Anna Be.

Last Sunday, Nick and I participated in the 3M relay half-marathon in Austin. He took the first leg -- 6.4 miles -- while I did the second leg -- 6.7 miles. The morning started about 6, still dark, very cold and windy. After an hour delay, the first half of the race finally started and I just had to wait for Nick to show up and tag me in. I was so far from confident. Thankfully, Nick was faster than either of us expected, giving me a good lead time. You may remember my last race experience, the San Antonio Rock N Roll Half Marathon in November. The heart-breaking truth of that race was that I was too slow to stay ahead of the sweepers and got pushed out at mile 6. I know I didn't get any faster since then, so I was expecting the same sort of thing. Did I mention it was pretty cold Sunday morning? Exercising in cold air tends to give me asthma. Half a mile into my leg of the race I was having an asthma attack, and everyone around me was passing me. I stopped at the portypot...

Image via Wikipedia Right now, Nick is 30 minutes into an all-day test, a major career-defining moment (no pressure, babe.) This stinking test, which is the brass ring at the near-end of a 6-year carousel ride, has eclipsed everything for months. When he doesn't have to study for hours a day, I might get to see what my husband's hobbies are. That's why after it's over today, we are going to Austin to celebrate for a few days (celebrate the test being over and Nick's 32nd birthday.) But now, I have to get ready for work.