I'm a Polar Bear

This morning Chris and I woke up at 5:30am (yes, on a Saturday) so I could run in the 5 mile Polar Bear Run in downtown Indy (Indianapolis). Needless to say, it was an early morning. We were kind of concerned about the weather since they had been predicting snow early this morning. After leaving the house about 6:20, Chris gave me my pep talk on the way down. We arrived in downtown Indy about an hour and 15 minutes later with absolutely no snow on the ground. After checking in, warming up, and stretching, I was just fine for being ready for the race at 9am.



Before I knew it, the race had started and I was on my way. My target time was 40 minutes, which meant I needed to run about 8 minute pace for each mile. I was excited when I got to the 1st mile marker at 7:47. That gave me confidence knowing that I could maintain that pace throughout the race. I plodded along for the 2nd mile and hit a 7:54. I got a little concerned when I hit 8:07 for the 3rd mile, but figured it may have been since I was running against the wind. It was great when we turned out of the wind for the end of the race. Then out of no where came a 6:55 for mile 4. (Chris and I think the mile 3 marker was a little off.) At that point, Chris had joined me and ran next to me for a few hundred yards. He was a great encourager and made sure I knew I was doing great and could hit a really good time for the last mile. In that last mile, I kept passing people as I continued to pick up the pace. When I got about 1/3 mile from the end, an older guy told me to finish strong. I told him what Chris had told me earlier that once I got to the finish line I was done and didn't have to run or walk (meaning I could give it everything). That guy said that he would stick with me then (since I had started to pass him). We pretty much stayed side by side until the finish. The quick pace of the last mile really started to get to me as I turned the last corner. I pushed through it anyway, and got a 7:21 for mile 5. For all you math majors out there, that's an overall time of 38:04, but I really ran a 38:15. I think I started my watch incorrectly at the start of the race, as they only had a chip reader at the end and not the beginning.




Overall, it was a great race. It will give me a good seed time for the mini marathon. And I even got 3rd place in my age group! I surprised myself how well I did compared to everyone else running today. So my award for winning 3rd was a $10 gift certificate to the Runner's Forum in Indy (a runner's store). I'm sure I can go there and find something I can use for running (like a new pair of running shoes).



As we came out of the Indiana War Memorial from the awards, it was snowing/sleeting. God graciously held off the nasty weather and allowed us to run on a dry day that really wasn't too cold. When we got back to Lafayette, we found about an inch of snow on the ground. Today wouldn't have been the same without a little snow on the ground. Thankfully I didn't have to run in it.


I have such a great husband because I know I couldn't have done what I did today without him. Here are just some of the things he did for me today:

• Woke up early on a Saturday
• Was my chaffeur
• Warmed up and cooled down with me
• Gave me the encouragement I needed to run a good race
• Helped me convince myself that I could turn out a good time (at least better than I thought I could)
• Ran with me for part of the last mile so I could finish strong
• Told me numerous times that he is proud of me