May 3, 2009

I woke up a little after 4:00AM, after a restless night. Although, I may have only gotten 5-6 hours of real sleep, I felt wide awake and ready to go (a.k.a very nervous!) a little after 5AM. While I was getting ready with my GU pinned to my shorts, and my number pinned to my shirt, I managed to get down half a bagel with some peanut butter. Got my shoes on and did some last minute foam rolling and stretching before I put my hat on and left. I really didn’t want to run with the hat, but the forecast was calling for rain I know that if I didn’t wear it, it was going to downpour and I wouldn’t be able to see through my glasses. But, if I did wear it, it wouldn’t rain. I bought this hat a few weeks ago for the purpose to be worn when it rained and today, it did it’s job well. Around mile 6 it started to drizzle, and by mile 8 it was a continuous rain until the very end.

We got to the fairgrounds around 5:45AM, and I immediately got in line for the restroom, knowing I probably would not get another time to go. After anxiously waiting for 45 minutes (about 15 at the starting line) we were off!

Mile 1-5:
These miles flew by so fast! And, I was grateful. The first mile I was going pretty good and was thinking about running to mile 2 and taking my fist walk break there. But, I knew that I had to pace myself and take the walk break at every mile. I felt a little weird walking so early, but I needed to do it. Mile 2 and 3 were a blur. The first water stop before Mile 2 was completely overwhelmed with people, but I still stopped because I was still thirsty from before. All I really remember from Mile 3 was thinking, Only 10 more miles! I completely zoned out to my music for most of the race. The first 5 miles were through a little bit of downtown, and small neighborhoods which was nice. Mile 4 was also a blur. But, I remember a woman yelling to us that Mile 5 was just around the turn, and it was! There was also a man and his two young boys cheering for the runners and giving out high fives. I gave all three of them one, and it felt great to give my first high fives while running. Mile 5 was when I knew I needed to stop and unfortunately wait in line for the bathroom. I lost a few minutes by doing that, but I knew I wouldn’t have been able to hold out much longer. This was also where the 5.8 Mile marker was to time our chips.

Mile 6-10:
After my pit stop, I grabbed some water at the next stop and broke into my GU pack. I pinned two to my shorts, one on each side. I was hoping to have the first one around Mile 5, but I thought the previous water stop was a little too early so I figured I would just wait for the next one. Mile 6 went by pretty fast, but Mile 7 felt like it went on forever. As soon as I hit Mile 8 I realized I only had two more miles before a new PDR and got excited. We ran Mile 8-10 on main roads, past a shopping center and behind a Wal-Mart, where people were handing out gummy bears. I grabbed some but they were hard as rocks! And really hard to chew, so I just swallowed the one I has and tossed the rest. We reached Mile 10 after going over a bridge and was so happy we only had a 5K to go.

Mile 11-13
These miles were going through mostly farmlands, on main roads, and there were some hills. By this point, me, and everyone around me was completely soaked from the rain. Two guys I had been pacing with for the most part were so happy when we reached Mile 11. I yelled, only 2 more! Mile 12 felt even better because I only had one mile to go. This is when I started to get a little emotional because I started thinking about all the running/training/pains I went through to get here and finish this race. Plus I had intentionally put “I’m Already There” by Lonestar on my iPod to play when I was near the end. The last half mile to number 13 was almost all uphill! I wanted to be able to run to the finish line, so I knew I would have to walk up the hill. A few other people were doing the same, so I wasn’t alone. I saw my parents when I entered the fairgrounds and that gave me the last extra strength to push myself to the end.

Mile 13.1
I came to stadium part of the fairgrounds and kept my eyes on the runners in front of me because the course was not marked at all! I entered the track where the finish line was and as I got closer, it became muddier. I finished strong with a respectable 2:43:11, and without slipping on the mud! Not bad for a first half, and now I have a time to beat! I was handed a medal and escorted to the post-race resting area. My stomach was still in knots, like it had been for parts of the race, so nothing really appealed to me. After a few minutes I found Todd and my parents and they were so proud of me!

One thing I wasn’t expecting was the pain my legs were in after I stopped walking. I was fine the whole race, but as soon as I stopped my legs felt horrible! I stretched them out a bit and made sure to take an ice bath as soon as we got back to the hotel. After the bath, my right leg felt better, but my left was/is still sore. Right in the area behind my knee joint. But I can take the pain, because I finished 13.1 miles!

Giving the thumbs up before I head into the herd. All excited, I have no idea what’s coming.

I thought this was a little funny. Everyone is looking down, starting their watches as they cross the mat, me included.

This was the last bit of the race, right before I turned into the fairgrounds to finish. As you can see, I was completely drenched, but happy to see some familiar faces. This was taken before I actually saw my family, because when I did I jumped up and down and waved at them