To those of you who have had to endure all my running stories the last couple of months, I apologize. And I am going to apologize to you once again because after my experience this weekend, I am ready for the next challenge.
So, how did it go and how did I do?
According to my husband Andrew and marathoner friend Adam, I finished in the top 4% of my age group and 3.6% overall, which is not too bad. I achieved my goals of 1. finishing and 2. trying to finish in under 2 hours.
Detailed description of every turn (you can stop reading here and skip over if totally bored)
Of course, I couldn't sleep all night because I was anticipating (maybe even slightly dreading) the race. I was excited, but super nervous since my longest run was around 10 miles and I would be forced to complete 13.1. While everyone says that you can do 13.1 if you have had a long run of 10, I still had my doubts.
We arrived at cock-a-doodle dark at the starting point adjacent to the memorial. There were so many familiar faces and people there that I have not seen in years. In fact, a few were running there first marathon so that put me at ease a bit. Everyone observed 168 seconds of silence and then there was the singing of the national anthem. When the horns went off to signal the start the OU Pep Band (or what sounded like a recording) played Boomer Sooner! I found that strangely amusing considering I was flanked by many donning OSU garb. I felt like I was the drum major out of the field -- that was fun.
Miles 1-3
I am not really sure what went on. The first two miles were so packed in, I spent more time worrying that I might trip over someone. I was so focused on zig-zagging through people that I was at the Captiol complex in no time. There were so many people cheering along the first couple of miles that I didn't see some of my friends, but I did hear my name shouted once, which helped me pick up the pace. About this time I ran into a couple of friends and struck up a conversation which really kept my mind off of the humidity and the first couple of hills.
Miles 4-7
Happened to be my favorite part of the course and run. As you leave the OKC Capitol complex, you head on to 23rd street and pass the Sonic -- I wanted to shoot daggers at the two gentleman leisurely sipping coffee and eating breakfast burritos, but I just kept thinking that if I finish this thing I will be rewarded with Starbucks and a massage, which is way better than Sonic burritos and coffee. So the best part of 4-6 is running through the neighborhoods. You round 23th into historic Jefferson Park and then through many other neighborhoods where people line their driveways with all sorts of fun goodies like bacon, chocolate truffles, suckers and Krispy Kreme donuts. The houses in this area are beautiful (a bit run down in areas, but have potential) and the trees provide perfect cover from the sun which was just coming up at the time.
Happened to be my favorite part of the course and run. As you leave the OKC Capitol complex, you head on to 23rd street and pass the Sonic -- I wanted to shoot daggers at the two gentleman leisurely sipping coffee and eating breakfast burritos, but I just kept thinking that if I finish this thing I will be rewarded with Starbucks and a massage, which is way better than Sonic burritos and coffee. So the best part of 4-6 is running through the neighborhoods. You round 23th into historic Jefferson Park and then through many other neighborhoods where people line their driveways with all sorts of fun goodies like bacon, chocolate truffles, suckers and Krispy Kreme donuts. The houses in this area are beautiful (a bit run down in areas, but have potential) and the trees provide perfect cover from the sun which was just coming up at the time.
However, the best part about this area was the man dressed up like Will Ferrell from SNL, clad in brown half shirt, afro style wig and clanging a cow bell to the beat of Don't Fear the Reaper. Out of nowhere a male runner sort of cuts in front of me and goes over to cow bell dude and starts reciting the dialog from the "more cow bell" sketch. You know, "I got a fever and the only prescription for it is more cow bell," number. It was hilarious, but what was more funny is that this same guy kept moving from location to location in sort of a "where's waldo" fashion, which made the rest of route something to look forward to.
As you round out of the Crown Heights neighborhood, you run down an open Western Avenue. It was here that I spotted Amy Palimero-Winters and I picked up my pace. Since I had read a few stories on her in the newspaper earlier that week, I wanted to get the opportunity to say hello and tell her what an inspiration she was to me. I caught up with Amy, who not only was running the full marathon on a prosthetic leg , but she was pushing a girl in a wheelchair.We chatted a bit. I asked her about running on her stiletto prosthesis. She told me that she actually did run on it once and she was reprimanded from her doc for doing so. Anyway, this was about the time that the marathoners break from the half and if my friend Jennifer were not there yelling at me to make the turn, I would have run on all the way to the lake and back. Thanks, Jen for saving me from my own demise!
Miles 8-11 "Tornado Alley"
At this point, I started feeling tired so I tried to eat my luna moons and was annoyed by all the chewing while trying to run (it's like try to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time -- you can do it, but it takes concentration). Up to this point, I really had not thought about my energy and the fatigue was setting in. So I snacked on two Luna moon and then the package fell out of the ipod pocket. I didn't feel like attempting the cliff shot, so I just suffered through the fatigue.
Fatigue, fine. I can survive. Gale force winds on Classen, not fine. I am going to die. I did not want to walk at all so I decided to deal with the 30 mph south winds (while running directly South) by keeping my head down, which now I realize may have been a mistake. I put my head down and tried to lean into the wind, which if I was walking may have blown me over. About this time, I spot my friend and trainer Stephanie who looks exactly like me with her head down. I catch up to her and we commiserate about our IT band issues and the wind. She tells me that she was slowing down a bit and I decided to hurry up and get out of the wind as soon as possible.
So while this part of the race seems so unbearable, I feel pretty good. Tight IT bands are to be expected, but I don't have significant pain to warrant walking at this point. I did, for the first time since my first race, grab water at three water stops though. The Devon folks decked out as Aliens looked too fun to pass up, so I grabbed water and sipped while lightly jogging. The next two stops, I decided to walk a bit so I could actually drink my water. Oh yeah, I did do that cool runner thing and grab water and pour over my head.
Miles 12-13.1
Once I rounded the turn off of Classen into Mesta Park, I felt tons better. It could also be that I saw a poor woman on a lawn chair getting an IV of fluids at the medic stop that urged me on, but honestly I think that the change in direction, which limited the wind and the improvement of scenery helped out more. What I was anticipating at this point was the "massive hill" my friend Sarah was telling me about. I knew thought that once I crested the hill, I would be a little over a mile from the finish. So, I took the hill and it was not bad. I told myself I would walk it, but I ended up running it and then walking for about thirty seconds to recover. I should have never started walking because as soon as I did, my quads got really tight and I knew that my muscles were depleted of glycogen. I should have ate that stupid cliff shot. So, I grabbed an orange and then Stephanie caught up with me and I started running again. Frank Berry was pumping me back up with his music and Stephanie kicked it in on the next turn to pass me.
As I was heading to the corner on Broadway, I saw my college friend Sean, who was a race marshal and said hello. That helped me make it past the corner where I could read the sign that said FINISH in bold type. Only half a mile to go and along the way I got a shout out from my friend Sasha, who was going to run, but got injured a week before the race and then my husband and son were there. When I yelled at HJ, he smiled and that pumped me up to get done.
I crossed the finish line. I did it. I completed a half marathon. I was hungry. Hungry for food and hungry for more. As I found my friends, the reality of the past four months' journey sunk in. I was almost sad. I was going to miss my weekly long runs with our group. I was going to miss getting Starbucks after our runs and I was going to miss chasing a common goal.
That's why I am teaming up with my super athletic teammate, Kristy to train for an adventure race next month. Got to have another goal to chase, right? Who knows? After all this, I may actually attempt a marathon some day.
Thanks to everyone for all their support and encouragement through this process. My husband deserves extra kudos for letting me take so much time to train. Love you!
