2008 Corporate Cahallenge

Last night I got to do a race! A running race! With Sarah and 10,000 other people! Yes the Rochester Chase Corporate Challenge was as much fun as I had hoped it to be.

As a Pediatric Emergency Nurse at the University Of Rochester Medical Center I was honored to run for the giant U of R team, and many of those teammates included those I work with. The Pediatric ED was well represented, in fact the whole U of R was. Traditionally the Pediatric part of the hospital… correctly called the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong (too many names … I know) would run as a separate team since we are considered to be a separate hospital. This year however we got swallowed up by the entire University… but that's okay with me.

The top six men and women from the U of R get chosen to be on teams, men's, women's and mixed. They all get flown to NYC to run in the National Corporate Challenge. I was informed a week before the race that while I'd likely make the team… I could not be on the team because runners have to work 25 hours per week.

I work 20. SIGH!

Traveling to NYC for a 25 minute run…. that's a little silly. I need a good 60 minute swim and 6 hour bike to warm up!!!!!

Wednesday kept me resting with a GI illness while Thursday brought GI happiness and a 2 hour ride in the morning. The sun was shining! Glory!

Since RIT is just 5 miles form my house… I rode my mountain bike over. Parking 10,000 runners is a mess, besides I need a little bike before a little run, right? Besides the 2 hour ride from the morning was already gone, can't consider that a warm up!

The best part of it was that Sarah was there (Adam too, but he doesn't run in a skirt!) and we planned on a good strong run. We've spent many good hard runs together the past few months and this would be no different. But at about 25 minutes it'd be entirely too short. We joked the night before that come the finish line we'd keep going!

"Don't mind those 2 nutballs! They think this is an Ironman!" I am sure they'd say.

The weather was great. 70 degrees and sunny. Place 10,000 people on a 2 lane 3.5 mile road and you will even heat it up 10 more degrees. Somehow I lost Sarah at the start but I found Kevin Walter. He didn't have a cup of Starbucks in his hand and I was amazed!

It was a great run! It was a lot of fun and I was really pleased with my time. Faster than Tempo Paced. I laughed because the 200 guys who bolted past me and my skirt during mile 1 were repassed by this skirt on mile 2.

I was impressed at how many good runners who were there who didn't officially consider themselves to be runners. I was impressed with all of the walkers and the volunteers!

I was so proud of my Pediatric ED team and the whole U of R team. 317 Strong and I believe we WON!

I even got to hang out with Carl Johnston for a bit who made me pinky swear this was my final Ironman (for a bit), and who never believes that I have any fun. He promised me he would show me some fun on the bike next year and I told him how much fun I was having becoming a runner.
And by the way I did make the team…. unofficially. WOO HOO!