The Virginia Beach Recap.

This was a tough run. The weather was miserable. It was 40 degF and howling rain at the start. And of course we’d been standing outside in that for 15-20 minutes by the time we got to run. We were very cold and soaked to the bone. Our shoes were sodden clogs. Our outer layers were plastered to us and running felt like slogging through sludge.

It was pretty obvious from the outset that a personal record was not on tap. I had to pee a lot. BB’s legs were cramped up from the cold. Around the time her muscles relaxed, my hamstring and glute seized up and the rest of the run was pretty painful.

Despite all that, the rain stopped around the 5K mark, and we found the energy for a good hard final push, running the last 5 miles at around an 8:45 pace. We finished the race running strong and fast along the beach, side by side and hand in hand, like we always do.

I had high hopes for a new personal record, or even breaking 2 hours. It didn’t happen. We finished in 2:11 and a little change. But you know what? I’m not the least bit disappointed. We ran hard, and gave what we had. We ran through weather and pain. We ran together no matter what got thrown at us.

Last year, if we’d run a 2:11, it would have been our record. That’s how far we’ve come. We had a hard, slow, miserably rainy and windy race with two bathroom stops, and we still ran at a pace that would have been our record time only 12 months ago. We ran like hell. Together. Alone together in the throng of runners.

That’s what I want out of this. Joy. Health. Love. Connection. Trial. Challenge. Victory.

And yesterday, that’s what I got.