Freedom 4 miler & 4th of July Weekend 

Every year since 2007, on 4th of July, I have been running my town’s 4 miler. I haven’t missed a year yet and I don’t plan too anytime soon. This year I got home at 1am from my trip to Colorado and woke up at 7am to run the race at 8:45am. Between the time zones, lack of sleep, sitting still on the plan, and the migraine I got immediately upon walking in my front door I had no expectations of doing fantastic. I’m a realist these days and I know that it is wiser to set realistic, smart goals than unrealistic and unattainable goals. Everyday is different and I knew this particular race day wasn’t going to be wonderful because I felt everything but wonderful. My goal was to keep my streak of running this race alive. 

I couldn’t find the bottom part of my special 4th of July uniform (flame print runderwear) and had to settle for black Adidas shorts that I raced in during college over 6 years ago. It’s amazing these have not dry rotted yet. 

 
I saw a lot of friends before the race which made me less miserable even though my head hurt and I was tired. The nicest part of this race is that it is half a mile from my house and I can run to the start. During the warm up I saw everyone I wanted to see! 

I went out too fast during mile 1 and ran 5:5x. The second mile of the race has a huge uphill that I train on regularly and I knew that based on previous encounters with this hill that there was no way I was going to continue running sub 6 minute pace or even low 6 minute pace. I had gone out to hard and all I could do was hang on as long as I could. Miles 2 & 3 weren’t great. Mile 3 even dropped to 7 minute pace. That mile is also hilly but I was able to redeem myself in the 4th mile and return to mid 6 minute pace to finish the race. 

Because I waited to along to post about this race, I don’t remember a whole lot about the actual race aside from feeling miserable and tired the whole time. I was having #firstworldproblems and I just put off writing the recap for entirely too long. 

I ended up placing 34th overall and I was the 4th woman. My official time was 26:29. This is about 1 minute slower than my best time on this course but I learned than I can run decent while exhausted and jet lagged. I am still happy with this race because despite feeling horrible I didn’t give up on myself while I was racing–this is a huge deal for me mentally. 

Even though I was the 4th woman I still earned a nice trophy because I was the top female resident in my town. Basically, I am the fastest woman in town!! 

 

  
 
 

  

  

 

I have to add that this is one of my favorite days of the year because the race is like a party in the street! I love it! 🎉🎈🎉🎈

After the race I went home, got a shower, and went to my parents house. My mom was throwing me a birthday party a few days early and I finally got to debut my flag pants!  

 I had fun spending time with my family and being a flag! Later that night Phil & I walked down to the fireworks and I was still dressed as a flag. 
I realize it’s 11 days past 4th of July so this post isn’t as interesting as it could have been but now we are 11 days closer to the next 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays. I probably won’t be dressing like a flag until next 4th of July but this picture is on the Internet for your viewing pleasure until then!