I have been training for this half marathon since January. My goal was just to finish. I didn't care what my time was, but I thought it would be nice to finish with 10 minute miles, or a finishing time of around 2 hours 10 minutes. Then, Luke decided to look up what a respectable time was for finishing a half marathon and the internet said you should finish in under 2 hours or an average of 9 minute miles. That was much faster than I had been running, so I decided to step up my training. Then I got the black toenail and my knee started swelling so I wasn't sure if I could continue training. After the doctor drained my knee it felt better for a while, but right before the race it started hurting again. Ice packs and advil were my best friends. As the race drew closer I felt pretty good. My fastest time was still only 10 minute miles at 13 miles, but I figured on race day I would have so much adrenaline that I could get to 9 minute miles. Two days before race day I woke up with strep throat. I went straight to the doctor to get medicine but later that day I got a fever and muscle aches. It was awful. Thankfully I was feeling okay by Saturday (the day before the race).
Saturday was a busy day. We took the kids swimming in the morning. Then we ran by the local comic book store for "free comic book day." Then we headed straight to Jack's friends birthday party. From there we drove to Loveland to pick up my new Chariot Bike Trailer that we found for an awesome steal on Craigslist. Then I met another person from Craigslist to pick up an iPod Shuffle so Luke could listen to music on his run. Then we had to go to the race day expo to get our packets. By the time we finally got home it was 5pm. So much for resting. Luke and I each had to take turns and do a quick 1.5 mile shakeout run and we tried to get to bed by 9pm.
The alarm went off at 3:30am Sunday morning. I was feeling good. That week I had tried to wean off my morning Dr. Pepper and instead just have coffee with a splash of Almond Milk. Our breakfast was the same as always, a piece of toast with an egg. My mom was at our house by 4:15am and Luke and I were out the door at 4:30am. We drove to downtown Ft. Collins where we were loaded onto busses that took us up the Poudre Canyon. Our bus driver missed our turn up the canyon and spent the next 15 minutes trying to find a place on the small mountain road to make a U-turn in a huge bus. We finally got to the start line at 5:30am. The race didn't start until 6:30am so we spent the next hour using the many port-o-potties that were set up. I hate running with a full bladder so I peed twice just to make sure everything was out of my system.
At 6:15am we lined up for the race. Luke turned on his iPod shuffle only to find out that it wasn't working. We had charged it and tried it out last night and it worked fine. It was such a bummer that it wasn't working when he needed it most. But there was no time for that anymore. It was time to run. Luke is a faster runner than me and I didn't want to hurt myself trying to keep up with him so I told him to go where I couldn't see him for the race. We kissed and separated. The race started right at 6:30am. I felt great for the first 4 miles. There were pacers there who ran with a flag showing their finishing time. I wanted to run with the 2:00 group so that I could finish in under 2 hours. I started out with them and quickly passed them and got up with the 1:50 group. Luke was right in front of me. Around 4 miles I wasn't feeling so good. By 8 miles I started feeling really dizzy. My hands went numb and I felt like I was going to faint. I could tell that my blood sugar was low but there wasn't much I could do except tell myself that I couldn't faint. At one point around 8 miles we crossed a bridge and when the bridge wobbled as I crossed I was sure I would pass out. I started noting all the aid stations as I passed just in case I needed them. It was an awful feeling. There were several points where you could get water and gatorade so I tried to drink them when I could to help with the dizziness.
By mile 10 I wasn't feeling any better. In fact by this point I could feel pressure like I needed to pee, but I didn't want to stop. It didn't take long and I could tell that I needed to use the bathroom. But I was almost at the finish line and I knew if I stopped to pee I would sacrifice my race time, and I wasn't sure I would even be able to start running again once I stopped. I had to choose between stopping to use the port-o-potty or finishing my race under 2 hours. It was an awful feeling. The 2 hour pacers were right on my heels and I was doubting my ability to even make it to the finish line. I wasn't hearing the music anymore, I was just hearing myself say over and over "you can do it, you're almost there, don't stop." At mile 12 it happened. I couldn't help it or stop it, the pee started coming. I just kept running. What can you do? "It's just pee" I kept telling myself. I just needed to finish. The 2 hour pacers were right behind me so I knew I couldn't slow down or stop. I was so close to fainting at the end that I just had to pick a spot on the horizon and focus on it. I was so close. I crossed the finish line at 1:58:12, just under the 2hour mark. I did it!
I saw Luke on the sidelines waiting for me. I told him I needed to sit down, and as soon as I crossed the finish line I collapsed into the first spot I could find. It was over and I felt awful. It took me a good hour to recover. I had done 13 mile runs before and had never felt this bad. I'm not sure what happened. It could have been my knee, it could have been the extra strength antibiotics I was taking, it could have been the fact that I didn't have any Dr. Pepper that morning so my blood sugar was low, or it could have been the fact that I had ran 1 mile/minute faster than I have ever done for that distance. I just know that I pushed myself as hard as I could for those 13 miles and I felt it.
After 2 bottles of water I was ready to walk around the race festival. We waited in line for smoothies and oatmeal. Then I went and got my free beer. Then I was ready to head home and change my clothes and see the kids.
We got cleaned up at home and headed back to the festival since we were planning to get the free beer and pizza for lunch that was offered to all racers. It was only 11:30am when we headed back so we took the kids to the festival to hear the band and play at the playground. I was able to redeem Luke's free beer (he doesn't drink beer anymore).
Then we heard that Starbucks was giving away free coffee to racers, so we headed over to starbucks. We got there at 12:06pm and Starbucks told us they stopped giving free coffee at noon. What a bummer. Kids wanted a drink so we ordered something anyways.
Then we headed over to get our free lunch. CooperSmiths in Ft. Collins advertised free beer and pizza for all runners from noon-2pm. We were all looking forward to the free pizza! We got there at 12:50pm and the guy at the door told us they ran out of free beer and pizza! What????
He told us we could still order beer and pizza off the regular menu, but they had no more free beer/pizza. At this point I was so hungry and exhausted that I just wanted to cry. I was so mad. We just left. I wanted to go home and go to bed. This day was turning out to be nothing like I expected. Luke wanted to make sure I got my pizza so he walked us over to Tony's which has my favorite pizza. We all ate and it was delicious, but not free. I am still angry with Coppersmiths and have plans to write them a formal complaint letter.
It was now 1:30pm and Luke and I were both ready for bed. What an exhausting day. We went back home and let the kids play wii and watch TV and we tried to rest. By 7:00pm we started the bedtime routine. We were in bed by 8:00pm. What a day!
Just as a funny anecdote, as I was preparing for the half marathon I felt like I was working towards an amazing accomplishment. After all 13 miles is a long way to run! But when we finished the race, Luke and I both felt a sense that we didn't accomplish much compared to the marathon runners who ran 26 miles. Even at the festival, we felt like the marathoners (who had white race bibs) looked down on us lowly half marathoners in our blue race bibs. Luke really wants to train for a marathon now. As for me, I'm not sure. Maybe if I can figure out what is wrong with my knee I'll consider doing a marathon. I'm just not sure yet. As for now I am so happy to be done with all the training. I might even have some spare time again to work on creating a garden or doing some other projects. :)
Saturday was a busy day. We took the kids swimming in the morning. Then we ran by the local comic book store for "free comic book day." Then we headed straight to Jack's friends birthday party. From there we drove to Loveland to pick up my new Chariot Bike Trailer that we found for an awesome steal on Craigslist. Then I met another person from Craigslist to pick up an iPod Shuffle so Luke could listen to music on his run. Then we had to go to the race day expo to get our packets. By the time we finally got home it was 5pm. So much for resting. Luke and I each had to take turns and do a quick 1.5 mile shakeout run and we tried to get to bed by 9pm.
The alarm went off at 3:30am Sunday morning. I was feeling good. That week I had tried to wean off my morning Dr. Pepper and instead just have coffee with a splash of Almond Milk. Our breakfast was the same as always, a piece of toast with an egg. My mom was at our house by 4:15am and Luke and I were out the door at 4:30am. We drove to downtown Ft. Collins where we were loaded onto busses that took us up the Poudre Canyon. Our bus driver missed our turn up the canyon and spent the next 15 minutes trying to find a place on the small mountain road to make a U-turn in a huge bus. We finally got to the start line at 5:30am. The race didn't start until 6:30am so we spent the next hour using the many port-o-potties that were set up. I hate running with a full bladder so I peed twice just to make sure everything was out of my system.
At 6:15am we lined up for the race. Luke turned on his iPod shuffle only to find out that it wasn't working. We had charged it and tried it out last night and it worked fine. It was such a bummer that it wasn't working when he needed it most. But there was no time for that anymore. It was time to run. Luke is a faster runner than me and I didn't want to hurt myself trying to keep up with him so I told him to go where I couldn't see him for the race. We kissed and separated. The race started right at 6:30am. I felt great for the first 4 miles. There were pacers there who ran with a flag showing their finishing time. I wanted to run with the 2:00 group so that I could finish in under 2 hours. I started out with them and quickly passed them and got up with the 1:50 group. Luke was right in front of me. Around 4 miles I wasn't feeling so good. By 8 miles I started feeling really dizzy. My hands went numb and I felt like I was going to faint. I could tell that my blood sugar was low but there wasn't much I could do except tell myself that I couldn't faint. At one point around 8 miles we crossed a bridge and when the bridge wobbled as I crossed I was sure I would pass out. I started noting all the aid stations as I passed just in case I needed them. It was an awful feeling. There were several points where you could get water and gatorade so I tried to drink them when I could to help with the dizziness.
By mile 10 I wasn't feeling any better. In fact by this point I could feel pressure like I needed to pee, but I didn't want to stop. It didn't take long and I could tell that I needed to use the bathroom. But I was almost at the finish line and I knew if I stopped to pee I would sacrifice my race time, and I wasn't sure I would even be able to start running again once I stopped. I had to choose between stopping to use the port-o-potty or finishing my race under 2 hours. It was an awful feeling. The 2 hour pacers were right on my heels and I was doubting my ability to even make it to the finish line. I wasn't hearing the music anymore, I was just hearing myself say over and over "you can do it, you're almost there, don't stop." At mile 12 it happened. I couldn't help it or stop it, the pee started coming. I just kept running. What can you do? "It's just pee" I kept telling myself. I just needed to finish. The 2 hour pacers were right behind me so I knew I couldn't slow down or stop. I was so close to fainting at the end that I just had to pick a spot on the horizon and focus on it. I was so close. I crossed the finish line at 1:58:12, just under the 2hour mark. I did it!
I saw Luke on the sidelines waiting for me. I told him I needed to sit down, and as soon as I crossed the finish line I collapsed into the first spot I could find. It was over and I felt awful. It took me a good hour to recover. I had done 13 mile runs before and had never felt this bad. I'm not sure what happened. It could have been my knee, it could have been the extra strength antibiotics I was taking, it could have been the fact that I didn't have any Dr. Pepper that morning so my blood sugar was low, or it could have been the fact that I had ran 1 mile/minute faster than I have ever done for that distance. I just know that I pushed myself as hard as I could for those 13 miles and I felt it.
After 2 bottles of water I was ready to walk around the race festival. We waited in line for smoothies and oatmeal. Then I went and got my free beer. Then I was ready to head home and change my clothes and see the kids.
Then we heard that Starbucks was giving away free coffee to racers, so we headed over to starbucks. We got there at 12:06pm and Starbucks told us they stopped giving free coffee at noon. What a bummer. Kids wanted a drink so we ordered something anyways.
It was now 1:30pm and Luke and I were both ready for bed. What an exhausting day. We went back home and let the kids play wii and watch TV and we tried to rest. By 7:00pm we started the bedtime routine. We were in bed by 8:00pm. What a day!
Just as a funny anecdote, as I was preparing for the half marathon I felt like I was working towards an amazing accomplishment. After all 13 miles is a long way to run! But when we finished the race, Luke and I both felt a sense that we didn't accomplish much compared to the marathon runners who ran 26 miles. Even at the festival, we felt like the marathoners (who had white race bibs) looked down on us lowly half marathoners in our blue race bibs. Luke really wants to train for a marathon now. As for me, I'm not sure. Maybe if I can figure out what is wrong with my knee I'll consider doing a marathon. I'm just not sure yet. As for now I am so happy to be done with all the training. I might even have some spare time again to work on creating a garden or doing some other projects. :)
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