Frozen 5K/Underwater Music

I ran in my first race of the year yesterday.  It was the Frozen 5K in Scarborough to benefit the local cross country/track team.  I had seen the race on coolrunning.com and thought I might try to make it if it didn't interfere with family stuff.  The hubs and the kids all went 4-wheeling with hubby's friends and they were going to be gone all day.  Fortunately, unfortunately, no wives were going.  boo hoo.  That left me with the whole day to myself.  So, I sent a text to my friend to see if she wanted to meet me to run the race.  It was about 80 minutes away from my house so I packed my stuff and headed, waiting to see if she could come.  If not, then I had a bunch of stuff that needed returning/exchanging and I would take care of that instead. 

I didn't hear from her for a bit and then after about 30 minutes she texted me back that she had just got to church and wouldn't be able to make it.  So I thought I would bag the race and just shop instead.  (All this while I'm driving toward Portland--where all the shopping is.)  Well, as I got closer, I thought about it more and decided that I was just going to do the race anyway.  What was stopping me really?  The kids and hubs were going to be gone all day.  Why couldn't I do the race AND the shopping?  So on kinda a last minute whim, I drove to the high school and signed up. 

It was a pretty easy course and the weather was pretty accomodating.  A bit more wind than I like but just the right temperature.  Mile 1 = 7:36.  Holy crap!  That's pretty fast for me.  But I felt great so I kept with it.  Mile 2 = 14:40.  Even better.  Finish = 24:01.  New PR!  Yay!

As I'm running, I am aware of a person behind me from about 1.5 miles in.  Sometimes she would be closer and sometimes she would be further back, but she was right there the whole way.  (I know this cause I need to spit a lot when I run, so I'm always checking that I don't spit on someone.  I know.  I'm nice and classy like that.)

So, anyway, we get to the final stretch and I look and she's right next to me.  All of a sudden, I'm pissed because she's not going to pass me right at the finish.  I say, "Oh no you don't" loudly and speed up to make sure she doesn't pass me.  Oh, yes.  I said that in my out loud voice.  Like this was the freakin' Olympics or something.  It's a stupid little 5k fundraiser.  WTH is wrong with me?  I totally felt like a jerk afterward.
but I did beat her.  neener neener.


On a less competitive note, we have this fabulous new pool at our local Y and there are speakers that are in the pool walls so that when you are swimming (if they have the music on) you can hear music underwater!  That was pretty cool, I do have to say.  But a very weird thing--I wear ear plugs when I swim because I can't stand water in my ears.  So, when my head was out of the water, I couldn't hear the music (even though it was playing in the speakers out of the ceiling).  But when I went underwater, I could hear the music clear as a bell!  Even with the ear plugs in!  I know there is some physics class that I must have missed that should explain this, but pondering that very concept kept my mind busy for just about 1000 yds.  In water = very clear music even with ear plugs in.  Out of water = muffled music through ear plugs.  Still pondering that.

Have you ever said something out loud running that was meant to just stay in your own head?

Any ideas on the underwater ear plug thing?