St. Patrick's Day Bitch and Moan Festival

Yesterday we participated in the 25th annual St. Paddy's Day Dash in downtown Seattle. Or should I say St. Paddy's Day Splash. Or, as the title suggests, The Bitch and Moan Festival. This was to be a culminating project of sorts - we had been working on ten weeks of "living healthier" and making changes to our diet and exercise (with limited success, I might add), and this 5K was to be the "celebration" at the end. Well, daybreak brought 33 degrees and snow. We rolled out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and dressed in long underwear and layers. Begrudgingly we headed downtown to falling snow with flakes as big as the palm of your hand! We were running late so Jeff dropped us off and we were on the opposite side of the Seattle Center from the start line. So, huffing and puffing before we even started the race, we found the starting line just as the starter gun went off for the "yellow wave". Thinking we were the purple wave, and therefore the last wave, we didn't rush to get in line. Oops. The yellow wave WAS the last wave so we quickly realized our error and skipped across the barrier to get in line. At this point, Jeff was parking the car and planned to meet us along the route. Several minutes went by while I waited for his call. After 20 minutes or so, I finally called him. He was ahead of us by a few blocks, having started at the wrong spot. We met up and that's when the hell began. After walking several blocks, we began to hear Harrison complaining about........well........EVERYTHING! Let's see, here are some of the more notable complaints: My legs hurt. My ankle hurts. This must be more than a 5K. Where is the turnaround? You said it was just around the bend. I can't do this. I think I'm having a heart attack. My legs are so tired. I can't do this. Why can't we jump over the barrier? I'm tired. Stop walking so fast! I can't do this!!! Of course, he COULD do it, and he did, but the 1.5 hours of constant complaining, coupled with freezing rain, wet feet and the fact that we were dead last made the whole experience about as pleasant as putting bamboo shards under one's fingernails. I believe I said things along the lines of: NEVER AGAIN! Hannah and Arlie walked so slow that the "sweeper" police car was on their tails the last half of the race, and when we crossed the finish line, the crews immediately started taking it down! We stepped across the finish line and headed to McDonald's where we indulged in Egg McMuffins and hot cocoa while we sat dripping and soggy and freezing. And that, my friends, is spring in Seattle. Hannah and Arlie came up with a slogan to help us decide whether or not to leave the house next time we decide to do something like this (oh, but I did say NEVER AGAIN, right?). They said "Rain and snow? Don't go! Sunshine? It's fine!" Don't let the photos fool you. It was pure misery, despite the fake smiles. Did I mention NEVER AGAIN???