On April 1st I had the honor of running the Brew 2 Brew solo run with Mickey Woolard, a friend of mine from Daily Mile. I was very nervous about the race, I've had such a runners low the last month or so I was doubting my running ability. However, on race morning I felt the adrenaline rush, that I have missed since RR100, and knew it was going to be a GREAT day of running, My Running Mojo had returned!!!
I met Mickey at the Brewery/ starting area of the race at 5:15am. We chatted for a bit, organized our gear, hit the restrooms and lined up at 5:55am for the 6am start. It was awesome to start in the dark and see the sunrise on the levee. I felt comfortable from the get go and Mickey and I just set into a nice running groove.
To be honset the B2B course is ugly; it's open, you run on the side of highways, across open levee's, up and down rural hills, on gravel roads, and to top it all off...there is very little shade! Even though the conditions were tough with a temperature of 90ish at the finish Mickey and I ran smart and strong all day. We were very blessed to have the support of his wife, Berta, daughter Kelsey and her fiancee Ryan, all day! They took care of us perfectly and I must say they radiate with love...talk about Good people. I felt re-energized every time I saw them at a crew stop. I think the next best thing at the crew stops was the ice cold Ginger ale. It was like a slice of heaven...cold and so refreshing on a hot day.
The boat ride across the river was fun, Mickey has run around the last 3 years, so this was his first boat experience. This was the first time I've run B2B, so I thought it was a hoot!
I really enjoyed running with Mickey all day; He has a very soothing personality and I just loved spending the day with him. Our running form and stride is very similar so it was very easy to glide along and knock out the miles.
I think the worst part of the run was the last stretch on the open levee. It was so hot; Mickey and I were feeling burnt/ crispy and the afternoon temperature of 90 degrees was taking a toll on us. We ran the last 4 miles smart and incorporated some walk breaks to avoid overheating. Again, we both were in sync and just kept our heads down and ran. When the finish line came into sight we kicked it in a bit and finished nice and strong! Our family's were waiting for us and it felt great to get a little food in us and hang out in the shade for once.
This was such a wonderful experience, I really enjoy running with Mickey and hope we can run together again soon.
In closing, I felt so good that evening after B2B that I signed up for the FreeState 100K on April 21st.
I'm finally feeling physically strong again and really WANT to run this race!
