If you live in Houston, you know there aren’t a lot of hilly places to run. But the NASA Bypass overpass? Hey, why not, right? That’s the route of the Crazy Krewe 7K, which encompasses my weekend running recap – plus I did 16.2 right after, all on about 6 hours of sleep.
I signed up for the Crazy Krewe 7K well before I knew about the CrossFit Games Open – I actually had bib number 8. The Crazy Krewe 7K benefits the Bay Area Alliance for Youth and Families, a nonprofit that helps build healthier families through education and raise awareness about substance abuse (and prevent it). They actually featured my running group in one of their ads for their Be the Reason campaign, the idea behind it being that us moms running are showing our kids how to be healthy.
It’s a small, local race, so there weren’t a lot of crowds. As a bonus, it was right down the street from my box, so I parked there and walked over to the start line wearing my Moms Run This Town tank and Lululemon What the Sport shorts. March is gorgeous in Houston, and this was no different; sunny, in the low 60s at start time. I found my ladies, and we chatted and stretched and warmed up. We were the Grand Marshals, so our chapter leader, Speedy D, gave a quick speech about who we are and why she started the group.
The run itself was uneventful, although you NEVER want to underestimate an overpass. NEVER. I thought I did a pretty good job pacing myself, trying to stay around an 8-minute mile because I didn’t want to get to the box and not have anything left in me. The overpass was pretty, and I could see Webster laid out at my feet. There was a lot of good energy, too: kids running, Ainsley’s Angels, some walkers who were courteous enough to start near the back, a guy running past me while pushing a stroller.
I crossed the finish line in 35 minutes – that was my gun time. I was happy, and I went to high-five Speedy D and The Veterinarian, who crossed around the same time. I got my Chick-fil-A and breakfast taco, drank water, and saved the food for after 16.2. Apparently I also won second in my age group, and The Veterinarian picked up my medal for me.
It was an awesome start to the morning.