I Run the Body Electric - Robie 2007

As I prepare for this weekend's Lava Rama 9.5 mile trail race, I can't help but look back and reminisce on this year's Robie Creek Half Marathon.

The Preparation
I initially didn't think I'd run the race this year, but since the Beau had never run Robie, I thought I'd give it another go. After all, it wasn't THAT bad :-) So January came along and we began the training regimine of weekly runs and long runs on the weekend. Since we didn't want to burn out on running, we also were able to mix in some cross training with mountain biking, cross country skiing, telemark skiing (me) and snowboarding (him).

Then the BIG day came, February 19 - Registration Day. Talk about the hardest and worst part of the race! I was sooooo emotionally drained after approximately 7 hours spent trying to register online for the race; it was horrible! Good news: both the Beau and I got in - hooray! So the training regimine continued until race day on April 21st.

The Climax
OMG, race day was here before we knew it! We awoke Saturday morning with excitement and had a little race prefunc with some toasted wheat bagels slathered with peanut butter and sliced bananas. The tunes were on full blast as donned our race clothes and pinned on our numbers. I got in a few sit ups to wake up the core and then got some dancing in to Interpol's "Evil" and The Strokes "Reptilia". Then it was time to hit the road.

We arrived at the race and were greeted with other racers and a line-up of port-a-potties that came in handy to contain the pre-race jitters. Ran into some good friends and then it was 15 minutes before the high noon start, a.k.a time to Gu. We ran into our photog friends, snapped a couple of pre-race shots and then it was time to go. We waited in agony at the start, as the dueling guitar players did their thing. FINALLY, it was GO TIME!!

The start of this race always kills me because I feel like we're a bunch of cooped up mice who are racing within a maze to find the cheese. After the maze, we were able to get some room and head up Shenandoah. Before I knew it, we were at the first cattle guard and then on our way to the dirt and steepness of the the second cattle guard. The Beau and I were able to run together for a couple of miles, but then he switched into his billie goat ways and attacked the uphill of Robie as I stuck to my wonderful pace. As I neared the summit, I could sense Temptation Table. I kept running up the summit and past the temptation, but not before I caught a glimpse of all the goodies and some dude's ball sac. Good times.

Hooray, the summit had arrive and I downed my second Gu before heading down the backside of the summit. I took the downhill in stride, but unfortunately, my stomach contents got severly jostled and I had to do some deep breathing techniques to make it through the last part of the race without the thrill of upchucking on the coarse. As I neared mile 12, I decided it was time to kick it up a notch so I put Cold's "Stupid Girl" on replay and switched gears. Before I knew it, the Finish Line loomed ahead and it was time to go turbo to the end. I was so happy to cross that finish line and see my man there holding a cold glass of beer! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to down the brew just yet, so we headed over to Robie Creek and walked around in the cold water to sooth our muscles.

We ended up staying a bit for the after-party and then got in line for the buses. Then we caught a ride with Dan the Man to the Crapshakmobile and headed home.

The Celebration
Oh no, it wasn't over yet! We got home and immediately called Serenity Retreat to book a room for soothing relaxation. We got there, took a much needed shower, soaked in the hot tub and then sweat it out in the sauna. That was a most wonderful treat for all the hard work. Then it was off to pick up a pizza and have a tasty salad. Whew!

The Results
The race results were in and I was very proud of the Beau! It was his first time running Robie and he did it in 2 hours flat (chip time). I made it in 2 hours and 4 minutes. I was really happy that I beat my last time by 9 minutes!! It goes to show that women DO get better with age!