The Big Day Is Done And Over!

Two days after race day and I am actually feeling good!  I can't say I felt so hot during or for the few hours following though. 

Let me take you through race day. 

5:45- I woke up feeling anxious as ever but excited! 

7:00- Got to the mall and suddenly felt very unprepared.  People had their running belts and hats on....some even had space blankets!  I was in my school shirt and yoga pants!

7:30- Took pre-race pictures with friends to show I was actually there

7:45- The race started but because I was in wave 6, I waited!

8 something,- My wave was allowed to start

And now we take it to miles because with uncoordinated people like me, I can’t run and check my watch clock at the same time!

Miles 1-4 were awful.  I saw some workers and got pumped for all of 5 seconds until I turned the corner.  When I saw Mile 4 I could have cried, thinking I had more than 2/3 of the race left to go.  That was also when my Pandora stopped working!

Miles 5-8 were a blur which was nice PLUS I got my Pandora to work again!  This was way better than Option B (listening to the 6 songs I have on my iPhone on repeat)  Yay!

Miles 9-10 I could see the finish line but my knees had a different agenda.  They were dead set on keeping me from the finish line.

Miles 11-13- I saw my coworkers once more which did give me more energy because I could celebrate with them that I was almost done.  At this point I was on the verge of tears because my left knee hurt so bad!

Mile 13.1 I ran through the finish line at 2 hours 38 minutes.  The first thought in my head was, “Nope, I did better than that,” and then, “Yes!  I did better than that!”  (The clock tracks the time of the first wave and I was in wave 6).  My official time...2 hours 18 minutes, average time per mile 10:35.  I will take it for my first half!

The time after I finished was all a blur!  I met up with a friend, took pictures to show I actually survived and went home!

From there, I wish I could say I felt good, relaxed a little bit and had a productive rest of my day but I would be lying.  Instead, I was sick for the next 5 hours after and had to take a 2 hour nap!  After I recouped, I was able to eat and get out a bit before I returned home to get a very restful sleep!

Would I change anything about this experience?  My answer would definitely be, yes!  I would train harder so my body would actually know what it felt like to run past 6 miles.  (Definitely the explanation for my knees hurting).  I would also like to get on a better nutrition plan (and hopefully not feel so sick later)!  But after all of the heck I put my body through, I wouldn’t take back this experience for anything. I had a blast and can’t wait to start training for another half marathon!

P.S. If you were out there cheering the runners on, I want to say a huge, THANK YOU! I didn’t think someone’s cheering or sign would be able to make such a difference but they definitely made me laugh along the way.  Some are inappropriate but here are a few

-“Go random stranger!”

-“Run now, poop later.”

-“Smile if you’re not wearing underwear!”