Run, run, run!

So, today was the half marathon.

You may have heard something about me running it. I know I haven't mentioned it much.

;-)

The race went soooo well for me and my dad! My Garmin profile of it is online. I ran 2:15:31 (or 10:17/mile) and dad ran 2:06. We were both extremely pleased with our times.

Race day started early and cold! The alarm went off at 5 a.m. because the pickup time for timing chips started at 6 a.m. and dad and I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to park and figure out where everything was, etc. (The race started at 8 a.m.)

Dad and I each wore our running clothes and over them oversized sweatshirts and sweatpants from when we weighed a lot more! (We both looked kinda ridiculous!) The plan was to have these to keep warm pre-race and then dump them right before the race started. We were just going to throw them off to side and figure that we'd never see them again (that's why we had such old/big clothes)!

The chip pickup was in the Raleigh Convention Center (which is connected to the Marriott) and we were both really familiar with the area because dad's company had a show a few months back in the convention center and he had stayed at the Marriott.

We parked in the garage connected to the convention center, got our chips, checked out the start line outside, and then spent the rest of the morning hanging out in the Marriott lobby. It was PERFECT! There were tons of chairs to sit on, heat, very nice bathrooms, and we were about 30 feet away from the start line, so we didn't have to go outside until 10 minutes before the race started (and were able to put all our excess clothes back in the car).

Right before the race started, dad and I gave each other a hug, commented on how cool it was that we were doing this, and said goodbye. Then the cowbell clanged and off we went!

As I started running, I felt a little emotional; I actually teared up a bit. I was so excited to get going and thought about how 14 months and 2 days ago I weighed 205 lbs. and had never even considered running a half marathon and then today I was feeling great and confident. The emotion passed pretty quickly and I got down to concentrating on my breathing and establishing rhythm and pace.

I ran the first 2 miles pretty quickly for me (under 10 minutes/mile). Running up Hillsborough Street was a challenge. Lots of slight rolling hills and lots of people that were passing me (pretty common at the beginning of a race). When I ran past Tompkins Hall (the English building at NCSU), I thought about all the time I spent there and how hard it used to be for me to trek around campus with all my extra weight and books and laptop. It felt good to be cruising and healthy! When I got to mile 3, a lady beside me said (to no one in particular), "Only 10 more to go." And I replied with, "Actually, 10.1!" That got a few chuckles.

Right after that, I came up to the 2nd water/gatorade stop and I took one of my GU gels. I wanted water, but ended up on the Gatorade side. The cup was super full and I spilled red Gatorade all over my face, neck, and hands. Pretty awesome! Fortunately, mile 4 also had a water stop, so I got a new cup, drank a bit, and then poured the rest all over my hands to keep them from getting sticky! Success!

Between miles 3 and 4, there was a section of the course where the runners farther along double backed along where I was and I was thinking "Damn them for being so fast!" :-) When I got back to that point, there were still a few people on the beginning part of the course and that made me kinda happy because I knew I wouldn't be the last one to finish!

As I was continuing down Hillsborough Street (toward Blue Ridge), we had to stay to the left of the cones on the road because the right of the cones was another part of the course for the way back. Well, all of the sudden, I saw a guy speeding by on a bike making sure everyone was staying left and then a dude running like really fast! Well, it turns out that he was the leader! He was flying! Whereas I was on mile 5, this guy was on mile 9! He had already ran down toward Blue Ridge, through the Museum of Art greenways, over the pedestrian bridge on the Beltline, and back out through Meredith College. Turns out the dude finished in like 1:05. That's like REALLY FAST. He ran less than 5 minute miles!! Everyone on the left the cones clapped for him as he went by. It was pretty cool to see!

When I started going up Blue Ridge Road, I looked back down Hillsborough and there were lots of people behind me! There's a decent hill at that point and it was right at 9 o'clock. I thought of Brian and how his alarm was just going off! When I got to 6.55 miles (halfway), my time was 1:05 and I spent about .25 mile trying to figure out what my time goal should be. 2:10 would be incredible, but I knew that there were serious hills on the greenway portion of the course, so I decided that 2:15 would be my goal.

I took another GU at 7.25 miles at another water stop and then trudged on through the greenway. I tried to accelerate on the downhill portions and then just do my best on the uphills. I had heard another runner (on a blog that I read) say that when she gets to tough hills that she gets really mad at them and tries to use that to her advantage. So, that's what I did. I gritted my teeth and HATED those hills and just pushed through. The stretch of the race my mile time was 11:02, which I thought was pretty fantastic. (That was the only split that I had above the 10s.)

At mile 9.8, I heard someone ask how far we'd gone, so I told her. Other than that and the mention of "10.1" back at mile 3, and thanking a few cheering spectators along the course, I didn't say anything else the whole race!

Mentally, the hardest part of the race was probably miles 10-12. I thought of my best friend Shannon at mile 11 because she told me to think of her when I got there. And then I remembered that she in South Beach visiting a friend, so then I had to stop thinking about her, considering it was 45° and I was at mile 11. :-)

Around that time, I ended up with 2 really obnoxious, super loud girls right behind me. They kept complaining about how much different parts of their bodies hurt and I was trying so hard to stay positive and not let anything negative pop into my mind and I knew that if I kicked it in high gear with 3 miles to go to leave them that I'd run out of steam before the end. So, I listened to them for about another .5 mile, but they must have really been slowing down because eventually I couldn't hear them anymore.

I started counting down the tenths of miles at about mile 11 and that's when I started giving myself pep talks. ("C'mon, girl, you can do it." "You're strong." "Almost done." "You couldn't pay me to stop and walk at this point." "You're a badass." "This is the last hill." "2.1 to go, 2.1, 2.1, 2.1, 2.1. 2 miles to go, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 etc. OK, we're in the 1s now. 1.9 to go, etc.")

The last little hill (where Hillsborough and Morgan streets split), I felt my legs getting heavy and I was like "NO NO NO. GO. GO. GO. 2 hours 15 minutes. Don't slow. Go" and then I worried that I was running out of energy and should have taken another GU, but once that hill passed, I could hear the crowd at the finish and I kicked it up and the next thing I knew was coming up to the Capitol and then immediately I was at Fayetteville Street for the last down hill into the finish. I was rocking at that point. Running as fast as I could go.

At mile 13, I pushed my lap button (which measures mile split times). And at mile 13.1 I hit it  again. WTF? I still wasn't done! The finish ended up being .06 miles farther (probably due to me running not in a straight line the whole time, which is how they measure courses).

I saw Brian with the camera and tried not to look like a complete moron while he was snapping pictures and my dad was standing there with his medal on and I saw Brian's mom and dad and my mom and I heard them cheering and I was just running (and thinking that I didn't know we got medals and that it was really cool and that I was excited to get a medal).

I crossed the finish, mashed stop on the Garmin, slowed down to a jog/walk, got my medal, and stood there while some volunteer cut the chip off my shoe (thank God you don't have to do that yourself)!

I felt so incredible! I caught my breath and then turned around to find my family!

After the race, I had a banana and a Powerade, we got some 13.1 car stickers and magnets, stretched a bit, and then went home. IT WAS FREEZING!

That hot shower felt SO GOOD!

Lunch was at the Cracker Barrel in Clayton (mom and dad had to head back home today) and it was SO GOOD. It was so fun to have a meal that I didn't care about calories! Biscuits, chicken and dumplins, corn, collard greens, and fried apples. DELICIOUS!

I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on the couch and then met Brian's mom at Pei Wei for dinner. I had the dan dan noodles, which were SO GOOD. They were so salty and I was craving the salt.

A really awesome, incredible first half marathon!

My knees and hips are a little sore when I go up the stairs and a few of my toenails are nice and purple and painful, but other than that, I'm not doing too badly!

Pictures are up on Picasa.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to take it easy (should be a good day for it; supposed to be cold and rainy). Probably going to do 15-20 easy, easy minutes on the elliptical to get the legs moving (usually, Brian, Gatsby, and I take an easy walk on the day after long runs) and then maybe do some yoga to stretch or upper body strength training.