1/2 mary recap and things i re-learned along the way

wow,what a morning and what a race!!!!!

so ill try to make this brief..

woke up at 5:30am (the snooze may or may not have been hit a few times) had a cup of coffee and a small bowl of cheerios. i wasn't hungry at all.

was *supposed* to leave my house by 6:15 so i could get registered @ 6:30.

ummmmm,how bout i leave at 6:30 on account of trying to move my husbands new(BIG) truck and not being able to figure out how to release the parking break for about 5 or minutes.once i figure it out and leave,i get 3 blocks away and have to go back home cause i forgot my cell phone...

anyways,i get registered in plenty of time,pay my late fee and get a cool shirt and 2 of the coveted "13.1" decal stickers.

rewind to last night to the conversation i had with my husband

him: your going to pay how much for this race?

me: only $50,i missed the early registration AND the online registration

him:well,since your not going to win this one(no worries,not an insult here),why don't you just not register,save the $, and just jump in and run?

me: well,i MIGHT place in my AG. last years 3rd place was 1:47. i can do that?yeah i can.

him:well, you can do what you want. if i were you,id just skip the register and run. but you do what you think is right....

me: OK

fast forward to this morning....i went ahead and paid,just on the slim chance i had at making top 3 in AG,and oh yeah,for the shirt!

:)

anyways. all of us get corralled in the start chute. the gun goes off and it is a slow walk to the actual line. i saw sue way in the back,i was in the middle. i knew she would catch me eventually.

so my mind set going in was to take it slow the first few miles and then pick it up if i felt good.

my legs felts good.

mile 1: 8:04

not bad,and then i hear sue,she tells me to stay with her and we take off.

mile 2-15:12

umm sue,we are under 7:30 pace! she doesn't hear me cause she's rockin out her ipod.

mile 3-22:20

sue takes off,and i let her. there was no way i could hold that pace for another 10 miles!

then i hear loud huffing behind me,and an older man (mid 60's maybe?) came up beside me. he tried to pass me but i stuck with him and told him he was doing a great job. we got to talking and found out his goal time was 1:45 as well so we agreed to try to stay with eachother.

mile 4-30 something i think?

i am feeling good so far.i am warming up,gloves come off,jacket is tied around my waist. i dressed to warm,even though it was 30 degrees out and raining/misting. great a hill. here comes the lead runner,already made the turn around. we are conning up on mile 5 and he is about to be on mile 8. big cheers for him!

mile 5-38:30

still doing good. keeping pace with Rich,we are chatting and encouraging everyone we see.here comes another hill! and here comes military man carrying the American flag,so a HUGE "hoorah!" from me and about 10 other runners...how cool is he? i keep military man in close range up the hill.

mile 6-46:20
bleh,slowing down some down to 8:30 pace. need to pick it up. so i coast on all the down hills in hopes to make up for lost time going UP.

eh,getting winded a bit,

mile 7-54:18
better! and now here comes the dirt and gravel and a zillion puddles to jump in. this mile is long.rich has fallen behind and I'm yelling at him to stay with me...i think i said something like "you better get back up here,I'm not slowing down for you because if i slow down i wont be able to pick up the pace!"
and then there he is again,and we huff and puff to the next mile..

mile 8-1:03
eh,slowing down again,time to keep it even from here on out. on the loop at this point,i hear more loud "hoorahs!"and see the American flag again.
mile 9-1:11:11 (weird i remember that!)
I'm telling myself that if i keep an 8 min mile pace from here on out,i can get under 1:45!so in my head i am saying,ok mile 10 needs to be at 1:19!
mile 10-1:19:30....
my legs are dead. but ill take that! 1:27 for next mile-i pick it up a bit and leave Rich behind.i still hear him behind me though and through the next few rolling hills I'm encouraging everyone i see...the good thing at this point? EVERYONE who was volunteering for this race was cheering EVERYONE on! it was so cool! but its never a good sign when the lady with orange flag directing everyone says to me,"great job hun,but now the REAL fun starts here,stay to the left please!
and the the fun starts
mile 11-right at the start-BIG HILL "hospital hill":1:28

this was so not fun. every muscle hurt and i was laughing and cussing under my breath the whole time. cheerleaders half way up. i get a "your looking strong! looking good!" even though i smiled and said "thank you!" i was quick to follow with a"but looks are deceiving!" in there,lol!

after a brief incline and a turn,more encouraging words are said at the 12 mile marker
"great job! just one more hill!

mile 12-and right at the start of it,another HILL!!: 1:38

omgoodness! im just praying that i can finish this.no way can i get a 7 min mile up this thing when im already dead.just hang in there melissa! 3 females pass me up the hill. they all look older than me,out of my AG. then a pack of 5 men pass me up. im feeling humbled,tired,sore and my right foot has been tingling since mile 4. dear lord help me up his hill!(which isnt as bad as the last one!)

so i follow runner girl up the hill and lo and behold im hearing the music at the finish! i see mile 13!

mile 13- 1:47:26
crap! so much for 1:45!
runner girl picks it up and i stay with her,but she out ran me and had me by a few seconds,
oh well.
i finish 1:48:06 by my watch,
1:48:14 by gun time.
my worst time ever!
(BUT i so earned that 13.1 sticker today!cant wait to put on the back of my early xmas present...a new vehicle! whoo!)

atthe line,my body feels beat. i refuse the foil wrap and walk for a minute. i chat with sue-she got 1:38 flat.

i knew she would race,ha!

so i think i might have a chance at an AG placing. i change out of my sweaty top,but forgot dry socks! really?

i hang around until unofficial results are posted.during this time i met so many nice ppl! a lot of running moms actually! i felt so in my element here,enjoying the commradity between all us runners,and of course,everyone was complaining about those hills. it is just wrong to place those things right at the end!

but,deep down i enjoyed it,just wish i was more prepared.

turns out i placed 4th in AG. missed 3rd by a few seconds. guess that girl i front of me was around my age? geesh,i can never tell these days!!
oh well. bottom line, i had fun,in the sense that only runners can understand.
(who else enjoys running 13.1 miles in the cold rain and wind?)

one thing i do know is that next half,i WILL see the 1:30's!

things i re-learned along the way?

simple things i already know.

eat a good breakfast. a small bowl of cheerios doesn't cut it. i felt wiped out by mile 10.

stick to the plan of starting off slower for longer distance races. my first 3 miles were too fast to sustain over 13 miles (for now that is!!)

NEVER wait until race day to break in a new pair of running shoes.NEVER. the balls of my feet were tingling most of the race.

accept the foil blanket after the race.

remember to bring dry socks.

refuel immediately after the race,even when not hungry.waiting almost 2hours afterwards isn't a good idea.

STRETCH the day before,right before,and right after the race.

remember to register early when possible.....

so that's my long recap! for those still reading,bless your hearts!

now its time to try to relax with lil m. i feel so drained right now!!!

anyways,hope all are enjoying the rest of the weekend!