Archive for March, 2010

2010
7
Mar
16:17

13.1 miles

   Posted by: arcanai    in getting healthy, love my husband, pix

i have very mixed feelings about the matter.  i thought i would cross the finish line with a sense of accomplishment.  i felt… nothing of the sort.  i felt relief at being done.  i felt pride in having such a truly awesome group of friends hanging around just to cheer me on.  but i did not feel like i had really DONE anything; it just didn’t feel like a big deal.  which made me just a little sad because, for me, this should have been a big deal.  it’s so much more than i ever could have seen myself doing.  not because i didn’t think i could but because i never had the desire.  about the only thing that i really felt good about was my time.  after all of my training, i was certain that it was going to take me three hours and fifteen minutes to run a half marathon.  i didn’t see any way around that.  my official chip time was 3:03:54.  i ran it more than eleven minutes faster than i realistically thought i could.  granted, i would have loved to have gotten down to under three hours but i finished knowing that there was absolutely no way that i could have done that today.  i left nothing on the course.  i also felt good about having a negative split.  the second half of my race was nearly two minutes faster than the first half.

hanging toward the back of the crowd to start - the blue shirt just right of my head is cargo starting his 2nd half mary

hanging toward the back of the crowd to start - the blue shirt just right of my head is cargo starting his 2nd half mary

honestly, i had fun.  i really did.  the first nine miles, i was having just a great time.  after nine miles, i became aware of my legs.  they weren’t hurting or over-tired but i just suddenly felt them.  of course, that’s about the time that the course got a little lonely too.  it was an out-and-back course so the first half, i was able to cheer on all of the fast folks who were already heading back toward me.  when i finally reached the turn-around and started back myself, i had the slower folks still heading out to cheer on.  it made me feel good to cheer others on, whether they really needed it or not.  and it was a thrill every time we passed one of our friends; totally recharged me.  somewhere around the nine mile mark, we had already gone by all of the slower people so it was pretty much just me and my husband. 

at least there were some scenic stretches

at least there were some scenic stretches

look, i'm a runner

look, i'm a runner

and, while i’m on that subject – my husband rocks!  i could not have done that race without him.  he bandited so that he could trot along with me.  he talked with me and kept me company.  he carried the camera to take pix of me and all of our friends.  most importantly, he did all of my aid station stops for me.  when we approached a table, he would grab the bottles out of my fuel belt and go fill them – one with water and one with gatorade.  i never had to stop at a table so i was able to do my walk/fuel breaks when i wanted or needed to rather than when the course dictated them.

my favorite pic of the day; i made hubby stop to take it.  if you know him, you know why.

my favorite pic of the day; i made hubby stop to take it. if you know him, you know why.

anyhow, i still felt pretty good going past the twelve mile mark.  i was a little surprised because i was sure i should have hit my “wall”.  i became confident that if i hadn’t hit it yet, i wouldn’t.  i looked at my watch and thought i’d be able to finish strong and beat three hours.  and then, the last half mile, there it was.  WHAM!  having never hit a wall before, i could not believe just how debilitating it was.  within mere seconds i went from feeling like i had it in the bag to feeling like i couldn’t possibly pick up my legs anymore.  i have no idea how i managed to keep them moving that last .5 mile.  by the time i finally turned a corner and saw the finish line in the distance, i was chanting to myself that i could do it.  luckily, that was the same time i started to hear my friends screaming my name and the very same sentiments.  that was what i needed to push me.  i found just enough energy to carry myself across the line and i was so glad to be done.  i had intended to pay attention to my finish line photo but i was just too daggum tired to lift my arms in victory.  my friend tat greeted me with a big hug and praise when i crossed and i couldn’t even lift my arms to hug her back.  i was done. 

DONE.  in every sense of the word.

DONE. in every sense of the word.

i walked around a while, choked down a banana, picked up my medal and my ugly purse, and went back to the line to wait for another friend who had not yet finished.  i walked up the course a bit so that i could meet her and cheer her to the end.  i am so glad that i did not finish with her.  the finish line had been taken down by the time she finished and the crowds were all gone.  i would have been so demoralized.  i’m not sure how she felt about it all but i’m glad that i was there for her.  she was crying by the time she finally crossed where the line had been. 

showing off my well-earned blingage and ugy purse

showing off my well-earned blingage and ugy purse

all in all, it was a positive experience and i’m glad i did it.  it was just a disappointment that it didn’t make me feel better about myself.  and, though the race was quite a bit of fun, the weeks of training were horrible torture that i don’t think i would readily endure again.  we’ll see though.  with this group of nutty friends, anything is possible.

it's official.  i'm a half-marathoner

it's official. i'm a half-marathoner