So, I'm going to try and string together some coherent thoughts while they are still fresh in my mind.
Saturday.....I committed to drinking lots of water throughout the day so my body would start out hydrated. I did this mostly because I didn't want to drink much before and during my run. I also had a 1/2 baked potato for dinner and stir-fried veggies over whole-wheat couscous. I tried to go to bed early but didn't sleep very well as I was nervous and excited.
Sunday morning....up at 4:50am. Had the great debate with myself of whether or not to have coffee. Compromised and drank a 1/2 mug instead of the full. I then had another debate with myself over what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, should I eat at all. Decided to have a banana with 1 TBSP almond butter and a small handful of crushed walnuts sprinkled over.
(Just in case you wanted to see a picture..ha ha!)
We arrived in the parking lot about 6:30....since there is a McDonald's across the street from the starting line, I stopped in to use the restroom one last time. Felt guilty for a moment since I wasn't buying anything (I have not come this far to have the golden arches take me down!!). Once my 2 buddies said they were buying coffee, all guilt was gone. Jealousy took over.
Apparently, I'm not the only one with port-o-potty issues because there were about 30 women lined up for the McDonald's bathroom line and outside, just 100 feet away were roughly 30 of the blue buildings lined up. I felt at one with my sisterhood.
Once we got to the starting line and my race chip and bib on, I waited for some big sign that we were supposed to start. I guess deep down, I was expecting a gun shot or something. (Yes, I know that sounds crazy)
All of sudden you could see this big herd of people starting to move....up the very big hill. I tried (and succeeded) to not say..."MOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Here are some random thoughts at various mile markers...to the best of my memory:
Mile 1.....Ms. Pink Shirt Lady - I don't know you and wouldn't recognize your face if we were to pass each other on the street, but you seemed to know what you were doing and I just fixed my eyes on your back for the first mile. Thank you, in some strange way you helped me know I would be okay.
Mile 2......Mr. Looks-like-you're-running-on-your-tip-toes....how does that NOT hurt? Or is that how your feet are? Or is that what we're all supposed to be doing? And Mr. Needs to Spit....let's keep that on YOUR side of the street, okay??
Mile 3.....Just passed the park where my kids have played before - hey, this is kind of fun running past and having a great memory hit me!
Mile 4-5....Even though I used to live in this town, I've never actually driven through these neighborhoods......kind of neat to be able to look and see and not worry about driving through a stop sign.
Mile 5-6.....Big hill, this time running doooooown. I don't care what those running magazines say, I'm not attempting to build up speed because the last thing I need it to slip and skid.
Mile 7.....Mr. Guitar Guy sitting at the end of his driveway serenading us as we ran by....clever, classic and a welcome distraction....(6 more miles to go, 6 more miles to go.....it's all downhill from here (it totally wasn't!) and it's only 6 more miles to go. I'll remember that tune for a long time:)
Mile 8......Power Gel was offered! I had heard of this, but never tried it and didn't want to do anything new since I still had some miles left. I did however grab a packet to try another time, maybe while sitting around blogging???
Mile 9.....Said something encouraging to another runner who wasn't sure he could make it....I'm hoping he did.
Mile 10.....My friends met me at this mile marker to cheer me on for the last 3...so glad to see them!
Mile 11.....Once I heard the time called out at the 10 mile mark, I had decided to try and finish in 2:00 or less. I had sped up, then heard the time at the 11th mark and figured there was no way I could finish in under 2 hours. I kept running but dropped my speed a bit.
Miles 12-13......"You haven't come this far to quit trying your best, so what if you are a few minutes past 2 hours.....GO!" I think I ran that last mile pretty fast.....mostly because I just wanted to finish.
13.0-13.1.....Sprint, sprint, sprint!!! (Found out later my official time was 1:59:53...I'm SOOOOOO glad I ran hard at the end! So very, very glad.
Lots of cheering going on (for all of us, not just me), heard my name over the loudspeaker and couldn't believe I was done!! Grabbed some water, hugged my friends and had my picture taken.
There was a post-party serving pizza and beer. I've been known to eat a slice of pizza at 9:00am, but beer??? I don't like beer at 9pm. I went over to the tent, but even pizza didn't sound right as a celebratory food. Besides, Jerry and the kids were meeting me and right after we went out and had this.....
Carb loading in the form of hash browns, chocolate chip pancakes and the very best part (not pictured) a tall, large glass of FRESH SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE! I could have drank a gallon of it at that point. I did not eat all the food in front of me, but what I did eat was beyond delicious. My eating buddies thought so too....
(The ten-year old and 41-year old are TOOO cool to be pictured, thank you very much.)
In conclusion, it was a great day with great weather and great people cheering me on. I think I would do it again:)
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