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It’s Time – 10k Day!

Happy 40th birthday to me! My present? Another 2:30 AM alarm! Friday was a bit cooler, so I wore a capris and a throw-away jacket with my homemade birthday fundraising shirt. Eventually, I warmed up enough to drape the jacket over my elbows so that my arms were still covered. This let folks see my shirt and start wishing me a happy birthday! My answer almost every time was, “Thank you! Next year, I’m sleeping in!”



I felt really good in the 10k. I caught up with Coach Ed just after Mile 3 on the Boardwalk. We weren’t quick enough to spot a photographer, but we’re back there!



Then he handed me off to Coach Kim and Coach Jen! I ran with them through Mile 4.5-ish, and we did a little better at pictures!



By Mile 5, I felt warm enough to take my jacket off and tie it around my waist. I cooled off quickly and needed it again once I finished, so I’m glad I didn’t toss it! I finished strong and got a birthday shout-out from the race announcers, Carissa Galloway and John Pelkey! John joked that his 40th birthday is legal now! I also got my finish line selfie with Pluto, and I was happy to check another race off my list!



The RunDisney community really is that – a community. I met Joe Powell, his wife, Ally, and his mother-in-law, Janet, in the start corrals at the Peachtree Road Race in July. It was my first race with my fundraising shirt, and they noticed it said “Dopey,” so we started talking. He was signed up for the Dopey, Ally for the Goofy, and Janet for the 5k and 10k. He donated to LLS that day – and again when they saw me running the Atlanta 10 Miler in October! As I was walking out of the bathroom halfway through the race, a woman was walking in, and I thought, “That looks like Joe’s mother-in-law!” And when I got out of the bathroom, Joe was there waiting for her! He said they saw me and Dad at the 5k but couldn’t get to us. And we chatted for a bit before I took off again. Queue the “It’s a small world after all” music, because as I was taking my finish-line picture, I heard someone say my name. That’s not odd since it’s on my shirt and bib, but when I looked back, it was Joe and Janet! Such incredibly sweet people!



It was an early bedtime for my birthday, but not without a cupcake Katie had sent to our room under a Happy Birthday sign Dad and Donna hung up for me (and Sam tomorrow)!



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