TC 1 Mile (36 Weeks Pregnant!)

Thursday night was the TC 1 Mile. I kinda wanted to run it, but just coming off an injury with another race scheduled for today (Saturday), I figured it wasn't a good idea. However, it was a GREAT idea for my lovely Pharmie who was nearly 36 weeks pregnant!

Being she was going to take it super easy in the "Friends and Family" wave, I figured I might be able to run with her (or at least down the sidewalk NEAR her). Here are some photos from her race:

Pre-start.


Us in the starting chute.


GGOOOOO!!


Adorably coy!


Pony bounce.


High-fiving the Target mascot.


Over half-way there!


Under a 1/4 mile left, still all smiles!


Entering the finisher's chute.


Finishing with a smile!!

The BEST part of the race for me was to watch other people's reactions to seeing my wife's pregnant belly! She got so many fun cheers from spectators and other racers!

Pharmie didn't really have a time goal. I mean, she's 36 weeks pregnant, so she wasn't going to "work through the pain" if she started to get a little out of breath. She took it easy the whole way and hoped to finish sub-13. Well, she comfortably did better than that!

When we ran past Brit's Pub, we ran past some MAJOR cheers for us (by name). I looked over, and it was Michelle Frey - a speedy local runner and May 2008 Runner's World cover model. Pharmie and I went back to chat with her, thanked her for the cheers, and grabbed a photo:

We stuck around and ran into SOOOOOO many people we knew! It was so much fun! Sorry everyone, but I can't name you all here, or I'll be here all day! We watched (and cheered for) the subsequent waves of runners. We found a good spot about 75 meters from the finishline and waited for the USA 1 Mile Road Championship to start.

When the female race rounded the final corner with 2-3 blocks left, Sara Hall had just taken the lead and was going to win!!!

She pushed, and pushed, and pushed her way to the line, because if she went sub-4:32, she'd win an EXTRA $10,000! When she hit the tape as the clock was just ticking over to 4:31, the crowd EXPLODED!!!

Victory lap!


Sara Hall - all smiles and abs!

The Men's Championship race started a few minutes later. Sara's hubby Ryan had announced he was entering this race just last week, and that was driving up the publicity of the event - you know, just cause he just ran the fastest marathon time EVER by an American at Boston last month. No big deal. ;)

But when the men rounded that final corner, Ryan was way back there. David Torrence, the winner from the last 2 years, had JUST taken the lead:

The men's "time bonus" was for sub-4:00, so Torrence pushed to the line and broke the tape in just over 3:58!!!

The best part of this story (for me) is that I met and talked to Torrence earlier that day at the Press Luncheon for this event. In the photo I took with him, he's holding up 3 fingers predicting his three-peat!!

Congrats David!

Hall was about 20 seconds back, and I got a photo of him running past:

If you want to see more on the race, here are some Examiner articles I published in the last few days with more interviews, photos, and videos:

- Ryan Hall's announcement that he's racing the TC 1 Mile

- Notes and photos from the pre-race press luncheon

- Video from the ENTIRE Female Championship race (watch Sara Hall make her move and FLY past Amy Mortimer!)

- All of my photos from the race (including a video Pharmie took of Torrence running past - check out his speed!)

Pharmie and I (and baby) had a SUPER FUN night at the TC 1 Mile! On the way home, we stopped for pizza. Pharmie gave me QUITE the guilty look as I pulled into the driveway and she realized that she'd already ate most of her slice:

Gotta keep baby fed!! :)

That's all for now! Matt and I are off to race at the Oakdale Duathlon today, and I'll be back with photos from that on Monday! Happy weekend!!