
I'm kind of proud of myself for being an adult and leaving the show early to go to bed. Of course Riri didn't perform any of the songs I know until after I left, but that's what happens when the headliner doesn't go on-stage until 10:20pm. Getting to sleep shortly after midnight made it that much easier to wake up for the Middendorf's Manchac 10 Miler on Saturday morning.
The drive was the least appealing aspect of the race when I decided I would register, but I knew there were several people I wanted to meet that were running. It was the motivation I needed to get on the road. After arriving in beautiful downtown Manchac, I realized that it really isn't that far to get to the race site. The first people I saw as I was walking up to pick up my number was Stephen, Ken and Nicole. Stephen I've run with previously at Sunday Runday and hung out with socially, while Nicole and Ken are Baton Rouge runners whom I've chatted with on twitter through mutual acquaintances. It was great to finally put faces to User Names.

At 8am, the official starting gun fired for the 5K and the remainder of the 10 miler participants. Stephen and I started together, which is something I don't often do. Training with a partner is one thing, but running with one is another. He and I agreed that we'd stay together as long as possible, but if one or the other wanted to slow down, no hard feelings would be had. The two of us stayed together and chatted for 7 miles, staying consistent at a 9:09 mile. The sights on the course included trees, indigenous habitat (of both the alive and road kill kind), as well as perfectly staffed water stations manned by the women of Southeastern University.
After the 7 mile mark, Stephen and I split up. He was running a comfortable pace, while I wanted to slow a bit to make sure I finished strong. The course started and finished with a significant hill / bridge that was nearly .6 miles in legnth, and I knew the pace I was keeping wouldn't allow me to crest it at full steam. Stephen stayed in my sights for the remainder of the race, and he grabbed photos of me crossing the finish line minutes behind him. Talk about the ultimate running partner.

The hours after the race hit me like a brick wall with flu-like symptoms that I couldn't shake. They sidelined me for the remainder of the weekend, causing me to miss out on my volunteer opportunity with the NOTC on Sunday morning among other festivities. Apparently something's going around, specifically within the ranks of elementary school children and their parents. My friends with kids that I've hung out with in the past week, I'm glaring in your general direction. Thanks to you, I'm starting out my week by stocking up on Vitamin C supplements and antibacterial gels. That's the only way I know how to not get sidelined for training and the non-stop races to come.
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