Soooo It's been a while since I blogged. May is really busy for me with the end of the school year, things to do, things to wrap up, PTA duties to be accomplished and completed.
Since my 10-mile race I have run 10 times, all different distances.
7.39 miles 1.28.03
10.12 miles 1.51.08
and on Memorial Day
12.41 miles 2.28.46
Most of my other runs have been with running club members, especially the long runs, but my longest distance, I ran on my own, by myself, while on vacation, just me and the road.
I was unsure of the route. I'd used MMR prior to leaving for vacay to get a sense of where I could run at and how I would get these 12 miles in without having to make the same 1.5 mile loop. Honestly I was pretty freaked out about it.... How/Where would I fuel, get water, run....
Before we left for vacay I was in a full on panic!! I was feeling like I wouldn't get this run in and I was feeling unprepared for the half.
I got up about 6:30, I got all my stuff together and came up with a water/fuel stop plan. I text to my friends running The Patriot in my hometown. I ate my Honey Stinger Waffle. I got my waters ready. My fuel ready.
I headed out. At first my legs felt like lead. I was sore and I just didn't want to run this distance. I needed to get it done but y'all know how I am with the 'what ifs" even when I run at home. Now here I am in the back woods of Beavers Bend!! The "lions and tigers and bears, oh my" theme was playing in my head.
I made it to through the first 2.5 miles and headed back to camp for water and fuel and was feeling pretty good. If I had to keep that loop I was gonna be OK. And it worked out that I left my things at camp, I didn't have to carry anything with me. :)
Each time I got more courageous, I would run further in to new territory. Down a path or road I hadn't been on, not even in the car!! Some of our cousins were at a camp site down the way, I found them and stopped to talk to them for a bit. Then I headed back to camp and re-fueled.
5 miles down, 7 to go. I was making good time, keeping a good pace. On my next loop I look a ways down the road and see something in the distance, I wasn't sure what it was but it wasn't moving, so I disregarded it as a box or something and kept going. As I got closer I saw that it was a deer. Then I realized there was one on my left and my right!! I'm looking at them and they are looking at me. Who was gonna play chicken first!! LOL
Deer on the left ran over to the deer on the right, but what I couldn't see around the bend was the buck!! I came around the corner and he leapt out across the road!! KA RA ZEE!! That gave me a bit of a fright.
I had seen deer a few other times as well, but not that close up on a run!
I made another loop, refueled and had 3.5 miles to go!! Whaaat?? I could barely believe it.
Now at this point I was tired, I'm not gonna kid you. I was ready for this run to be over. My in laws were waiting for me to be done. I really wanted to give in and only run 10. But when I heard the prompt in my ear...... 9.99 miles, I started to tear up. I had just run 10 miles by myself. I felt fine. I was ok. I had taken chances, run in new territory, run past/with deer and I was still here to tell about it.
Those last few miles are my proudest. It was getting to be later in the morning and there was a lot of traffic on the road. I did quite a bit of stopping and starting to dodge the trucks, truck with boats, trucks with campers, trucks with trailers, other cars and motorcycles. It was hard to be mid-hill and stop then start back up again.
But I did it. And I ran 12.41 miles!! I almost kept going to 13.1, but I set out to only run 12 and I was over that milage so I stopped.
I was tired and sore but I DID IT!!
My splits are all over the place, though.
1 9.31 (too fast!!)
2. 11.53
3. 12.42
4. 10.15
5. 11.41
6. 12.24
7. 12.50
8. 11.24
9. 12.19
10. 12.52
11. 12.39
12. 12.08
.41 14.50
My slower miles are uphill and let me tell you there were hills!!
It's a run and done!! WOOT! I'm glad I persevered, I ran my milage. I did it by myself. The ladies I'm running with at Wounded Warrior are faster than me, so I will be in a different corral and essentially be by myself for the half.
A friend that was gonna run this race that is about my pace backed out too. Both of the people I consider to by my running coaches won't be at the race. One will be out of town and the other can't make it.
I'm not sure that my family will be there..... so in retrospect I really needed to run that 12 miles alone. I proved to myself that I have what it takes. I have the ability.
Three years and 5 days post tailbone injury, I will run my first half!! WOOT!
But this weekend is my 2nd annual Bloomin' 4-mile DRC Race. Last year I signed up for the DRC after the Mothers Day 1/2 that I watched my running buddies in. Jerome, Nancy, Jen and others.
Jerome of course encouraged me to sign up for DRC and I did. My first DRC race was The Bloomin' 4-mile. It was also the first race I ran with my oldest son. It was a good day. I ran an ok race. I was still in the wrong shoes and having all the wrong shoe problems.
This year my goal is to finish in under 45 minutes. It's a great race! My kiddo is coming and my cousin, it's her first race ever, and a friend I've talked into being a DRC member as well.
Jerome says he'll be there too!! WOOT! :)
It's amazing how much has changed in a year. A year ago I was scared about running this race. I was even more panicked about running the Independence Day Race in July 10K! Three days ago I ran double that distance!!
I'm uninjured and I feel prepared to run my first half!! I'm not scared of it, I'm ready for it. I've moved beyond 98% scared 2% excited to 98% excited and 2% scared, as I look at the forecast that calls for rain. Bring it!! At least we won't be hot. :)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
The One Where It's My First 10-Mile Race
Soooo I guess when I wrote that down on my race schedule this year I didn't really think I'd make it to May. I swear May got here much sooner than I thought it would.
I have trained and trained for this day. And while yes, this is a race, it's a training run for me. My "real race" the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon isn't until next month.
Nevertheless, I've been training for this race since March. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Weekend Long Runs.
I ran running errands Friday. More Fuel, More Protein Powder, another iPhone Arm Band.
I got all my stuff ready. I typically put all my things into my hat, so it's all together:
Hair Tie
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Arm Band
Earbuds
ID
Race Bib
Fuel
Fuel Belt
Gum
I lay my clothes out:
Shirt
Bra
Shorts
Socks
Shoes
I set two alarms, just in case. I text to anyone I might be meeting and hit the hay!
For the first time ever, I slept through the night. I woke up once to see what time it was, ended up dropping my phone on the floor. Didn't pick it up. The alarm would go off and I'd get up when I got up. :)
Indeed both alarms went off. I jumped up, made coffee, got in the shower. I like to take a hot shower before long runs to loosen things up.
I got dressed and double checked my race day items. It was gonna be hot, so I took two waters. My water pouch for the race and my liter for after the race.
I knew that the race would have several water stops as well.
I didn't eat breakfast. Normally I eat breakfast, but I opted to skip that and use my fuel instead. I drank my coffee, got my small back pack out to put all my stuff in. I was riding with a running club member so I needed to pack my things up. It's not like I would be going back to my car for supplies.
I hugged my hubby and was on my way to the RRC. Met Kathy and we were off!! :) We made it down there in great time and we got a good parking spot too! I saw some people I know and we made introductions. I ate my Honey Stinger for a few calories to start the race.
It seemed like time was flying. I made a pit stop and before you know it, it was 10 minutes to race time! :) Told Kathy I'd see her at the finish, she's a bit faster than me.
The gun went off and it was time to race. I made sure to go slow.... there would be no darting out of the start and being too tired at the end.
I made listened to the RunMeter carefully saying my pace. I wanted to keep it around 11-12. My goal was to finish in 2 hours. To walk through all the water stops and over the bridges. The White Rock Bridges have a lot of give. It's like running in jello! Not that I'd done that, but that's what I imagine it would be like!
I ran with some great people around me! Talking, Excited, Feeling Good. I saw a few folks I knew running ahead of me and for a moment thought to pick up my pace to catch up to them, but didn't. I decided I'd save my energy.
I was feeling great! I was a little concerned that morning because my right ankle was sore, it's been achey lately. It was achey today too. Drats! But I was feeling ok, I kept doing a 'soreness check' along the way. And thinking should I slow down, speed up, based on how I felt.
I got to the first water stop. WOW, these folks had a lot of energy! It was awesome! They had water and gatorade. I took some of each. I walked through the stop and stopped to drink the water rather than pour out what was left. I was making good time, so I wasn't concerned about actually stopping.
I headed out again. Two runner girls in front of me where discussing whether or not they would run the 10 or make the turn at the 5 mile race. The girl in the purples says to the girl in pink, I think I can make it for the 10, so they made the turn to the left for the 10-mile race with me.
And off we went onto the first bridge. I was thinking along this route, this is the furthest I've been in this direction around the lake. :) Normally I race in the other direction because its a shorter distance. I wasn't sure if this was an out and back or if we were going all the way around the lake, but it was gonna be interesting since I haven't seen this side of White Rock... not while running anyway.
The first bridge was ok until you got to the middle, so I walked when the bridge began to move, run when it stopped.
At this point I've gone about a 5K, maybe a bit longer. There was another band and another water stop. There was a great volunteer who was cheering for us as we went by. He stood there the entire race!
I was getting everyone messages throughout the race on my app, Coach Nancy, Jerome, a few of my runner girls too. Lots of woo hoos! Run Shelly Run! You can do this! Then I got this message: Good Luck, All of your hard work is about to pay off! And I honestly welled up with tears. I thought, yes! Yes it has! I'm really doing it!!
Taking Jeromes advice from my 8 mile training run:
How did you run your 6 mile training run?
Me: ummmmm
Jerome: One foot in front of the other! This is just 22 more minutes of running. :)
So when I hit the 2 – 2.5 mile mark I thought: Now it's just 8 miles, I've already done this distance and I can do this too! I'm a fourth of the way done!
I made it to the 5K point in about 32-33 minutes and I was feeling good. There was another band playing and a water stop. Again I walked through, grabbed the water and gatorade and drank them both. I walked to the last trash bin and finished drinking before I headed off again. It was gonna be hot, it was already humid. I would need all the water I could get!
It was a nice run. I felt good. I was keeping a good pace. Sometimes shocked with the 11mm pace I was keeping. And I wasn't concerned about the time I was taking at the water stops. I wanted to make it in under 2 hours, but if I didn't that was OK. Yes it was a race, but also a training run. I wasn't racing to train! I was training to race!
I was going over everyone's advice; Mary's, Jerome's, Wendy, Becki, Nancy, Barbara, Kyle....
Take my time, don't rush, I can do this, Becki said she'd always known I could do this, it was just convincing me that I could.
And I was really doing it. And I wasn't hurting, I wasn't injured, I wasn't limping, I wasn't dragging myself along, I wasn't walking.
I finally started to see people turning around and realized it was an out and back and we wouldn't have to go over the hill at the spillway or the other hills around the lake. So I knew it would be relatively flat the rest of the way. YAY!
I high fived the people I knew as we passed each other. It was nice to see them as we passed and get a “you're doing great” as they went by! :)
I got to the turn around (FIVE MILES!! Half way done!!) and took my Honey Stinger Gold out of my pouch; At this point in the day I've run 5 miles on the calories of the Stinger Waffle and coffee! Maybe 200? 250?
I felt a lot better after that. Still walking through the water stops and drinking slowly. I had my water pouch with me that holds 2 cups and I was taking sips from it as well. I don't swing my arm though when I'm holding it and my shoulder was getting tight. I began reminding myself to check my form.
Chin level with the ground, Should Down and Back (Cuz I was wearing my shoulders for earrings!), Stand up straight, hips over the knees, One foot in front of the other! Breathe!! Kyle told me to do it like this:
Breath in (one two three) Breathe out (one two three) to slow my breathing down and gain control.
In light of the death of MCA Original Beastie Boy, I downloaded several of their songs. One funny Beastie Boy moment of the race was after the turn around I hear:
NO SLEEP TILL!!
BROOKLYN!!
Just what I needed!! HA!!
I kept thinking I saw a friend of mine ahead of me, she was walking and I thought something was wrong. I ran to catch up with her and it wasn't my friend but it was a sweet runner girl. About that time another runner caught up with me and said: I've been trying to catch up with you! I thought she meant the other runner, but she meant me!
Said she'd been chasing my heels! WOW! Then she and I helped the other runner. We would say: We're STRONG women!! We can finish this!! We can do it! And she would run with us. :)
We got about to the 10K point and she was fading and needing water. I asked her if she wanted some of mine, but she said she thought there was a water stop before the bridge. There wasn't, but there was a water fountain.
So she stopped at the water fountain and said I could go on with out her. I said NOPE! I'll stay with you. We'll walk across the bridge and then we'll finish strong!!
As we got on the bridge the Dallas Fire and Rescue Golf Cart was crossing the bridge too, so we had to yield a bit to them. After the bridge we made it to the next water stop with less than 3 miles to go. WOOT! We were making good time.
This particular water stop was run by the White Rock Running Co-op. These people were a hoot!! They were super energetic, they high fived everyone! They said “this is the best looking runners we've seen all day!” I said yea I bet you say that to all the women! LOL
Oh wait... I forgot a part before the water fountain and the bridge.... the same volunteer was in his spot cheering everyone on and he said this: Here they come, the long distance endurance runners... enduring, running strong.
If I hadn't been with those other runner girls I probably would have stopped right there and cried and hugged that man!
The ladies I was with saw two of their friends, noticed they were taking some walk breaks. I was talking to them about these ladies that had decided to do the 10-mile distance instead of the 5 and they looked like they were doing ok. I was telling them how awesome it was to overhear that conversation and how it encouraged me. Turns out... it was their friends! One of them is the pacer for the Dallas White Rock Half!
We got to the last stop and they caught up with their friends and they were walking. I said I'm running in, we have less than 2 miles, are you coming? They said they were gonna stay with their friend. I said OK I'll see you at the finish.
About this time around mile 7.5-8 my instep/ankle was getting sore and I noticed that I was really swollen. My fingers were like sausages and I was out of water and there were no more water stops. I kept thinking of what Jerome said: It's just 22 more minutes! :)
And about that time I got a message from Nancy that said “you're doing awesome!” I kicked it up a bit, not too much, I didn't want to run out of steam and I didn't know if this was an injury or just soreness. But I didn't want to aggravate it since my Half is in 5 weeks.
So I ran at about a 10.5 pace for a quarter mile and walk a bit (10-12 steps), then run more. I'd get my pace update, I had about less than a mile to go... and at least 12 minutes to get to the finish!! And cue the Beastie Boys: Paul Revere! Love that Song!!
There were people lined up at the finish cheering!! Two ladies in particular said, you're almost there, you're doing good! Finish Strong!
When I heard my pace update I had about a ½ a mile to go, I ran it in at 10mm pace!! WOOT!! I finished strong!! I looked at the clock as I ran past. It said: 2:00:20
I was happy to have made the 2 hour mark! I did it with water stops and all!! I looked for my friends and didn't see them, I got some water. Much Needed Water! And made my way up to the clubhouse.
I found Kathleen and Lynette found me. I made my way to the pizza and ate banana. Stretched and kept moving. I was sore but not hurting, so I was happy about that. As I'm eating and talking to friends one of the ladies I ran with the one who was struggling, came up to me and said she really appreciated me running with her. She was so glad that I came along at that time to help her through!
WOW. I was well speechless. I said you're welcome! Anytime. It was my pleasure. I hoped we got to run together again!
I hugged necks of friends and miss sweetpea and then we left. Kathleen needed to run a few errands and that was fine by me. We went to Lukes Locker and Starbucks! No run is complete until there's been coffee!!
We drove back to my car and I went to the kiddos baseball game! Then home for a nap! I know there are so many other details I don't remember right now. But I'll leave you with some memorable music moments...well the ones I can remember!
Good Vibrations – began the race with this!!
Desperately Wanting – about mile one!
Never Going Back To OK – this one was next. That's right!! I'm never going back to okay! :)
More Than A Feeling – I laughed a bit at this... I woke up this morning and the sun was gone? Nope, it was beating down on me guns blazing!! LOL
Run To You – why yes! I will run to you....and back in the day... run to you! Bryan Adams – Yum-O!
Leaving Eden – the background words in this are “one more step away” and I was indeed one more step away from where I was the day before. I was really doing this!! “it's like I'm further away with every step I take and I can't go back....” there was no going back; no turning around, I was further and further from the start and closer to the finish with every step!
Courageous – We were made to be courageous!! We were made to be courageous! Taking back the fight! We were made to be courageous and it starts with us tonight!!
Let The Sparks Fly – There's no such thing as Maybe! Burn it like your fading! No more hesitating let the sparks fly baby! Drive it like you're racing! You can call me crazy! I'm just tired of waiting let the sparks fly baby!
No Surprise – I've practiced this for hours, gone round and round, and now I think that I've got it all down, and as I say it louder I like how it sounds, cuz I'm not taking the easy way out!!! I'm not wrapping this in ribbons, I shouldn't have to give a reason why.... It's no surprise I won't be here tomorrow!!! …. you and I will be a tough act to follow, but I know in time we'll find this was no surprise!! WOOT! LOVE IT!!
Our favorite place we used to go, the warm embrace that no one knows, the loving look that left your eyes, that's why this comes as no, as no surprise! - for me, there's no going back now!! It's onward! I've put 13.1 off too long. This should come as no surprise.... I'm going forward!
Boys of Summer – always makes me think of Wendy! :)
September – my birthday month!! - do you remember on the 21st night of September! :) Oh Oh Oh... On and On and On and On!! (or as jerome would say one foot in front of the other)
My Desire – you wanna be real, you wanna be emptied inside, you wanna be someone, laying down your pride, you wanna be someone some day, so lay it all down before the King.... You wanna be whole, you wanna have purpose inside, you wanna be set free today... This is my Desire, This is my Return, This is my Desire, To be used by You! ….and I know my heart is to feel you near and I know my life is to do Your Will. It's to do Your Will! This is my desire!!
Walk by Faith – From the first guitar riff I was about to bawl! Would I have believed you when you said Your Hand would guide my every way.... Help me to rid my endless fears.... your grace covers all I do... yeah! I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.... Love the ending of this song... I will walk by faith! I will walk by faith!! I will walk by faith!
Lost at Sea – Love this one!! I'm going your way, even though I can not see in front of me and I'm going your way even though I feel lost at sea! ….. Ride the wave, wave goodbye, by the way did I mention today that I don't know the way home!
We R Who We R – Thanks Michellene for the suggestion! Great running song! :) Let's GO!! Tonight we're going hard! Just like the world is ours! We're tearing it apart! We are super stars! We are who we are!! :)
Burnin' up – not sure this was such a good one since I was indeed burning up from the heat! LOL I tried to not think about that as I ran! And at this point was out of water!
The Beastie Boys were a big player on the ipod, it was good to hear those old songs, it gave me a chuckle! :) As well as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC And Push It!
Anyway here are my stats..... hope you've made it this far! LOL
Here are my run stats:
Mile 1: 11.09
Mile 2: 10.08
Mile 3: 11.09
Mile 4: 11.08
Mile 5: 11.28
Mile 6: 11.39
Mile 7: 11.47
Mile 8: 10.58
Mile 9: 12.05
Mile 10: 12.11
Mile .36: 11.11
I have trained and trained for this day. And while yes, this is a race, it's a training run for me. My "real race" the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon isn't until next month.
Nevertheless, I've been training for this race since March. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Weekend Long Runs.
I ran running errands Friday. More Fuel, More Protein Powder, another iPhone Arm Band.
I got all my stuff ready. I typically put all my things into my hat, so it's all together:
Hair Tie
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Arm Band
Earbuds
ID
Race Bib
Fuel
Fuel Belt
Gum
I lay my clothes out:
Shirt
Bra
Shorts
Socks
Shoes
I set two alarms, just in case. I text to anyone I might be meeting and hit the hay!
For the first time ever, I slept through the night. I woke up once to see what time it was, ended up dropping my phone on the floor. Didn't pick it up. The alarm would go off and I'd get up when I got up. :)
Indeed both alarms went off. I jumped up, made coffee, got in the shower. I like to take a hot shower before long runs to loosen things up.
I got dressed and double checked my race day items. It was gonna be hot, so I took two waters. My water pouch for the race and my liter for after the race.
I knew that the race would have several water stops as well.
I didn't eat breakfast. Normally I eat breakfast, but I opted to skip that and use my fuel instead. I drank my coffee, got my small back pack out to put all my stuff in. I was riding with a running club member so I needed to pack my things up. It's not like I would be going back to my car for supplies.
I hugged my hubby and was on my way to the RRC. Met Kathy and we were off!! :) We made it down there in great time and we got a good parking spot too! I saw some people I know and we made introductions. I ate my Honey Stinger for a few calories to start the race.
It seemed like time was flying. I made a pit stop and before you know it, it was 10 minutes to race time! :) Told Kathy I'd see her at the finish, she's a bit faster than me.
The gun went off and it was time to race. I made sure to go slow.... there would be no darting out of the start and being too tired at the end.
I made listened to the RunMeter carefully saying my pace. I wanted to keep it around 11-12. My goal was to finish in 2 hours. To walk through all the water stops and over the bridges. The White Rock Bridges have a lot of give. It's like running in jello! Not that I'd done that, but that's what I imagine it would be like!
I ran with some great people around me! Talking, Excited, Feeling Good. I saw a few folks I knew running ahead of me and for a moment thought to pick up my pace to catch up to them, but didn't. I decided I'd save my energy.
I was feeling great! I was a little concerned that morning because my right ankle was sore, it's been achey lately. It was achey today too. Drats! But I was feeling ok, I kept doing a 'soreness check' along the way. And thinking should I slow down, speed up, based on how I felt.
I got to the first water stop. WOW, these folks had a lot of energy! It was awesome! They had water and gatorade. I took some of each. I walked through the stop and stopped to drink the water rather than pour out what was left. I was making good time, so I wasn't concerned about actually stopping.
I headed out again. Two runner girls in front of me where discussing whether or not they would run the 10 or make the turn at the 5 mile race. The girl in the purples says to the girl in pink, I think I can make it for the 10, so they made the turn to the left for the 10-mile race with me.
And off we went onto the first bridge. I was thinking along this route, this is the furthest I've been in this direction around the lake. :) Normally I race in the other direction because its a shorter distance. I wasn't sure if this was an out and back or if we were going all the way around the lake, but it was gonna be interesting since I haven't seen this side of White Rock... not while running anyway.
The first bridge was ok until you got to the middle, so I walked when the bridge began to move, run when it stopped.
At this point I've gone about a 5K, maybe a bit longer. There was another band and another water stop. There was a great volunteer who was cheering for us as we went by. He stood there the entire race!
I was getting everyone messages throughout the race on my app, Coach Nancy, Jerome, a few of my runner girls too. Lots of woo hoos! Run Shelly Run! You can do this! Then I got this message: Good Luck, All of your hard work is about to pay off! And I honestly welled up with tears. I thought, yes! Yes it has! I'm really doing it!!
Taking Jeromes advice from my 8 mile training run:
How did you run your 6 mile training run?
Me: ummmmm
Jerome: One foot in front of the other! This is just 22 more minutes of running. :)
So when I hit the 2 – 2.5 mile mark I thought: Now it's just 8 miles, I've already done this distance and I can do this too! I'm a fourth of the way done!
I made it to the 5K point in about 32-33 minutes and I was feeling good. There was another band playing and a water stop. Again I walked through, grabbed the water and gatorade and drank them both. I walked to the last trash bin and finished drinking before I headed off again. It was gonna be hot, it was already humid. I would need all the water I could get!
It was a nice run. I felt good. I was keeping a good pace. Sometimes shocked with the 11mm pace I was keeping. And I wasn't concerned about the time I was taking at the water stops. I wanted to make it in under 2 hours, but if I didn't that was OK. Yes it was a race, but also a training run. I wasn't racing to train! I was training to race!
I was going over everyone's advice; Mary's, Jerome's, Wendy, Becki, Nancy, Barbara, Kyle....
Take my time, don't rush, I can do this, Becki said she'd always known I could do this, it was just convincing me that I could.
And I was really doing it. And I wasn't hurting, I wasn't injured, I wasn't limping, I wasn't dragging myself along, I wasn't walking.
I finally started to see people turning around and realized it was an out and back and we wouldn't have to go over the hill at the spillway or the other hills around the lake. So I knew it would be relatively flat the rest of the way. YAY!
I high fived the people I knew as we passed each other. It was nice to see them as we passed and get a “you're doing great” as they went by! :)
I got to the turn around (FIVE MILES!! Half way done!!) and took my Honey Stinger Gold out of my pouch; At this point in the day I've run 5 miles on the calories of the Stinger Waffle and coffee! Maybe 200? 250?
I felt a lot better after that. Still walking through the water stops and drinking slowly. I had my water pouch with me that holds 2 cups and I was taking sips from it as well. I don't swing my arm though when I'm holding it and my shoulder was getting tight. I began reminding myself to check my form.
Chin level with the ground, Should Down and Back (Cuz I was wearing my shoulders for earrings!), Stand up straight, hips over the knees, One foot in front of the other! Breathe!! Kyle told me to do it like this:
Breath in (one two three) Breathe out (one two three) to slow my breathing down and gain control.
In light of the death of MCA Original Beastie Boy, I downloaded several of their songs. One funny Beastie Boy moment of the race was after the turn around I hear:
NO SLEEP TILL!!
BROOKLYN!!
Just what I needed!! HA!!
I kept thinking I saw a friend of mine ahead of me, she was walking and I thought something was wrong. I ran to catch up with her and it wasn't my friend but it was a sweet runner girl. About that time another runner caught up with me and said: I've been trying to catch up with you! I thought she meant the other runner, but she meant me!
Said she'd been chasing my heels! WOW! Then she and I helped the other runner. We would say: We're STRONG women!! We can finish this!! We can do it! And she would run with us. :)
We got about to the 10K point and she was fading and needing water. I asked her if she wanted some of mine, but she said she thought there was a water stop before the bridge. There wasn't, but there was a water fountain.
So she stopped at the water fountain and said I could go on with out her. I said NOPE! I'll stay with you. We'll walk across the bridge and then we'll finish strong!!
As we got on the bridge the Dallas Fire and Rescue Golf Cart was crossing the bridge too, so we had to yield a bit to them. After the bridge we made it to the next water stop with less than 3 miles to go. WOOT! We were making good time.
This particular water stop was run by the White Rock Running Co-op. These people were a hoot!! They were super energetic, they high fived everyone! They said “this is the best looking runners we've seen all day!” I said yea I bet you say that to all the women! LOL
Oh wait... I forgot a part before the water fountain and the bridge.... the same volunteer was in his spot cheering everyone on and he said this: Here they come, the long distance endurance runners... enduring, running strong.
If I hadn't been with those other runner girls I probably would have stopped right there and cried and hugged that man!
The ladies I was with saw two of their friends, noticed they were taking some walk breaks. I was talking to them about these ladies that had decided to do the 10-mile distance instead of the 5 and they looked like they were doing ok. I was telling them how awesome it was to overhear that conversation and how it encouraged me. Turns out... it was their friends! One of them is the pacer for the Dallas White Rock Half!
We got to the last stop and they caught up with their friends and they were walking. I said I'm running in, we have less than 2 miles, are you coming? They said they were gonna stay with their friend. I said OK I'll see you at the finish.
About this time around mile 7.5-8 my instep/ankle was getting sore and I noticed that I was really swollen. My fingers were like sausages and I was out of water and there were no more water stops. I kept thinking of what Jerome said: It's just 22 more minutes! :)
And about that time I got a message from Nancy that said “you're doing awesome!” I kicked it up a bit, not too much, I didn't want to run out of steam and I didn't know if this was an injury or just soreness. But I didn't want to aggravate it since my Half is in 5 weeks.
So I ran at about a 10.5 pace for a quarter mile and walk a bit (10-12 steps), then run more. I'd get my pace update, I had about less than a mile to go... and at least 12 minutes to get to the finish!! And cue the Beastie Boys: Paul Revere! Love that Song!!
There were people lined up at the finish cheering!! Two ladies in particular said, you're almost there, you're doing good! Finish Strong!
When I heard my pace update I had about a ½ a mile to go, I ran it in at 10mm pace!! WOOT!! I finished strong!! I looked at the clock as I ran past. It said: 2:00:20
I was happy to have made the 2 hour mark! I did it with water stops and all!! I looked for my friends and didn't see them, I got some water. Much Needed Water! And made my way up to the clubhouse.
I found Kathleen and Lynette found me. I made my way to the pizza and ate banana. Stretched and kept moving. I was sore but not hurting, so I was happy about that. As I'm eating and talking to friends one of the ladies I ran with the one who was struggling, came up to me and said she really appreciated me running with her. She was so glad that I came along at that time to help her through!
WOW. I was well speechless. I said you're welcome! Anytime. It was my pleasure. I hoped we got to run together again!
I hugged necks of friends and miss sweetpea and then we left. Kathleen needed to run a few errands and that was fine by me. We went to Lukes Locker and Starbucks! No run is complete until there's been coffee!!
We drove back to my car and I went to the kiddos baseball game! Then home for a nap! I know there are so many other details I don't remember right now. But I'll leave you with some memorable music moments...well the ones I can remember!
Good Vibrations – began the race with this!!
Desperately Wanting – about mile one!
Never Going Back To OK – this one was next. That's right!! I'm never going back to okay! :)
More Than A Feeling – I laughed a bit at this... I woke up this morning and the sun was gone? Nope, it was beating down on me guns blazing!! LOL
Run To You – why yes! I will run to you....and back in the day... run to you! Bryan Adams – Yum-O!
Leaving Eden – the background words in this are “one more step away” and I was indeed one more step away from where I was the day before. I was really doing this!! “it's like I'm further away with every step I take and I can't go back....” there was no going back; no turning around, I was further and further from the start and closer to the finish with every step!
Courageous – We were made to be courageous!! We were made to be courageous! Taking back the fight! We were made to be courageous and it starts with us tonight!!
Let The Sparks Fly – There's no such thing as Maybe! Burn it like your fading! No more hesitating let the sparks fly baby! Drive it like you're racing! You can call me crazy! I'm just tired of waiting let the sparks fly baby!
No Surprise – I've practiced this for hours, gone round and round, and now I think that I've got it all down, and as I say it louder I like how it sounds, cuz I'm not taking the easy way out!!! I'm not wrapping this in ribbons, I shouldn't have to give a reason why.... It's no surprise I won't be here tomorrow!!! …. you and I will be a tough act to follow, but I know in time we'll find this was no surprise!! WOOT! LOVE IT!!
Our favorite place we used to go, the warm embrace that no one knows, the loving look that left your eyes, that's why this comes as no, as no surprise! - for me, there's no going back now!! It's onward! I've put 13.1 off too long. This should come as no surprise.... I'm going forward!
Boys of Summer – always makes me think of Wendy! :)
September – my birthday month!! - do you remember on the 21st night of September! :) Oh Oh Oh... On and On and On and On!! (or as jerome would say one foot in front of the other)
My Desire – you wanna be real, you wanna be emptied inside, you wanna be someone, laying down your pride, you wanna be someone some day, so lay it all down before the King.... You wanna be whole, you wanna have purpose inside, you wanna be set free today... This is my Desire, This is my Return, This is my Desire, To be used by You! ….and I know my heart is to feel you near and I know my life is to do Your Will. It's to do Your Will! This is my desire!!
Walk by Faith – From the first guitar riff I was about to bawl! Would I have believed you when you said Your Hand would guide my every way.... Help me to rid my endless fears.... your grace covers all I do... yeah! I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.... Love the ending of this song... I will walk by faith! I will walk by faith!! I will walk by faith!
Lost at Sea – Love this one!! I'm going your way, even though I can not see in front of me and I'm going your way even though I feel lost at sea! ….. Ride the wave, wave goodbye, by the way did I mention today that I don't know the way home!
We R Who We R – Thanks Michellene for the suggestion! Great running song! :) Let's GO!! Tonight we're going hard! Just like the world is ours! We're tearing it apart! We are super stars! We are who we are!! :)
Burnin' up – not sure this was such a good one since I was indeed burning up from the heat! LOL I tried to not think about that as I ran! And at this point was out of water!
The Beastie Boys were a big player on the ipod, it was good to hear those old songs, it gave me a chuckle! :) As well as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC And Push It!
Anyway here are my stats..... hope you've made it this far! LOL
Here are my run stats:
Mile 1: 11.09
Mile 2: 10.08
Mile 3: 11.09
Mile 4: 11.08
Mile 5: 11.28
Mile 6: 11.39
Mile 7: 11.47
Mile 8: 10.58
Mile 9: 12.05
Mile 10: 12.11
Mile .36: 11.11
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