Monday, March 26, 2012

March Run: Jackie and the Tyler Azalea 10K

Meet Jackie.
Jackie and I have a weird history. We actually went to church together in Abilene during elementary school, but my family moved away and we never saw each other again until a year ago. We visited a new church, and her and her husband were the greeters that day. She thought I looked familiar, and we finally figured out the connection and remembered each other. I am SO glad I ran into her because she has become one of my dearest friends. I can't say enough nice things about Jackie...she is an amazing person! And, she sure knows how to have fun, even during a 6.2 mile run. I never knew a 10K could be so hilarious that I wouldn't want it to end!

I knew it was going to be good when she showed up with a dry-erase board and camera.
The race began and we proceeded to goof off in every way we could think of. Look at all those "serious" runners ahead of us. They are totally missing out!
We stopped to talk with the race volunteers.
We shouted back at and photographed crowds of spectators that cheered us on.
We thanked people for making signs.
We stopped to check the price on any houses that were for sale. It was a lovely area. We liked trying to guess the asking price before looking. We were waaaay off on this one.
We enjoyed the water stops, leisurely sipping our watered-down Gatorade.
We stopped at nice photo ops, especially if the flowers matched our outfits.
We celebrated each mile.
And we were even lucky enough to pass by two, yes TWO, garage sales. Of course we stopped to look. But, we didn't find anything.

There was a large police presence at the race which was a good thing because we saw some pretty crazy action at the start. We were running along a wide main street that had all the smaller side streets leading up to it blocked. There were volunteers and/or police at each intersection. One guy in a SUV drove up to the road block super fast. There was a policeman on a bike there yelling for him to stop. The guy then proceeded to make the most aggressive turn-around I had ever seen. He was gunning it, then throwing on the brakes. He even popped up on the curb of this fancy lawn. The whole time the policeman was yelling for him to stop, but the guy just drove off in a cloud of dust. That policeman started pedaling like mad and took off after him! It was incredible! We didn't get any pictures, probably because we were both shocked and staring slack-jawed at the scene.
Only one mile to go. My knee had started to hurt a little, but we were feeling strong.
The guys were waiting to cheer us on. They had finished long ago. While we were lolly-gagging around, they had raced...I mean, literally they raced as hard as they could...to finish because the loser had to buy dinner for everyone that night. Paul just edged out a win, though they both finished incredibly fast. We have some talented husbands!

We did it! 6.2 miles. Here's the cool thing- even with all the goofing around we did, we finished with a respectable time. In fact, it was a PR (that's personal record for all you non-running folks) for me. Though, I guess I should mention I've never run a 10K before, so any time would be my PR. But, it wasn't a bad time. We rocked.
After the race we strolled through an arts and crafts fair, then through some beautiful (open-to-the-public) backyards along the route back to the B & B. Aren't Paul and Jackie cute?
This yard wasn't exactly on the "Azalea Trail." Hahahahahaha. We couldn't resist photographing the ugliest yard in Tyler.
We finally got back and took a few celebratory photos with our medals. Oh yes, we got medals. But only because Jackie went up to the volunteers after the race and asked if they had any extra kids' 50 yard dash medals left.
That was a running event full of memories that I will always treasure. I can't help but smile when I think about it. Thanks, Jackie!

4 comments:

Rachel said...

Well that looks like a fun race! And a pretty time of year to be in Tyler! I have always loved Azaleas. I have two potted on either side of our front door. They came back this year with no problem because we never had a hard freeze!

Carol said...

Looks like you two had a great time, running being secondary to the fun. And such beautiful scenery around you added to the great weekend.

Anonymous said...

That is great! The pictures really tell the story. I'm ready!

NancyU

Jackie said...

Thank you, Becky!!!! I had a great time with you. What's up with the spectator and her sign that says "Worst Parade EVER"?!?! I didnt know there was a parade. There's another picture later in the run and she has another sign that says "it's only a hill, get over it!"

It was a great weekend and we enjoyed spending time with you and Cody. Y'all are awesome. We love you guys!