Yo! Pell Bridge Run!

Hello blogosphere!

Soooo time for a race recap y'all! You ready? It is one that I'm super-duper excited to share. The Pell Bridge Run!

Sunday morning, with my alarm set for 4am (Yes. 4am. You read that correctly.) - I rolled out of bed, rolled into my running clothes and rolled out of my house to go carpool with the one and only Cyn from TheRacyRedhead. 

Cyn from The Racy Redhead! 
Credit to her for the photos!

Seeing as how I have little to NO sense of direction, this race was very close to being a "no go" for me because I would still be driving around the state trying to find Jamestown (race start location) if it weren't for Cyn and her delightful fiance being kind enough to let me car pool along with them.

This race ALSO was almost a "no go" for me because I came close to wimping out. Everyone kept saying "you're going to freeze" or "you are nuts to get up that early" or "why? just WHY?". And I nearly, NEARLY let the naysayers and the voice in my head of doubt overrule my running heart. Happily, the day before I knew there was no turning back. I HAD to do this. It was an experience that would be like no other run and I'd regret not going. Cut to....

4:30am, in my car, in pitch dark morning and its raining. RAINING. The entire ride to Cyn's I'm swearing and cursing the local weathermen. But on the upside, it was WARM. I mean really, honest to God, warm out. And when I checked the Newport weather, it was even warmer and no rain. 

I stopped cursing.

Clearly, I was not excited at all...LOL

I make it to Cyn's thanks to Google Maps App and I climb into her vehicle and off we go. We get dropped off by her fiance at the starting line, and before we even have a chance to find the porta-potties (um, we both needed to pee...TMI perhaps but true story!)...they have us all move to the starting area. Oh well...time to put the bladder on hold and just get ready to go into run mode.

Poor Cyn is not a morning person and alas, I am. I was so insanely excited I could not shut up. My obscene level of excitement is evident in the selfie Cyn took of her and I at the starting line. Normally I'm at a starting line alone so I don't get to see what a goof ball I look like in comparison to others. Ahhh...so be it, I am who I am! And happily, Cyn was able to tolerate me.

Delirious with joy at 6:30am!

We both discovered we are naughty about stretching. We don't. She does this funny little leg kick thing and i just hop up and down.

Yeah, we are quite a running duo!

ANYWAY, the race begins and Cyn and I just go into single runner mode. We are both used to running alone so its easy and effortless to actually run with someone who is that way because there is no guilt or expectation to stay side by side. Cyn has been pretty speedy these days but she made the very smart choice to be in the moment of this race and took some amazing photos from the bridge (as seen on my blog post AND hers!).

I on the other hand...


Off I went. Running and running and running - almost a Forrest Gump mentality. I was so excited to be on the bridge (which I thought I would be petrified of...I do NOT like bridges) that I just wanted to hurry up and cross it so I could say I ran the whole thing non stop. The incline was scaring the life out of me and never thought I'd be able to run up it, but I did and with minimal difficulty. I'm sure it is NOT because I am a super woman but because the incline is somehow built in a way that it feels very gradual. I do think though, all my hill training over the past 3 weeks really did help the efforts.

Cut to...

I cross the bridge. Woohoo! I figure its almost over. Maybe another mile and done.
And I keep thinking, oh that's the finish line up there...and then I would get up there and it wouldn't be. I heard others around me saying the same thing. I was in gaggle of runners and we were all sort of laughing because we really had NO idea where the hell the finish line was! (they since announced they had moved it FURTHER away this year!).

But I kept running, clocking a decent pace somewhere just under an 11 minute mile. I had some pain in my inner left thigh as a result of trying to run in my Brooks sneakers the day before...even though I overpronate, somehow my New Balance trainers with minimal pronation support actually work better for me...which reminds me...i need to buy a new pair...

Sorry. I digress.

So I'm running, yes, with pain, but nothing horrible. And the race is just going on and on and on. At some point I realized I was pushing too hard and was going to lose steam. I made an active choice to slow my ass down and low and behold THAT is when I finally saw the finish line in the distance. I never get used to that feeling...crossing the finish line. It doesn't matter the distance, it feels so fulfilling. It makes me feel whole. I can't really explain it...but trust me. It changes me every time. Just a little. Just enough to want to do it more.

Turns out I ran way better than I ever dreamed I would regarding this race. Aside from the thigh pain, I felt really good. Not too winded, not too worn. By the time I hit the finish line I felt I could've kept going...and since Saturday I had such an awful run day...it was just the feeling I needed. On Monday I had no pain at all and considered going for a run, but opted against it - just let the leg rest and to make sure the pain didn't pop back up. All and all - it was a fantastic experience and I will sooooo be doing it again next year!

Cyn got BRAVE...took a pic over the edge of bridge!

 
One last thing I'd like to mention, there is an amazing story of a man associated with this race (and others throughout the state). I will leave it to you to check out the facebook page for "Joe Would Go". I was deeply touched by Joe Caruso's story and his memory that so many are keeping alive in honor of this amazing man that did so much in the face of such unimaginable obstacles. When I thought about being a "no go" because of silly excuses...I thought about my mom, about my grandpa - how I know that they would want me to just run...run for them, even if they themselves were never active runners (grandpa did love to dance, mom would chase her dog for an hour running in circles in the yard :). But I also thought about Joe Caruso's story and thought to myself, I had to do this run for those that couldn't...even those I may have never had the pleasure of meeting. I'm not sure how the

Gorgeous shot of the sunrise!

memory of this man has found a way into my heart, but it has. So yes, part of my motivation was inspired by "Joe Would Go".

I continue to realize that my drive to run is fueled mostly (though not all) by the desire to feel ALIVE. In the face of so much grief and death, the need to hold onto life and LIVE comes in the form of running for me. And I know I am not alone in that feeling...after all, I was accompanied by over 3000 running (& walking!) strangers that all have their own need and drive to feel alive.

stay strong,
Rachel 

It was an amazing experience...so happy!