Aside from the cold, pelting rain and the 26 mile an hour gusts, the run was ok. The first few miles were rough because my stomach was bothering me and I had a stitch in my ribs, but once that calmed down, I felt pretty good. Then miles 8 through 11, the rain came and went and the wind took my breath away, but it kinda added an element of entertainment and helped get me through. Overall, even though I feel like I've been beat by a stick an ran over by a semi, I'm glad I did it.
There was a van on the side of the road playing Christian music and the guy was dancing around cheering us on. It was very uplifting and I was choked up for a bit. On the flip side, there was a man also standing on the side of the road with a microphone shouting at us on the horrors of hell that had the exact opposite affect. I just question the man with the microphone's thinking and how he believes that scaring someone will bring them to God.
On another note, I was on about mile 9 when the marathon winner was on about 25. ha ha But honesty, I was on one side of the road as he ran towards me and it was truly amazing. The speed of which this man was pushing his legs was crazy! and that's after 20 something miles.
A little bit after that, the female leader was running by and she was going super fast as well. A guy near me kept pace with her for about 100 yards, but then he was done. Imagine running that way for 26 miles. Amazing.
Even though I feel kinda beat up today, I am still excited about running in the races and I'm going to look for some shorter ones to do since the season seems to be over for Florida as its going to start getting hot in the near future.
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Monday, March 02, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Glutton for Punishment
My friend, Shannon was bit by the running bug and after our half almost a month ago, she quickly signed up for another on this coming weekend in Tampa. Crazy woman she is! I was going to go along for moral support and you know hang out at the comfy hotel while she busted her butt running 13 miles AGAIN, but then late last weekend, my other friend Sandy decided she didn't care that she hasn't hit the pavement in a month, nor about the fact that she has been sick, and decided, by god, she was going to do this half marathon thing again too.
You see where this is heading, don't you.
Bullies that they are, S and S called me stragically throughout the weekend to discuss the run and pump me up. Filling me up with the notion that not only could I make it through 13 miles AGAIN, but that I actually wanted to do it. Funny thing is, I kinda do. I know if I sit on the sidelines while they run, I will wish I should have just done it. What's 13 miles, almost 3 hours and a huge blister in the grand scheme of things?
The nice part is that since Sandy hasn't been training, she will probably stay with me, so at least this time, I will have someone to talk to as we crawl towards the finish line.
Why couldn't I have found a friend who wanted to take up napping as a sport?
You see where this is heading, don't you.
Bullies that they are, S and S called me stragically throughout the weekend to discuss the run and pump me up. Filling me up with the notion that not only could I make it through 13 miles AGAIN, but that I actually wanted to do it. Funny thing is, I kinda do. I know if I sit on the sidelines while they run, I will wish I should have just done it. What's 13 miles, almost 3 hours and a huge blister in the grand scheme of things?
The nice part is that since Sandy hasn't been training, she will probably stay with me, so at least this time, I will have someone to talk to as we crawl towards the finish line.
Why couldn't I have found a friend who wanted to take up napping as a sport?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I did it!
Saturday afternoon, we headed to Miami to stay the night before I had to get up at 4:30 AM to run/walk 13.1 miles. We met up with our friends and even though die hard runners probably would not recommend it, I did have a glass of wine with dinner because my nerves were all over the place. I went to the restroom once towards the end of dinner and had a mini-panic attack because I realized that I had to go to bed soon, which meant I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to run/walk 13.1 miles!
Of course, being in a hotel, I slept like crap even though I had brought my own pillow and by the time 4:30 rolled around, I was almost grateful. Did I mention that I woke up at 4:30 AM?!?!
The first and thankfully only mini-crisis occurred at 5:15 when I dug through my gym bag to get dressed and discovered I had not brought my running bra. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!?! I frantically called my two friends, but neither of them had brought an extra one, so I bit the bullet and just wore my regular bra. At the time, I thought I would have rather forgotten my pants, but it actually was ok and I didn't feel like my breasts were going to fall off.
The hotel was 1.2 miles from the starting line, so we left about 5:30 and walked there. Yes, we and a ton of other people walked over a mile to get to the starting line of our half or full marathon. Crazy! I know!
We arrived before 6 and holy crow, there were so many people, 15,000 participants and all their support. The music was pumping and it was all very surreal. My stomach was a wreck. We were so far back in the corral that even after the starting fireworks went off, it took a good 12-15 minutes to make it to the starting line. By then, I just ready to GO.
Within the first mile, the course led us over the MacArthur Causeway, which is the longest of the three bridges, but due to the gradual slope, it really wasn't so bad.
Even though, I had been training run half a mile, walk half a mile, I ended up staying with the pack and running the first three miles, which was also the first water/Gatorade station. When I slowed down to grab that drink, my legs kinda freaked, but it was ok. I walked then for probably half a mile and then met up with a nice lady and our conversation carried me to mile 6. My two friends had kept running after 3, so I was on my own, but it was good and there were always a ton of people around me.
The course is very scenic, but to be honest, I didn't look around much. I was, though, in such a better place mentally than I thought I would be and I never wanted to quit. It wasn't until mile 11 when I saw Larry waiting for me to cheer me on that I was ready for it to be over, but I still didn't want to quit. It's a big difference. I knew by then that my friend were probably done and I was ready to be too. Mile 11 was the longest mile I have ever done. I swear it lasted F.O.R.E.V.E.R. At mile 12 though, things picked back up. I knew I was so close and the spectators were multiplying and it was getting loud again.
When I saw the finish line, I "sprinted" as fast as my legs would go and finished with a time of 2:47:56. I figured it out and that's about 11:30 per mile and I am very happy with that.
Even though I sometimes dreaded the training, I really loved actually running in the race and I've already signed up to do the Disney half next January. Now that I have one under my belt, I am so much more motivated to train harder and push myself. It was such a cool experience and when the huge blisters on my toe heals, I will be back out there pounding the pavement.
Of course, being in a hotel, I slept like crap even though I had brought my own pillow and by the time 4:30 rolled around, I was almost grateful. Did I mention that I woke up at 4:30 AM?!?!
The first and thankfully only mini-crisis occurred at 5:15 when I dug through my gym bag to get dressed and discovered I had not brought my running bra. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!?! I frantically called my two friends, but neither of them had brought an extra one, so I bit the bullet and just wore my regular bra. At the time, I thought I would have rather forgotten my pants, but it actually was ok and I didn't feel like my breasts were going to fall off.
The hotel was 1.2 miles from the starting line, so we left about 5:30 and walked there. Yes, we and a ton of other people walked over a mile to get to the starting line of our half or full marathon. Crazy! I know!
We arrived before 6 and holy crow, there were so many people, 15,000 participants and all their support. The music was pumping and it was all very surreal. My stomach was a wreck. We were so far back in the corral that even after the starting fireworks went off, it took a good 12-15 minutes to make it to the starting line. By then, I just ready to GO.
Within the first mile, the course led us over the MacArthur Causeway, which is the longest of the three bridges, but due to the gradual slope, it really wasn't so bad.
Even though, I had been training run half a mile, walk half a mile, I ended up staying with the pack and running the first three miles, which was also the first water/Gatorade station. When I slowed down to grab that drink, my legs kinda freaked, but it was ok. I walked then for probably half a mile and then met up with a nice lady and our conversation carried me to mile 6. My two friends had kept running after 3, so I was on my own, but it was good and there were always a ton of people around me.
The course is very scenic, but to be honest, I didn't look around much. I was, though, in such a better place mentally than I thought I would be and I never wanted to quit. It wasn't until mile 11 when I saw Larry waiting for me to cheer me on that I was ready for it to be over, but I still didn't want to quit. It's a big difference. I knew by then that my friend were probably done and I was ready to be too. Mile 11 was the longest mile I have ever done. I swear it lasted F.O.R.E.V.E.R. At mile 12 though, things picked back up. I knew I was so close and the spectators were multiplying and it was getting loud again.
When I saw the finish line, I "sprinted" as fast as my legs would go and finished with a time of 2:47:56. I figured it out and that's about 11:30 per mile and I am very happy with that.
Even though I sometimes dreaded the training, I really loved actually running in the race and I've already signed up to do the Disney half next January. Now that I have one under my belt, I am so much more motivated to train harder and push myself. It was such a cool experience and when the huge blisters on my toe heals, I will be back out there pounding the pavement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)