Race Recap: #runDonna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon

As luck would have it, my mid-winter break from school happened to fall during runDonna weekend this year.  I have friends in Florida who run 26.2 with Donna nearly every year and speak very highly of the race.  Plus, any chance to get out of #purefrozenMichigan and head to sunny Florida to visit my friends works for me.

Jacksonville really goes all out for this race.  Starting at the airport it feels like a big Sea of Pink party.  There was this giant sign on the floor plus a staffed booth right outside the escalators down to baggage claim.  Very nice touches.

My flights down from Chicago went off without a hitch, which considering the weather in many parts of the country was a huge blessing.  I headed straight for the expo to meet up with a few friends and get my bib.  (You can read about my weekend meetups here if you missed it yesterday.)

What struck me at first was all the PINK.  There were the usual vendors plus a few geared directly towards breast cancer and breast cancer survivors.  I made a bee line for the packet pickup area and then wandered around for a bit after chatting with Beth.  The layout was great.  You could head straight back to the other room set up for bibs and shirts.  I absolutely HATE expos that make you "shop" first, so this was a nice touch.  The vendor area wasn't very crowded and it was fun to check out the booths.  I even stopped and chatted with Jeff Galloway for a bit.  I loved telling him about my Detroit Marathon PR using my own version of Galloway intervals.  He suggested I drop the run segments even further though and says I'll go faster.  Not sure I believe that. (To hit pace on Galloway, you basically have to run about :30 per mile faster than goal pace to sandbag time for the walk segments.)


After the expo I headed to my hotel to rest for a bit and then grabbed dinner at a local brewpub.  I've never been to BJ's Brewhouse before and it was a great choice.  I probably ate too much ;)

In the couple weeks prior to the race, I was stressing about the predicted cold temperatures.  You see, even though I live in Michigan and I'm supposed to be all winter-running hardy and shit, I've been running inside.  I've completely lost all my winter mojo.  The predicted temps were supposed to be in the low 30s but when I woke up Sunday morning, it was around 51*.  Shit.  I'm glad I packed multiple options for clothing and ended up with a tank, capris and a throw-away fleece that I ditched before we even started.

Beautiful sunrise in Ponte Vedra.

The race starts at some uber swanky golf resort and then heads north to Jacksonville Beach.  If you are running the full, you go even farther north before turning back around.  What hit me at the start and caused me to tear up were the number of women with "Survivor" pinned to their backs and the number of men in pink tutus with "running for..." on their backs.  While breast cancer has not affected me directly, it has affected my friends.

As for the run itself, the streets and many of the neighborhoods were so decked out it blew me away.  It was like a 13.1 mile (ok, maybe 11.5 mile since the last couple miles were just highway) street party.  I started straight running but at 2 miles switched to the 5/:30 intervals I used for Detroit.  I'm not sure what was wrong but I couldn't catch my breath and I wasn't even running very fast.  That was discouraging.  Even with my intervals, I passed a ton of people.  This is a very friendly walker and run/walker race (the marathon cut off is over 7 hours I believe) so I was constantly dodging people.

My favorite part?  I absolutely loved running on the beach even if my shins and ankles hated me for the next 4 days.  Three of my friends had a little aid station set up at about the midpoint of the beach so I got hugs and beer :)  Wendy even made a sign!  At 6.5 miles I was already feeling wiped out so seeing them was a great boost.


I ended up dressed perfectly!  I was a little chilly on the beach when the wind kicked up but the sun made it all better.  Seeing people dressed in jackets made me laugh a little.




Somewhere just before mile 9, the elite men marathoners passed me.  What an incredible sight!  They had a police escort of 6-7 motorcycles and a van clearing their path.  Watching them run by at about mile 22 for them, looking like they hadn't even broken a sweat, was unreal.

A little later, I saw this cheer section and I had to stop for a picture.  I really should have gotten a mammogram too.  Oh well, maybe next year.

As you can see, the weather was incredible and the cheer sections were, too.  And the pink. SO. MUCH. PINK.  Makes you think about the numbers of men, women and children affected by breast cancer every year.  Hopefully my little entrance fee does some good somewhere.

The last 2 miles of the race are on the highway, with a nice bridge to cross.  The bridge kicked my butt.  Luckily, what goes up must come down and I ran my fastest 1.1 miles at the end of the race.  After cresting the bridge, I didn't walk again and seeing the elite women pass me at mile 12.5 (with NO escort I might add - that bothered me) gave me incentive to kick it at the end.  (I ran about a 9:30 pace for the last 1/2 mile.) I got my medal and some pictures and made my way to the runner village.

Runner village was pretty awesome.  We got free soup and champagne and good beer (until the good beer ran out).  There were some very long lines for burgers and hot dogs which I chose not to stand in but there was also plenty of oranges, bananas and bagels.  I had planned on trying to stay to watch Krissy and Marcia finish the full but Deb's house was closer to runner village than the finish line and my legs were done running and walking and standing. Plus, I didn't think I'd ever find them in the crowd anyway.

Overall, it was a very good weekend and I love the medal.  It's hard to see in the picture but it has stained glass in the middle and dolphins jumping in the top of the heart.  The shirt, personalized bib and bag were also nice swag.

As for my results, I'm ok with them.  My time wasn't great at 2:30:50 (in fact, that's one of my worst half times), but considering I was undertrained, ran/walked, stopped for a few minutes on the beach and took pictures I really shouldn't have expected much better.  I finished in the top 50% of my age group and gender, so that makes me happy.  I knew going in that this race wasn't going to be about my finishing time, but posting an 11:30 average pace is a little embarrassing because I know if I'd tried I could have run much better. Mostly I'm feeling blessed I was able to run such a well supported race and spend the weekend with my friends.  Time to start saving for next year!

Training Tuesday: #runDonna race week!

I'm calling this "Training Tuesday" because when I was blogging regularly that's what I post on Tuesdays.  I've been training to not completely lose my running base but haven't really been training, if that makes any sense.  My longest run was a 12 miler a few weeks ago.  I did 8 last week and bagged my 10 the week before that.  13.1 might be painful on Sunday.

This weekend I'm running the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer (half) Marathon in Jacksonville.  I'm super excited to see my Floridian friends, but not super excited that it isn't going to be a whole lot warmer than Michigan down there.  Temp at race time on Sunday is only supposed to be in the 30s.  Maybe low 40s if I'm lucky.

I'm packing layers but also trying something new for this race since I don't really care about my finish time.  My fuel belt has been driving me nuts, so I'm bringing a handheld with the thought that I might toss it mid-race if it's bugging me or at the last minute, not carry it at all and just go with on-course hydration.  With temps that cool I should be fine not carrying my own water.  The problem is having no place to stash the rental car key.

I haven't decided if I'll write a race report, but knowing myself, I'm sure you'll see one sometime next week.

Now, where did I put that handy packing list I created for my last out-of-town race?

Race Recap: 2014 Gazelle Girl Half Marathon

Let's preface this post by stating this was a race I was not planning to run.  That being said, I've never been one to back down when motivated my amazing women and uber awesome bling is at stake.  Some may even say this is my downfall, but that's the topic for another post :)  This is going to be a long post, so you might want to grab a beverage and get comfy.

My race actually started at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon Expotique.  I was given the honor by Another Mother Runner to represent them at Gazelle Girl as an AMR Ambassador.  My friend Tami and I, along with my daughter, staffed the AMR booth, selling their super-cute shirts, hats, visors and copies of their 2 books.

Our AMR Booth!

I had an amazing time networking with women from all over Michigan.  So many had a running story they wanted to share and talking to a bunch of first-timers had me really itching to run.  I even got to meet up with Heather from Michigan Runner Girl.  She writes for AMR and we've been chatting since she profiled me on her blog awhile back.  It was like meeting up with an old friend.  That's one of the things I truly love about social media, just falling into conversation with someone like you've known them forever.  Another highlight from the expo was meeting long-time blog reader, Lisa from A Happy Little Family!  We had a great time chatting as well, but bad bloggers - didn't get a picture.

Thanks for the pic, Heather!

Back to the race, I'd said "no" several times in the weeks leading up to the race when asked if I was running.  I had just come back from vacation (where I ran almost 20 miles!) and I knew I'd be on my feet all day at the expo.  Well, as luck would have it, I was blessed with the opportunity to run the race thanks to Another Mother Runner.  I registered at the expo and then tried to fuel and hydrate as well as I could beginning at 3 pm the afternoon before a race.  I got home from the expo kind of freaking out about what I was doing.  My longest run since the Jax Bank Half at the end of December was 7 miles.  My training schedule called for 7 or 8 miles on Sunday but I'd just decided I was going to attempt to run 13.1 with basically no training.  I texted with a good friend about possible race/running plans and we decided my best bet was to run/walk the race.  I was in no condition (thanks to undertraining and injury) to even attempt to run the entire thing.  I was given a couple options: 1. Run/walk intervals by mile (run a mile/walk a mile) to get 7.1 miles of running and 6 miles of walking, or 2. Run 7 miles and then run/walk what I could to the finish.

Race Day

I woke up race morning to the sounds of thunder and lightening.  I had set out Flat Bari the night before, so I just got dressed, ate my usual pre-race breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal and cup of coffee, and headed downtown to meet friends at S-bux.  I decided to pay to park in the ramp right at the start so I wouldn't have a huge walk after the race if I wasn't feeling it. This was probably the best $15 I ever spent. My fueling plan was water in my fuel belt and 1 packet of Honey Stinger chews.  I took 2 or 3 chews every 3 or 4 miles.  This has worked well in previous halfs so I figured it would be fine today.  (In hindsight, I didn't drink nearly as much water for as humid as it was outside.)

Could we be any cuter?

Jenn and I made our way to the start around 7:45.  Her BF, Glenn, had bought out CVS in rain ponchos for all of us and even thought it wasn't raining, it was nice to throw over my clothes at the start because I was a little chilly.  I told Jenn that my plan was to run/walk by miles and that when she was ready to take off to just go.  There was quite a bit of excitement in the crowd.  We lined up (as a group - many of my Fred Relay and Wine Trail Half friends were running) with the 10:30 pacers.  I figured this was a good pace to aim for on my first walk segment, hoping to get faster on the runs as the race went on.  Temps were in the 50s but it was strangely humid thanks to the threat of storms.  It seemed like it was going to rain, but the rain never came.  I was happy with my clothing choice (Jax Bank race t-shirt, Athleta skirt, AMR "Run Like a Mother" hat and Fellow Flower "Believe" flower) but later in the race was really wishing I'd gone with a tank top.

The course itself highlights many Grand Rapids landmarks:  Rosa Parks Circle, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, 6th Street Bridge, Riverside Park, Ah-Nab-Awen Park, and the Gerald R Ford Presidential Museum.  Throughout the race, runners cross the Grand River 4 times.  Take a peek here if you'd like to see a map of the course and descriptions of all the sights.  Because my computer is currently being an a-hole, I can't get data off of my Garmin other than splits, so no elevation charts or anything. No worries though, this course is pretty darn flat except for that silly hill at the end of mile 12. Whose idea was THAT?

Miles 1-6:  Jenn and I started running together and as we'd discussed, my plan was to walk at the first mile marker so she picked up her pace there.  Mile 1 came and I felt like I was just getting my groove, so I made a game-day decision to keep running.  I did some math in my head (yes, you can laugh) and figured if I ran intervals of 2 miles running and 1 mile walking, I'd hit 9.1 miles running for the day.  I felt pretty good at the end of 2 miles, where I saw my friends Glenn and Tim working the aide station, but slowed to a walk.  A bunch of my friends who I had passed in the first 2 miles were now passing me and everyone was asking if I was OK.  The mile long walk seemed like an ETERNITY!  But, I was being a good little BAMR and sticking to my revised plan.  My watch beeped at the end of mile 3 and off I went running again.  The 4th mile takes runners on a little out and back and I was able to see some of my faster friends.  I felt a little bad that I was leap frogging with slower runners because this is one thing that has really gotten in my head before.  I'd hoped I wasn't causing frustration for anyone.  Another aide station came at the end of mile 5 and this one was staffed by friends Molly and Susan J!  I also saw my friend Megan there.  She had been gunning for a huge goal and sadly, Sunday was not her day.  I stopped and talked to her for a few minutes and even stood in a port-a-potty line for awhile because I'd had to pee for miles, but the line wasn't moving and I wanted to get going.  Splits: 10:32, 10:28, 13:55 (walk), 10:30, 10:42, 17:58 (walk and talking to my friends at the aid station).

Still smiling around mile 5.5.

Miles 7-13.1:  After I decided the bathroom was not going to happen at mile 5, I REALLY had to go.  You know how that can complete consume you?  Yah, that. Miles 7 and 8 were running miles and they passed a bunch of warehouses and whatnot.  I kept trying to figure out if I could get behind any of them to pee without being seen.  At mile 8 we head south back towards downtown and I got another walk break.  At this point, I'm sad to say, I was starting to need them.  I hate that I was looking at my watch 1.5 miles into a 2 mile run and thinking, "thank God, I can walk in about 5 minutes".  The run/walk plan was keeping me alive, but it was also screwing with my head and my identity as a "runner".  The walk segments were still feeling too long though and I was trying to at least keep a decent pace while walking. Remember when I said I was hoping my run paces would get faster? When making that run/walk plan, my friend and I were talking about me running at a 10mm down to 9:30mm pace and walking about a 17mm pace.  This would get me to finish in under 3 hours, which was my goal for a completely untrained race.  I knew my run segments weren't anywhere close to 10s, much less mid-9s, so I needed to make up time in the walks.  In the middle of my mile 8 run was another aide station. I HAD to stop.  There was a relatively short line and I chatted with one girl and held up another woman who was having some bad leg cramping. I got in, peed as fast as I could, and then took off running again, but the damage was done, I'd screwed up one of my run miles.  I contemplated skipping the next walk segment, but I took it anyway.  This walk took me through most of Riverside Park so I had a chance to take some more pictures.

Inside Riverside Park

Downtown Grand Rapids and the 6th Street Bridge in the distance.

I ran until mile 11 and then started walking again.  I texted one of my friends and said I was getting tired but my plan was to walk mile 12 and then run it in to the end.  I got a pep talk and was told to make the race my bitch :)  Coming off the 6th Street Bridge I saw Glenn and Tim again, plus my friend Susan L was there.  Three friendly faces I really needed at that moment.  I got a trifecta of hugs and I told Tim I was really tired.  I was starting to get a little weepy and he told me "Just keep moving forward."  That became my mantra for the rest of the race. I made it to the top of the hill at the end of mile 12 and I took off.  Just keep moving forward.  I actually saw some 9s on my watch for a few minutes!  This last 1.1 miles is tough.  There are lots of turns and street crossings.  Running past the Ford Museum is always really cool and I kept trying to keep my pace, but as I made the turn into town and across the Blue Bridge, I felt like I couldn't hold the pace.  At least I thought I couldn't until I saw the kick I had left to finish the last .1 miles up a little hill of cobblestone!  Splits: 10:37, 14:39 (emergency bathroom break), 14:59 (walk), 10:38, 10:41, 15:38 (walk), 10:31, :56 (8:51 pace for last .1!)

Happy little bling whore :)

I crossed the finish line tired but with a smile.  I grabbed a banana, orange slices, a bagel and my bling. I talked with Tami and a few of my other runner friends, then found Jenn and Glenn and we watched a more women finishing. One woman literally sashayed her way across the finish line at about the 3 hour mark.  I was so proud of these women - many of whom were first time half marathoners and ones I'd met at the expo the night before. 

Takeaways?  My legs were sore but I think the run/walk plan I stuck to was probably the only reason I actually finished.  Should I think about some sort of run/walk plan for my fall marathon?  At this point, it's too early to say, but definitely something to think about.  The walk breaks gave me a chance to shake my legs out and catch my breath, but I'd need to run the running segments so much faster to meet my marathon goal.  Also, the walking seemed to aggravate my heel since walking is inherently heel striking and I run more mid-foot. I averaged about a 10:35 pace on the 8.1 all-run segments on Sunday and around a 15:30 pace for the 5 miles of walking/bathroom stops.  Using a run/walk plan is definitely a possibility but 2 miles run/1 mile walked probably won't be the interval.  Also, this was my first women only race and I have to say, it was pretty cool.  I loved the course and I think it has potential for a fast finish with some training.  Gazelle Girl will be on my race radar for 2015.

My finishing time? Not my worst half marathon and I crushed my 3 hour goal, but it's still hard to see what my average pace was.  I've worked so hard to become a faster runner but that wasn't the point of Sunday's race.  The point was to have fun, run with a couple thousand amazing women, clock at least 7 running miles and get some pretty bling, all while not ending up any more injured than I already was.  Mission accomplished.

2:42:40 (12:25 pace)  

1301/1774 women 

182/219 in my age group

Considering I spent all day Saturday on my feet and hadn't run a long run of more than 7 miles in over 3 months, I think it's ok.  I was extremely tired the rest of Sunday and even felt pretty fuzzy driving home.  I think I was extremely dehydrated since my 2 water bottles were both almost still full at the end of the race.  However, adding that little Mitten State charm to my necklace Monday morning after walking down the stairs without too much pain was worth it.

Fitness Friday: Spring Break Fun! #anothermotherrunner

source

Do you know the wonderful Mother Runners behind Another Mother Runner, Sarah and Dimity?  If not, you MUST go follow their blog, find them on Twitter, visit on Facebook, etc, etc.  You get the idea.  I've loved their podcasts, used elements of their Train Like a Mother plans for a couple of my races and their support to the Mother Runner community is outstanding.  Plus, they're pretty freaking funny.

These lovely ladies have asked me to help out at a couple race expos this year for AMR and I couldn't be more excited.  If you are running the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon or 5k in Grand Rapids, Michigan this April, you must stop by their booth and say "hi" to me.  I'll let you know where I'm going to be for the 2nd expo once the details are ironed out.

When I saw their Another Mother Runner 2014 Party Schedule, I about fell out of my chair.  They are going to be in Charleston, SC while I'm there for spring break!!! I actually get to meet these two the week before Gazelle Girl - it really must be fate!

So, if you are in the Charleston area, please sign up to attend the party on April 8th.  I'd love to meet even more awesome Mother Runners.  Also, if you know of any great running routes there, I need to get in a few training runs because it looks like I'm going to be running a half marathon this summer!  More on that later :)

Happy Friday, friends!  

Cheers!

Michigan Wine Trail Half Marathon #racereport

Since the Michigan Wine Trail Half Marathon was the culmination of a girl's weekend, this race report is going to be a bit different.  I also posted a review of the race itself over at Michigan Runner Girl so if you want a bit more information about the actual race after reading my experience (logistics, etc) go check out my guest post there (I believe it is also posting today).

I signed up for the Michigan Wine Trail Half Marathon when one of my runner girlfriends suggested we all head down to my old stomping grounds for a wine weekend and run the half for fun.  It sounded like a great way to end my summer so I said, "sure!"  I didn't anticipate being injured and very undertrained.  Sometimes that happens when you run 5 halfs, a tri, a 200 mile relay and a 25k in less than 8 months. In any case, I knew I wasn't injured enough to back out of the race so I still went and I'm glad I did.

Our girl's weekend ended up growing to include over 20 women, team shirts (we are West Michigan WINEers) and even some "training runs" where we'd meet around town, run, and then practice drinking wine.  I got to meet an incredible group of ladies who I now consider friends and running partners.  Several of us met Friday night down in St. Joseph, MI (which is where I grew up).  We had a great dinner at RyeBelle's and then hit Silver Beach Pizza and The Buck for drinks. The sunset from the bluff was pretty spectacular.

Saturday consisted of more wine-ing and dine-ing, plus packet pick up and some chilling on the beach for the sunset.  We visited 3 wineries on Saturday - the tasting room for White Pine Winery, Baroda Founders Wine Cellar, and Gravity.

Gravity Winery was - hands down - my favorite winery of the weekend.  It was new to me and the pairings of cheese with white and chocolate with reds was brilliant.

Finishing the evening with a trip down to Silver Beach to watch the sunset made for an almost perfect day.  I know I appreciate the beauty of Southwestern Lower Michigan so much more now as an adult than I ever did when I was living there.  

Race day started like most others - an early rise, some coffee and a little breakfast.  We made it to the race about 30 minutes before the start and there were huge lines for the only 6 or 8 port-a-potties.  The race ended up with a delay because there were still so many people in line. We got a group shot of the West Michigan WINErs and then lined up. Finally, we took off around 7:45.  I was worried about how my Achilles was going to fare on all the hills. (We'd driven the course on Saturday so I knew what to expect. Not sure that this helped me because I obsessed about it all night long.)  

This is a certified course and it really was beautiful.  We passed 6 wineries during the run, as well as countless orchards and farms.  The spacing of the aide stations was not great and I'm glad I was carrying water.  I must've looked bad at mile 8.5 (Gravity Winery) because my friend working that station looked a tad concerned.  The police support was great and the icy towels at mile 10 and fire hoses at mile 11 were a welcome break from the heat.

You can see from the Garmin shot below how hilly the course was.  It took my ankle a good 3 miles to warm up and because we waited so long to start, I had to pee by the time I got to the johns just past mile 3.  My Garmin data proves how much time I wasted here but there is no way I could've held it the entire race.  My ankle felt great for most of the run but my hip and knee were taking a beating.  I ran the downhills but walked a lot of the uphills.  I stopped and took lots of pictures (obviously) and had another break just past mile 10 when I came upon a group of my teammates where one needed some medical help - she's fine now.  I didn't really have a time goal considering I was running this race undertrained and injured.  I wanted to be under 2:30 and after driving the course thought 2:45 was more realistic. As you can see, I split the difference and finished in 2:35:35, about an 11:53 pace.  As is my usual M.O., my last mile was my fastest (9:53) and I had a great kick at the end, even on the grass (8:52 pace!).  I finished 32nd out of 43 in my age group and 331 out of 428 finishers.  I have no idea how I compared to all the women because the searchable results didn't break it down and frankly at this point I really don't care.  This wasn't my worst half, but it also wasn't near what I'm capable of if I'm trained and healthy (my PR that I set in May is 2:07).  The main goal for this race was to finish smiling and no more injured than when I started and I accomplished those goals.  At least until I found out there were no medals.

Crossing the finish line and then finding out they ran out of medals about 30 minutes before really sucked.  I'll be honest - I was extremely pissed off, and not just for me but for the other 320 people who didn't get medals.  At least they had enough wine glasses and a good amount of alcohol if you like wine.  That helped soften the blow to this little bling whore's ego. The race director was very gracious and apologetic about the snafus (the other box of medals didn't get packed in the van) and he is mailing out medals to anyone who did not receive one.  We hung out in the finisher tent and had some beer (until it ran out) and wine.  Then we headed back over to Gravity for lunch and more wine tasting.  As is the nature with runners, at Gravity after the race, my friends and I met last year's Master's winner (his name is Brian but he goes by "Yoda Jedimaster" and he ran the race in green face paint), as well as several of his buddies.  They were very nice and sat with us at lunch.  We talked races, running shoes, kids and families.  Brian ended up giving me his medal since he's tight with the director and would get another when he got home.  So incredibly sweet and it helped brighten what was otherwise kind of a disappointing race.  I hope no races ever run out of medals again, but if one does, maybe I'll have the opportunity to pay it forward and give my medal to someone who didn't get one.  I ended the evening with a trip out to the Chalets where the majority of the girls were staying.  Overall, it turned out to be a very nice weekend.

Immediately after the race, I was 100% certain I would never run it again.  The start was unorganized, the course was incredibly hard, and not receiving a medal as I finished what was a very hard earned 13.1 really pissed me off.  But after talking to Brad, the race director, after a lot of the crowds went home I think I've changed my mind.  I'd love to see what I could do on this course if I was trained for it.  I really enjoy running hills because they break up the race and I think in a lot of ways give your legs a break because so many different muscle groups are in use.

What are your thoughts?  Does this sound like a race you'd enjoy?  Have you ever planned a girl's weekend around a race?  Ever have a race run out of bling?

I Have a Story: I'm a Half-Marathoner!

According to my dear friend Kirsten, I now have a story.  The story of my first half-marathon.  Until she mentioned that on twitter last night, I hadn't even thought of it that way.  I was just glad I had so many running "sisters" to share the day with.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  I need to back up a couple days (actually, to several months ago when I started training, but that would just take too long). 

*warning-photo heavy LONG post!

Back in July, I ran my 2nd 10k of the year.  It really kicked my butt (90 degree weather will do that to you) and I wondered if I would ever be able to run farther than 6.2 miles.  A couple weeks later, I started researching fall races.  I wanted to push myself and see how far my body could take me.  I wanted a challenge.  I wanted to continue to lose weight.  I found a 1/2 marathon race in my hometown and a great training plan.  Fast-forward to this weekend.  12 weeks of training would come down to this.



My best IRL friend Angie and I headed to the marathon expo at our downtown YMCA Saturday afternoon.
We signed the board, picked up our race packets, and started carb-loading with the most yummiest of smoothies.
(PS-who the heck is that skinny girl signing the board?  OMG, it's me! This running stuff really works, yo!)

I set all my gear out so when the alarm went off Sunday morning at 5:30, I wouldn't have to think.

 
 Angie and her hubby Joe came over for a carb and protein filled Chicken Parm dinner. Then they headed home and I headed to bed.  5:30 am shouldn't really exist IMO.

*classic rock blares* It is now race day!  I was up at 5:30 am (I was up pretty much every hour all night but who's counting) and started getting ready.  I wrote the names of all my running "sisters" who also ran 1/2 marathons this weekend on my arm.  I wanted to keep them with me to motivate me since they all did such a great job keeping me going during my training.  (On Sunday, Kirsten, Renee and Lauren ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Fransisco, while Jen also ran her FIRST 1/2, the Atlantic City Half Marathon.  Becca got her FIRST Half out the the way by running the Middle Half in Tennessee on Saturday.)  The family headed downtown with me (without attitude, which I soooo appreciated).  Since the race started at the YMCA, we were able to wait inside where it was warm and I had a nice bathroom to use (5 times-I know, TMI, but seriously?). I found a quiet corner and stretched and rolled my muscles.  The kids jammed to their iPods and Mike headed outside to watch the Velocity Challenged runners start at 7:00 (if you think you'll be longer than a 6 hr marathon pace, you get to start an hour ahead of everyone else - and yes, they call these runners Velocity Challenged - I ♥ that).

I don't have pictures of any running other than the start and finish.  Professional pictures are coming, but probably won't be available for a week or so.  Anyhoo, here's my recap of the race itself. 

 

We headed outside a few minutes before 8am and the sun was just starting to come up.  I lined up with the "Al Gore" pace group (the pace groups were all labeled with famous people's marathon times and his was a 4:58 full finish). I did this so I would not start too fast and burn myself out.  It worked. I stayed with the group for the first 3 or 4 miles (doing my usual running with a 1 min walk at the top of every mile). By the 3rd or 4th mile, they weren't catching up to me anymore on my walk breaks and I just kept doing my thing. Miles 4 to 8 were a pretty steady uphill (not a "Holy Hill" 300+ footer! like the SF girls were doing-only about 60 ft total) with some rolling hills that really started to hit my glutes (literally-my @$$ was on fire!). On this back section were pockets of fans.  I made sure to take in as much of the scenery as I could as it is fall in Michigan and the trees were beautiful.  I high-fived an entire busload of high school Cross Country runners.  I tried to high-five as many kids on the course as I could.  I said "thank you" to all the TNT groups because they reminded me of my ShrinkingJeans sisters who raised a boat load of money this year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I loved the fans with loud music - one group was playing Guitar Hero! - and some had hilarious signs.  My favorite sign:  "Run like you STOLE it."  LMAO around mile 6.  At about 8.5 miles, we cross a little grassy area (where I walked because I was afraid of going arse over applecart) and we turned back around and headed back into downtown. There were a couple more rolling hills and I hit mile 10 and checked my watch. Holy cow! I was at about 1:50 something and realized I only had a 5k to go and it was all downhill. I was tired but knew I was going to finish pretty close to my goal time.  I hit the "1 mile to go" sign and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" came on my playlist.  I yelled out "Lisa!" (we've totally channelled each other while running to this song) and I think I scared the crap out of the runner next to me.  LOL. Next up on the playlist as the finish line came into sight was Holler Back by The Lost Trailers - AWESOME! (The video was filmed in GR-they are local boys. Watch the video and you can see some of the places I ran by!) Coming through the finish chute with my family and friends cheering was the best feeling EVER. I heard the announcer say my name (correctly, even!) and hit that finish. Got a hug from the race director and my medal from a sweet volunteer. I bawled and held onto her for quite a while. Throughout the race, I had my iPhone tweeting my progress at 3 mile intervals.  After each tweet, I received a bunch of "binks" back, knowing all of my friends were cheering me on.  This meant the world to me, although it did royally kill my battery!  (Probably won't use that feature on the next long race.) Later, I cried again reading everyone's tweets. I seriously have the best friends in the world!  This race would not have been what it was without the love, support, and @$$ kicking motivation of my ShrinkingJeans sisters!

And, what would a race report from me be without a little video :)




I had finished my first half-marathon!  I saw my family through the fence and finally found them at the end of the finisher chute.  I got a rose from my hubby and hugs from my friends and family.  Angie took good care of me and walked me around, feeding me potato chips and pickles when my legs cramped up and making sure I drank enough water and gatorade.  I got my complimentary massage (HEAVEN!).   There was beer poured by Elvis and later on, an afterparty at HopCat with more beer (New Holland's The Poet oatmeal stout) and a delicious pulled pork sandwich and crack fries!

I am now a Half-Marathoner and always will be. 
Noone can take that accomplishment away from me and I am absolutely THRILLED with my finish.  
Placed 1355 / 1686 Total
778 / 1039 Women
112 / 154 in my age group
2 hours, 27 minutes, 52 seconds
Memories - priceless