Before I start…thank you all for your lovely comments and emails about my left boob. I was really touched by your words and the things you shared about your own boobs. Much love to you all.
On Wednesday, we endured a delightful 8 hour drive down to Santa Barbara, crammed into the car and playing endless games of i-spy in the nighttime. ‘Something beginning with D’. ‘Dark’. But we ended up in a lovely little Airbnb with its own cat so it was totally worthwhile.
Thanksgiving morning started with a Turkey Trot along the ocean path in Santa Barbara. Mum and Dad aren’t runners so it was a big deal for everyone. We turned up in plenty of time and picked up our numbers and t-shirts. It was a glorious morning – palm trees, the sun glinting off the ocean, a very beautiful and trim crowd of runners…and Kevin Costner! KEVIN FRICKING COSTNER!!!!! I’ve had a crush on him since I was 16 and he was Robin Hood so I was kind of beside myself. He was very tall. VERY tall. That was a nice surprise. So I stood between my first crush and my last crush (the Husband) and was pretty happy.
Not a photo of Kevin Costner. I was playing it cool.
The race was 1.5 miles down the ocean path, round a palm tree and then back up. I lined up fairly near the front, the ‘rents and the boys started further back. A guy did a really beautiful rendition of the National Anthem and then it was go.
Pre-race family photo
5k’s (5ks?) basically hurt from start to finish. It’s hard to gauge pace, it’s hard to not fly and die. So I started out at what I felt was a maintainable pace and then just hung in there. Eventually I got to the turnaround point and set off back. I ran past the boys and waved and eventually saw the parents, happily out for a stroll. It was hurting by now but basically, I didn’t have breast cancer and I was out for blood! Slowly, oh so slowly I fought my way up the path until eventually I crossed the line and thankfully stopped my watch.
25.12. A 7 second PR! Take that, left boob!
I asked a lady to take my photo. Hmm.
I waited (triumphantly) in the sunshine for everyone to finish. They didn’t rush so I had time for coffee but eventually Dad, the Husband and the Dude arrived. The Dude sprinted to the finish as is his usual strategy (having dawdled the whole race), the boys had a last-minute run and then we waited for Mum to arrive. I jogged up to meet her – it turns out she’s not a fan of 5k’s:)
Having dawdled the whole race, the Dude crushed the final 100 yards
Ironballz takes on…my dad
There were no medals given away in this race but I knew that my little family would be disappointed not to get one so I’d ordered some Turkey themed ones on the interwebs and brought them out as a surprise. This cheered everyone up, as did the coffee, bananas and cakes at the end.
If you do this race….make an effort to look good!! The Santa Barbara crowd is beautiful. Everyone is lithe, with lovely highlights and plenty of Lululemon. I was passed by one girl who was probably the most perfect woman I’ve ever seen. How did she get her hair like that?? I felt very ‘underdone’ in my old race t-shirt, yesterday’s capris and just a bit of mascara and zit-cover up. And don’t expect to place in your age-group. SB-ers are fit and FAST!!!!
Despite the dodgy outfit and lack of perfect highlights in my hair, I was really chuffed with the PR!! My splits were 8.06, 8.07 and 8.09 which was remarkably even for me! The PR was unexpected although I was feeling pretty feisty after the past week. I definitely want to get my PR below 25 minutes, that’s my next big goal after Walnut Creek! But most of all I was thankful for a lovely run in the SoCal sunshine with my parents, my boys, healthy boobs and Kevin Costner!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
