I Ran Like a Diva . . . and I Liked It!!

I was a little apprehensive about doing this race and the number one reason for that was that it was NOT Disney. Up until this point I had only done Disney races. I knew what to expect at Disney races and more importantly I knew I fit in there. I was afraid that Diva would have more serious runners and I just wouldn’t be able to hack it. I was also afraid that I might get bored without all the bells and whistles a Disney race has to offer, but I am glad to say that none of this was the case.
I woke up at 5:30, which was a great plus since Disney races usually start around that time, and walked down to the start with just about 20 minutes to spare. Another big plus since Disney usually has you waiting in the corrals for at least an hour before start time.  The whole corral system, or lack there of was quite a bit confusing to me. The corrals were not sectioned off at all, as in there were people stand and walking around every where, spectators and runners alike.  We had a moment of silence for Boston, the National Anthem played and off we went. They had photographers right at the start line and I thought was cool, but I only saw them at 3 spots along the whole course, the start and finish lines and one other place so I was a little disappointed by that.
Since we ran down the street in front of our hotel my mom came down and took a couple of pics of me just before the mile 1 mark. I lined up with the 10:01-11 min/mil group and it seemed to be a good fit for the first few miles, in fact some of the people were quite a bit slower then me but I tried to stay behind them as much as I could to help slow me down those first few miles. I saw the mile 1 marker and tweetd my first #run3rd dedication. I had intended to tweet one at every mile marker but I didn’t see another one until mile 4 so I just tweeted the others going off my watch and/or hearsay.
It was one of those out and back type courses so once I saw a steady stream of runners heading back towards us I was feeling pretty good. Miles 3-6 were very consistent for me, right at a 11:57 pace each, which would be really close to a PR for me. I was feeling pretty good and comfortable and then came mile 7 and I was starving!! I always have issues eating early in the morning and it always tends to haunt me around 6-7 miles in. I had purchased a pouch of apple and banana baby food the night before and sucked it down very quickly. It helped me for a bit but I wish I had had another at mile 10. It was also at this time that “Almost There” came on my iPod. It really seems to like the 9-10 mile mark because even though I have it on shuffle it always seems to come on around that time.
After mile 10 I was struggling quite a bit. I was tired and hungry. I knew my mom and #1 & #2 were waiting by the hotel for me to pass by again so I sent my mom a text telling her where I was and that I was trying to get there. I finally came up to the mile 12 mark and there was a man standing on the street telling me to finish strong and I am pretty sure I gave him a death stare as I went by. I turned the corner and there they were, waving at me!!

I am not as happy as I look!	#1 (Artsy Girl)

I gave the girls a hug and on my way I went again. My mom yelled out to me to let me know that Officer P and #3 & #4 were waiting for me at the pier!! Since I was already past mile 12 it could be that far away so I started running again. It seemed farther then I remembered from the pervious days but finally there they were!! I went up and gave “Puppy Lover” (#3) and “the Boy” (#4) hugs as well and told them I was almost done and I’ll be right back!!. Next thing I knew “Puppy Lover” was running along side me!!. They then cut off and told me they were going to try and beat me to the finish line. I thought that was rude . I came up to the feather boa and tiara station, quickly grabbed my goodies and to the finish line I went!! There is this crazy rumor that shirtless firefighters are at the finish line to give you your medal and I can confirm that the rumors are 100% true!!! Although I don’t think they were real firefighters, at least none of the ones I’ve seen.

	And waited in line to take a picture with him!!!!
I got my medal from him!!!

I went on to get my rose and glass of champagne and by the time I got done with all of that my family was texting me wondering where I was so I grabbed a bagel and cookie and met back up with them. It was really nice to see them all out there to support me and there is just something about witnessing a race that inspires people!! “Artsy Girl” has now declared that she wants to do another 5k and  #2 has decided she wants to join her!! All in all I would say it was a very fun and successful race! Regardless of what the clock said!

Shhh, I wasn’t walking down the street with an open container!!

NOTE: If you would like to read my mile by mile #run3rd dedications you can do so here. I wanted to use that post to share their stories and this one to share mine. 

#Run3rd Diva Style

This was my very first official, unofficial #run3rd race. As I mentioned in my Princess Half recap I have done #run3rd dedications before, but this was the first time I asked for others to give me dedications and got them!! Each request was so personal and so inspirational so I really wanted to help share their stories and that is what I hope to do here.
I set my alarm for 5:35, which was a nice change from the 2:30 I usually set it for runDisney races, and woke up just before it went off. I got up and dressed and with my #run3rd post-it in hand I was ready to head out to the start line.
As I was walking to the start line another runner, who was staying at the same hotel as me, had seen my #run3rd patch and asked me what the #run3rd was all about. I was so excited to explain it all to her and we ended up chatting the whole mile to the start line. She just so happened to be a runDisney enthusiast too and has a pretty impressive resume.
As we came up to the start line I wished my new friend luck and lined up with the 10:01-11 min./mil group. It was a bit ambitious, but not out of the realm of possibility for me. The corral system was very different than what I was use to and it was really weird to see spectators walking around between the runners, but it was very nice to only have a 20 minute wait until the race started. We had a moment of silence for Boston, the National Anthem played and we were off. 
I ran mile 1 for Super Jake, my good friend Patty’s son who is “forever 4”. Mile 2 was ran for a fellow #run3rd runner’s Aunt Nadine who is battling cancer for a second time, and mile 3 was for the animals living in shelters in need of a forever home. Between mile 2 & mile 3 this was the beautiful view I had. You know what is even more amazing? We ran to the base of that bridge before we turned around and came back! Now that puts the mileage into perspective.
Also right around this time I was thinking what is this life?? I mean I get to do this and with a back drop like that! How many people get to say that??
I had decided to dedicate mile 4 to all of those effected by the tragedy that happened in Boston, in honor of the 4 hours shown on the clock at the time that the bomb went off. Mile 5 was dedicated to fellow runDisney lover Julie’s friend Viv and all of those battling breast cancer. Mile 6 was dedicated to my friend Allison’s son, Cloudy, who was diagnosed semi-recently with  Muscular Dystrophy. This one really hit close to home for me since Cloudy is only a 3 months older than my own son and I remember us comparing notes as they both grew and developed.
Mile 7 was ran for mental illness, for awareness, education and for treatment. Mile 8 was ran for another April ‘05 mom’s sister who recently underwent a mastectomy and has had some complications requiring additional surgeries.  Mile 9 was requested by another fellow #run3rder and was for Wendy and Nicole. Wendy was a former teacher of Nicole’s and she recently donated her kidney to her former student. You can read all about the amazing story here.

Notice my #run3rd post-it note?

Mile 10 was ran at the request of  yet another April ‘05 moms. What can I say, they are a big part of my life. This request was for her oldest daughter’s high school boyfriend who is battling brain cancer. It happened to also be his 20th birthday so I felt so honored to dedicate a mile to him on this special day. 
Mile 11 was my own dedication to my dad, who I lost 8 years ago in a motorcycle accident. I purposely put him at mile 11 because that has been my wall lately, and when I looked down to my post-it and saw it was for him I almost started crying, which isn’t good for your breathing in case you were wondering. I contributed my brief lack of composer to many factors including the fact that I am a super emotional person to begin with and that April 27th was 8th anniversary of his accident. That coupled with being so tired from running and Carrie Underwood singing “So Small” on the iPod I never stood a chance. 
Mile 12 was for my friend April’s son Chris, who she lost as a baby. Mile 13.1 was for Pixie, my 7 year old boxer who kicked cancer to the curb this March. Yes, you read that right there really is a Pixie and she does sometimes run with me! And just like that I found myself crossing the finish line!! It wasn’t my fastest race, in fact it was almost my slowest, but it was a very personal and inspirational race for me and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Have you ever heard that shirtless men hand out the medals at the Diva half? Well it’s a true story!	What other race gives you a tiara, feather boa, red rose and a glass of champagne??

Diva San Francisco Boutique Fun!!

Since traveling for a race tends to amp me up a bit, if it is at all possible I try to travel and hit the expo on Friday leaving Saturday as a time to hang out and take it easy. That is exactly what I did this time as well. We got to our hotel, the Hilton, right about 4, which was the same time that the boutique (Diva’s name for their expo) started. We got all checked in and headed up to our rooms to find this as our 14th floor view!!
After settling into our rooms we headed down to the path that follows along the bay and walked the 2 miles to the Marriot where the expo was being held. The kids were all troopers and made the long trip with few complaints. Officer P and “the Boy” decided it would be too girly for them so they went down by the water while us girls went up to get my bib and check out the [very] small boutique. I walked in and picked up my bib with no line!! Then headed straight over to find the Team Sparkle booth since I had promised, via Twitter, that I would stop by and look who I found there!

It’s Kelly from According to Kelly and co-owner of Team Sparkle!!

Next stop was the Diva lounge to get my pic taken with none other than diva extraordinaire Honey Loquacious. He was a total blast and quite a bit chatty! !
After that we browsed a few of the booths but nothing really caught my attention so we met back up with Officer P and “the Boy” and walked down a few buildings to have some dinner. Once again we had a beautiful view just outside our window.
With my expo goodies in hand and a full belly we decided to take a sunset walk back to the hotel for the night.

My bib, nylon drawstring bag, and race shirt!