I wasn’t planning to run the 10k Across the Bay this year.  It was originally on my list but then I found out that Gabby had a swim meet that weekend so I figured it wasn’t meant to be.  Then Gabby’s swim meet was cancelled.  Hmmm.  I hadn’t been running much since the Crawlin’ Crab.  Between Halloween decorating and planning my husband’s 40^th bday party (also the weekend of the 10k), I just hadn’t found much time.  I knew I wouldn’t be very prepared, but there were lots of people I knew running this race and Gabby was up for the challenge so I went ahead and signed us up the Wednesday before the race (last day to register online).  Luckily, Sam was able to pick up our bibs for us because we were super busy the rest of the week.

Gabby, Sam, and I were all assigned to Wave 3, which was scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. so we decided to leave at 5 on Sunday morning.    

We parked at the Anne Arundel Fair Grounds and had to catch a bus to the start. 

We were at the start of the race with plenty of time to spare.  We hit the port-a-pots and then took a few pictures and hung out. 

We finally decided to head to the start line but took a detour to the port-a-potties, which had much longer lines than they did earlier.  We ended up missing wave 3 and just lined up with the wave 4 corral, which was starting at 7:45. 

While in line, I heard them announce that Governor Hogan was starting.  Neat!  The rest of my family wasn’t at the start of the race since they were in later corrals, so I wasn’t able to see them.  Our friend, Ashlee had just arrived as we were starting so we didn’t see her at the start either.  At 7:45 Sam, Gabby, and I were off!

We all started together, but I reminded Sam that it had been over 2 weeks since I last ran and that I planned to stick with Gabby so if she was feeling fast, she should just go ahead.  We all stuck together until about half a mile in (which is also when you reach the bridge) and then Sam started pulling ahead.  Gabby and I were actually a little slower during that first mile than I expected, but it was pretty crowded so it was tough to settle into a good pace. 

The next mile was up the hill of the bridge.  It’s a gradual climb, but it definitely felt much harder this year than I remember it feeling last year.  Gabby was doing amazing and she was actually very talkative, which is abnormal for her during a race.  We reached the top of the hill around the same time Governor Hogan did.  It was neat to see him and all of his Hogan’s Heroes who were running in his honor.  I snapped a quick picture and tried to get Gabby to run beside him for a picture, but she said it was too awkward.  I don’t blame her.  Unfortunately all of the photographers at the top of the bridge were busy taking his photo so we had to rely on my camera phone for a bridge selfie. 

It was finally time to run the downhill portion of the bridge and this portion was feeling much easier.  I think we completed the bridge around 4.5 miles.  The rest of the race was pretty difficult for me.  We kept a pretty good pace, but I REALLY wanted to take a walk break.  Gabby was able to talk me out of it. 

At around 5.5 miles, I told her I had to walk but once I saw her keep going, she inspired me to change my mind.  We finished together at 1:01:54!!  This was the first time Gabby had ever ran more than 5 miles and I was SO impressed that she didn’t have to stop to walk AT ALL!  That girl truly inspires me!

Here are our splits according to my Garmin Watch:

Mile 1 – 10:28

Mile 2 – 10:38

Mile 3 – 9:54

Mile 4 – 9:27

Mile 5 – 9:29

Mile 6 – 9:38

Mile .25 – 9:03

Gabby placed 43 out of 316 girls in her age group (10-14).  I placed 432 out of 1922 women in my age group (35-39).

We received our finisher medals and a water and headed to the finish festival.  We met up with Sam, who had finished a couple of minutes before us and we got in line for more finish line snacks. 

We then decided to head over to the finish line to see if we could spot anyone we knew finishing. 

We knew Ashlee started either one or two corrals behind us so we knew she would be finishing soon.  We somehow missed her (we were in the area, but somehow didn’t see her) but we did see the governor finish.  Ashlee texted us when she finished so we went off to find her, but first we stopped in line to get some French fries with crab dip – YUM!!  They were so good.  Ashlee and her friend, Shannon, found us while we were sitting in the grass enjoying our food.  We hung out for a bit longer, but then everyone was ready to get back down the road. 

 

We knew from last years’ experience that the bus ride back to the start could take over an hour.  I texted my mom and sister.  My mom was still running, but my sister was just crossing the finish line as we were headed to the bus.  I’m bummed I missed them!  I also missed Jason, Paul, and Missy, who were all racing!

We found our bus and just like last year, it was over an hour to get back to the parking lot where we parked. 

We were home by 2:00.  I really do like this race.  I especially enjoyed running it with Gabby.  I also like that the medals are interlocking puzzle pieces.  I missed the race the first year but I have the 2^nd and 3^rd puzzle piece.  I think I’ll have to continue the tradition of running this race in the future!