It hadn’t hurt that Adam had increased the intensity and pace of her workouts this week, in order to prepare her for the event. That probably had somehow added to this newfound sense of confidence. But more than likely, it was the extra thirty-minute sweat sessions she’d added on herself this week that had left her feeling undaunted by the upcoming race.

She hadn’t told Adam that she’d upped her daily training schedule by incorporating two extra workouts per day. Mostly because she was too embarrassed to admit that she was afraid of not being able to keep up during the race. Or even worse, that he would purposely lag behind everyone else in order to stay with her. Both scenarios would only make her feel like a loser.

Preslee thought losing a few more pounds over the week might be enough to give her a boost in her running ability and help her out during the race. And it had worked! When she’d weighed in the day before, she had been pleased to see that she’d lost almost fifteen more pounds. Adam had been a bit perplexed and concerned that she’d lost that much during her second week. But clearly her plan had worked, and she couldn’t think of her weight loss as anything other than a win.

As the race was about to start, one of the coordinators grabbed a microphone and reminded everyone that the run would be a 5K race with a layout that wound around forty acres of natural terrain. He told everyone that they would encounter various natural and man-made obstacles in their path, but that the mud run volunteers had gone through and removed sticks and such to make sure the obstacles were safe. And that this year, they weren’t doing a beginners’ course and an advanced one, which would’ve allowed each participant to choose their own difficulty level. Instead, they were having the first timers compete side by side with the seasoned athletes.

Of course. Just my luck.

As the coordinator wished everyone a good race, people began to crowd in around the three of them, trying to get closer to the starting line. Adam and Michael flanked her though, which gave her plenty of room and kept her from getting squished by the other competitors. Both brawny brothers commanded their space, and no one seemed interested in crossing into it. Well, except for a few of the female competitors who Preslee had seen eyeing the men at her side. Not that she could blame them.