Monday, May 6, 2013

It Wasn't A Fluke

I'm a half marathoner again! Yesterday was the Prairie Fire Spring Half Marathon. Race time was 730a, but I wanted to get a good parking spot, so I left my house at 6am. I parked easily at the Gander Mountain parking structure and texted Kim to tell her there was still plenty of room. She got there and I walked over to her truck. It was cold and windy and drizzling outside, which was not making me happy. We sat in her truck until about 7am and we got out and walked a half mile or so to the starting line. I had debated on whether or not to leave my jacket, and decided to take it because it was really cold.

We got in line to start. They had some announcements, the national anthem, and then a moment of silence for Boston. Then we were off.

Right away, the drizzling was annoying. I had to keep wiping off my glasses. Our original plan was to take 60 second walking breaks every mile, but we passed mile 1 and felt good so we kept going. There was a water stop about every 2 miles, so we decided to try to go water stop to water stop.

We got to mile 2 water stop and Kim had to pee, so we jumped over to the port-a-potty, but none were open, so we kept going. Shortly after mile 2 there was a volunteer cheering and she said "You're almost there!" and I looked at her and said "Don't say that!!!!" I was only half way joking! Lol! She said "I meant, you're almost to the next corner!" It was kind of funny. In the second mile, I was so mad that I was wearing my jacket! I was miserable, so I ran over and tied my jacket to a pole, then was much better after that.

We got to mile 3 and I was relieved to be over the first hump. The first 3 miles are always really hard for me, but I can set in after that.

At about 3.5 miles in, we were running next to the 5k for a bit, which was cool. A couple girls from work were running the 5k and we looked for them, but didn't see them.

Mile 4 went along the river, a route I have done in a couple of races before. It reminded me of the 5k I did last May with Paul and how miserable it was!

At about mile 5, I heard Paul call my name and he was running over carrying Elliott in a huge blanket! I waved over to them and then threw my glasses on the ground and called to him to come get them. It was STILL drizzling and now my glasses were fogging too! I was glad to have them gone! We ran to a little over 5 miles before we ever took a walk break and we only did because I got this weird pain in my left ankle. We walked and then I tried to stretch out a little, and we continued on.

We got to 10k and were still on target for a 2:45 finish.

We had a little motivation at mile 8 and ran a long stretch from about mile  to mile 10. Those miles were not that great because they went through a path in a park and there were almost no spectators. There were also a lot of cracks and bumps on the path too.

At mile 10, my ankle was hurting again AND my knee (It had started to hurt after my 4 mile run last Tuesday. It hurt Wednesday and Thursday, but was fine Friday and Saturday.) started acting up too. I was in a lot of pain, and the fatigue was starting to set in as well. And we got onto a path that Kim and I run a lot, which I didn't really care for. I like the mystery of not really knowing where I'm going next.

We saw our friend Bekki at mile 11! It is always great to see someone out there for you! It helps so much more than anyone will know!

The last 2 miles were SO DAMN HARD! We got next to the river and were closing in on the finish line and we started talking with a couple of women. They were mother and daughter which I thought was soooo cool! It was the mom's first half and her daughter was running it with her! Her daughter had run the OKC Memorial Marathon the weekend before! That is just amazing!

At mile 13, I saw Paul and Elliott and Elliott was cheering "Go Mama Go!" and it made me cry! I was so happy to be almost done, and so happy that my husband and daughter were there for me! Happy to be setting a great example for her! Happy to have my best friend by  my side!

Kim and I held hands and crossed the finish line together for a second time!

We had 4 goals:
A) 2:45
B) Sub 3
C) PR (Sub 3:06:50)
D) Finish

We finished in 2:53:36, which is a PR of over 13 minutes 14 seconds! I was pleased! I REALLY wanted a finish time that started with a 2! Now, for photos!

About 4 miles in.


Finished! Frozen to the bone!
I was so excited and proud to finish! Now I know that the first time wasn't just a fluke. I really am a runner. A half marathoner!