When I was starting on my 30 in 30 list, running a half marathon was one of the first ones I thought of. I thought it would be something easy I could do. I've been a runner half of my life, so I thought it would be something I could just easily do.
Boy was I wrong. The amount of training and work I put into this run was much more than I had ever anticipated. Luckily I had my girl Kristen with me to keep my head in the game and help me put one foot in front of the other!
So here we are: 30 in 30: number 11: Run a Half Marathon
When researching which one I wanted to do, a few were recommended to me. But the cost of them was much more than I wanted to spend. Then I learned of the Irving Marathon and the price for that was so awesome! Plus I grew up in Irving, it was like home was calling me back. So I picked that one, signed up and realized there was no going back.
Friday, I picked out what I was going to wear and laid it out. I didn't want to feel rushed in the morning. I was told by a fellow half marathoner to carb overload the day before. So for dinner that evening, I ordered a pizza and fries and even had a nice cider to wash it down.
I took a melatonin because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fall asleep and it worked like a charm. 10:15pm was the last time I saw before I shut my eyes and by the time I knew it, it was 5:45am.
Friday's blog I told you how Kristen was doing this with me, as a support system for myself. So she picks me up at 6:30am, we drive to the Irving Convention Center, park and start walking to the start line. Full marathon people took off at 7:30am and half marathon people took off at 7:40am. So we had about 15 minutes to just stand there, thinking. I had already had breakfast (peanut butter toast and a coffee) but Kristen needed to eat. She had brought a banana and as soon as she started eating it, I thought why not take a pre-selfie, hence why she didn't open her mouth to smile! We don't look nervous at all do we?
Full marathon people take off and it was time for us to line up. To play it safe, we said we would start with the last group of people. The slowest ones and if we are faster than that, then great. We just didn't want to hold anyone up or get in the way of someone. As we are standing there, all of a sudden I feel these arms wrap around me. I turn around and standing there were two of my all time favorite people. Marcus Jauregui and Michael Jarboe. I haven't seen these two in forever. We only had a few mintues to get caught up before the bell went off for us to go. It was the most perfect distraction for me because before I knew it, we were running.
We got about half a mile in and I turned to Kris and said "I have to pee so bad"! She just laughed and at a mile and half there were porta potties so I made a quick stop and was good the rest of the way. They had water stations all throughout which was great. I believe we stopped at almost all of them. I had bought these Gatorade gummies so we munched on those throughout the race. Every 30 minutes to 45 minutes we ate one. They were perfect.
There were times we talked. There were times we laughed. There were times we were completely silent and just took it all in. There were times we would pass someone and then they would pass us. We talked about family, friends, God, the weather, the other runners, how we were feeling. And by the time I knew it, we had hit mile 10 and I turned to Kris and said "We have just ran the farthest we have ever ran before!" As we were coming up to the finish line, Kristen said "I see the boys" but of course I didn't have my glasses on so it took me a good minute to spot them. Bobby got these of us running in.
And just like that we crossed the finish line! What an experience. I loved every minute of it. Our best mile time was 11:39 and our worst was 15:23. We averaged a 13:26 minute mile and finished with a time of 2 hours and 56 minutes. I had wanted to come under 3 hours. That was my goal. To cross the finish line in under 3 and we did it! We got passed by 2 marathon runners which we had anticipated but it was really cool to see them and see the police escort they got. My mom asked me if I would do it again and I told her yes. It was such a rush. The only thing that hurt on me was my right knee, my neck and my toes.
Our littest fan was there!
As soon as I got home, I ran a hot bath and Bobby went and got me food to grub down on. Then later that evening, Bobby made me a feast to eat and for dessert, wine and donuts. It was so wonderful!
Kristen,
Thank you thank you thank you for doing this with me. After all the times I told you you didn't have to do it and after all of the times I told you you could back out, it wouldn't hurt my feelings and how I understood if you didn't want do it, you always said "No, I am doing this with you". And I am so glad you did. You kept me laughing, you kept me going, you would say "At the end of this bridge we are going to start running again" or "At that yellow sign we are going to start running again". Whenever I needed a minute to walk, you never complained.
I love you so very much!
For those curious of our times, here they are. I am super proud of us. For a crossfitter and a women who had a baby within the year, I say it is pretty darn awesome!
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