The Kertson Family: Beat the Bridge!

A few weeks ago I got it in my head that we, Brad and I, needed to participate in some "runs" in the Seattle area. (The ultimate goal is for us to run a half marathon sometime in the next year but I refuse to commit to a date at this point.) For now some 5K, 8K and 10K runs will have to do. With that said, I signed us up for Beat the Bridge. Beat the Bridge is an 8K run that supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The course starts and finishes at Husky Stadium and is pretty much flat, making this a good course for me. At mile 2 of the 5 mile race you run across the University Bridge which is raised at 9 a.m. on the dot. Today was race day.

The original plan included both Brad and I running but a pulled quad from last weekend's kickball game kept him out of the race. My dear sweet husband planned on running with me, pulled quad and all, up until about 7 p.m. last night when Brooke and Jake came over. As I was sipping my margarita I said, "I probably shouldn't be drinking when I have to run an 8K tomorrow." To my surprise, Brooke said, "I should run it too!" And she meant it. Brad was officially off the hook as my running partner, he was now my personal cheerleader.

A margarita, a cider beer, a Corona and a three slices of Zeek's Pizza later I was waving goodbye and shouting to Brooke, "You better be serious about running!" Lucky for me, she was. In fact, she made it to Husky Stadium before we did. I was SO nervous before the run started but once we jumped into the first wave of the white group (the slowest group) and were off, the nervousness subsided. Actually, the nervousness didn't subside until mile marker 1 but who's counting.

Considering the furthest I have ever run is 3.2 miles, and that was on a treadmill, I'm pretty happy with our results. We officially "beat the bridge" (although it was close considering our wave didn't start until sometime after 8:40 a.m. and the bridge went up at 9 a.m.) and finished the run in 48:14. That averages just under 10 minutes per mile. I'll be the first to admit, I was TIRED the last mile of the run. I hadn't looked at the course map and therefore had no idea where the race was supposed to end. Maybe this was a good thing? It was about 100 yards before the finish line (keep in mind that you could not see the finish line until you turn a corner) that I looked at Brooke and asked, "Are we close?" Her reply wasn't what I wanted to hear, "I think so...but I'm not sure." Thank goodness her instincts were right, the finish was around the next corner and we stayed strong as we ran the final stretch into Husky stadium. My cheerleader, Brad, was there to root us on and take a picture as I huffed and puffed across the finish line.

All in all, my first run was a success! Next up, the West Seattle 5K...next Sunday!