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Dash4Dad 4 Miler

No, I haven’t made it the 11, 12, 4 Challenge, but last weekend I took on the Dash4Dad 4miler.  There were a few reasons for doing this race.  The primary reason is that someone I care a lot about was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, and I wanted to show him how much I care.  Secondly, I miss racing.  I thought I’d enjoy having the summer off, but now I dread this much time without a half.  Lastly, Adam has decided to tackle a 10K as his Challenge for this year, and his training is going very well.  The 4 miler seemed like the perfect chance to do a practice race before his 10K, so I was lucky enough to convince him to join in. Adam getting pumped up before the race
Since it was Father’s Day, Adam’s parents and sister came to visit and cheered us on for the race.  It was a really touching experience.  Congressman Jim Moran, whose office I met with during Capitol Hill Day, gave a speech about how widespread prostate cancer is, but he also said how easy it is to treat if found early.  Approx 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their life – but as I said, most will go on to live long happy lives if we can catch it early.  Such hopeful and promising news. Congressman Moran crossing the finish.  Way to go!
The race was great.  About 1,400 people registered (I think 900 something completed it).  The course started on a pretty steep uphill, but on the good side, it ended on a pretty enjoyable downhill.  At mile 1, you could tie a tie and then wear it for the rest of the race, and if you did this you got a coffee mug.  Of course, I’m up for any chance to make races fun, so I loved this idea.  And the coffee mugs are great! I love these mugs.  I gave my dad the "Go ask your mother mug" this weekend and he loved it!  So funny.
Adam and I decided to run together no matter what, but once again, my running buddy wowed me.  He ended up finishing the race in 8:14 per mile (they subtracted out the tie-tying time) which is unbelievable.  He’s been joining in for the first few miles of a lot of my runs, and I was so proud of him for his effort in this race.  For someone who claims he isn’t a runner (even for someone who says they are a runner), that’s quite an accomplishment! Go Adam! I think he was on a runner’s high, because I found him searching the internet for 10Ks just a few hours later.  I’m telling you, if you want to run, register for your first race.  That will be all you need to get yourself training, and once you’ve done one, its addicting. Thanks Udasins for cheering us on!  And Adam, great job!
We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the time with Adam’s family and eating lots of great food.  Though of course I missed my own dad on father’s day, I knew I would see him the next weekend when I went home to celebrate my mom and my sister’s birthday, so it wasn’t too tough.  And the time I got to spend with Adam’s family was so relaxing and enjoyable.   Thanks for making it such a fun weekend! Every runner got a post race drink.  We picked Mimosas.  Yum!
Posted by Kathryn at 7:21 PM