We blossomed!!

Sunday was chilly and rainy, but that did not stop 3 of the 4 members of this team (and two members and one hopefully-soon-to-be-member of our Saturday running group) from trekking into downtown DC for the annual Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. We met the night before for our traditional pasta dinner, then met up in the wee early morning hours at the Metro station. We arrived downtown without a hitch, in plenty of time to don trash bags and wait around, hitting the porta-potties twice before the start of the race. I even sported a new fashion this year -- my jacket was keeping me reasonably warm and dry on top, so I used my trash bag as a skirt (with a lovely drawstring waist -- look for it on the Paris runways soon!) to keep my nekkid legs warm.

There was a new course this year, which I thought was really awesome. It was much more scenic than the previous route, and would have been really great for viewing the cherry blossoms if I hadn't been looking at the ground to watch for puddles!

Four of us from our Saturday group stayed together for the first mile and change, then one team member (that would be speedy Kim!) took off. The remaining three of us stayed together for a while, until pregnant Sarah's bladder got the better of her and she had to wait for a porta-potty. Heidi, the other team member, and I stayed together until somewhere around mile 8. It's always good to run with friends, and the best friends to run with are the ones with whom you are equally comfortable either talking or silent. Such is the case with Heidi, without a doubt! We quietly kept each other truly running strong and I am, as always, both proud of and humbled by her friendship.

I met my finishing goal with a few seconds to spare, and somehow managed not to vomit as I crossed the finish line (although I was quite sure I would!). We all regrouped afterwards in the now steady rain, which suddenly felt so much colder when we weren't running! Slogging back to Metro (and longing to be warm and dry!) I offered up a silent prayer of thanks -- for friends, strength, and faith in myself and one another.