Good Luck Flowers

I think I went through every emotion possible during this race.

There were feelings of pain, euphoria, anger, happiness, tears of joy and tears of exhaustion.

Leading up to the race, I had the best support from my husband and friends.  I never imagined the kind of support I received.  Cards, flowers, sweatbands, bracelets and Gatorade.  Not to mention the countless texts, facebook posts and tweets cheering me on before I even laced up.

The morning of the race I woke up at 5 a.m. and I barely even needed the alarm.  Adrenaline was pumping through my as the first then I did was look up the temperature.  Mid-60s – sounds perfect!  And then, I saw it… the humidity was a lung-crushing 97%.

Crap.

Good luck bracelet

That humidity and I were going to battle that morning and I had to flush all my time dreams down the toilet. But, I couldn’t stop now.  The game plan was to run hard, but be smart, and just finish.  I gave up all my time goals and decided with this being my first half-marathon, my goal is just to finish.

And finish, I did.

Miles 1-2 were solid.  I was feeling good and started out a bit slow with the crowds.  It was a course I was familiar with and I felt good going up the hill around the Zoo that I normally hate.  I even got to see an elephant watching the runners!

As I approached mile 3, things got hot and the humidity started to play tricks with my head.  I had to walk a bit and started pouring water over my head at the pit stops.  Mile 4 was okay and around mile 5 I got a pick-me-up as I took a Bayer AM to ward against upcoming pain and get a little caffeine boost.  I also took my first set of Powerade Energy Gel Blasts.  I felt strong and good heading into the track and almost cried once as I ran down the hill and walked up the steep incline into the track.

Good luck Gatorade

I loved every second of the track as I pushed forward, ready for the main straightaway.

Heading out of the track I was on cloud nine, if not a bit tired, as I looked for my husband outside the track.  We had set a few places to meet on the course, but missed the first mark, so I knew this was the one he’d be at, if no other.   He was waiting right as I hit 16th street and I happily attacked him with a smile, a kiss and a hug before taking some ice cubes and running on.

The ice cubes were a huge help as I turned back toward downtown and the yellow flags came out on the course to warn of heat and telling us all to slow down.  I didn’t have to be told twice, because my body was fighting the heat  more than my mind was. Every time I picked up my feet to make a run for it, it seemed like shortly thereafter the heat beat me back down.  There was a sweet old nun around mile 10 that was standing by herself, cheering, who nearly sent me into tears when she cheered me on by name and told me to keep going, that I could do it.

SUCCESSFUL FINISH!

I used up every bit of energy I had left to push through the last few miles and the last few feet, my legs wanted to just shut down, but I kept pushing so I could finish running.  And when it was over, runner’s high was an understatement.  I was full of pride and exhaustion and happiness.

Less than a week later, I’ve signed up for the Monumental Half Marathon and signed up for next year’s mini.  After finishing my first, I’ve set my sights on time goals and I’m ready to keep pushing forward.

The idea of this race is what inspired me to begin running 18 months ago, what inspired me to do what I told myself I never could.  When I started running I couldn’t make it to the end of the street.  I started running as an experiment.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could learn to love what I’ve always hated.  I wanted to prove that at my mind was stronger than my body.  And I succeeded in ways I never dreamed of.

So, onward, to keep running and prove even more in the future.

May Race
13.1 Miles
14:23 pace
3:08:27 total time