec. It was terrible. My heart was beating faster than it had during the race. Andy found him after about 15 minutes.
We got in line for our chocolates. It was fast moving and worth it. I LOVE Chocolate.
Fun Family Day.

THE Rundown:
10K:Pace 7:22 Time:45:44
Overall: 5th place out of 352 in my A.G.
Over 5900 participants!

Congrats to :Jessica D, Ken K, Michelle B, Larissa, Amber A, Leanne K, Dave and Karen H, Brian from DM, Patty G and all those I am forgetting!

Anita