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Drinking my morning fuel. Need coffee before
a long run! |
I am not gonna lie! I am sore, sore, sore. I don't think I have been this sore after a run ever! I didn't have a great sleeping night last night. I was up every hour and anxious as all get out. I finally dragged my butt out of bed at 6am, to get ready for the big day. My BIL Ross came out to the start of the race with Dawn, Brett and I. He wanted to record it. And he got some pretty decent video. He was quite a trooper because he was out the door with me at 8am, and probably didn't get back to my place until half past one. Lots of waiting around for him! You ROCK Ross:)
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| Three of the Back of the Rat Pack Girls. We missed Monica and Tanya:( |
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| Or go home... |
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| Me and my new friend! |
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| That's the starting line waaaaaaay up front! |
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| Only a few more minutes till gun time. |
The race started out really good for me. I was feeling strong and completely focused. The feeling of euphoria for just being there was definitely guiding me. I didn't have a plan for my race, I figured I'd just run. I also planned on running straight (no walk breaks except at water stations). I started out pretty slow and before I knew it, I was passing the 2:15 continuous pace bunny. I felt like I was on top of the world and my breathing was real good. Nice and easy.
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That's the 2:15 pace bunny behind me in the red shirt.
I threw those mittens at my BIL as I passed him.
This was about 5.5K |
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| Our awesome cheerleaders! |
At about 13K, it started. My toes started to go numb. And I knew exactly what that meant. My toes were cramping. I was still with the 2:15 pace bunny and was either neck and neck with her, or just in front of her. My moment of disaster happened at the 14K water station when I slowed to a walk to have my eLoad performance drink, and I couldn't start running again. I walked it out for a couple of minutes then resumed my run, but I lost the 2:15 pace bunny. It all went down hill from there.
Now, I'm not too disappointed in my time. For 14K I kept a 6:24 pace with no walk breaks. After my toes cramped? I have no idea what my pace was. All I know is that I finished with a 2:19:47 chip time. That's a 6:38 pace. Considering that 51 weeks ago I could not run for one minute continuously, I'm not beating myself up. And two months ago I injured my hamstring? I rock! Sucks royally that my hammy felt great but my toes were the problem. A new issue we need to work on in physio.
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| My two best boys came out to cheer me on:) |
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| It's all about the bling:) |
When I was running the last kilometer of the race and I was in more pain than I have ever felt, I thought of why I was doing this and it helped me reach the finish line. My son is my inspiration. He is the reason I am. I am quite confident that I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for him. But I also thought a lot about my mothers. The mother who raised me and has been gone for nine years, and the mother who gave birth to me and has been gone for a mere 4 months. They were guiding me the whole way. And I know that where ever they are, they were smiling down on me today. When I was approaching the finish line and I saw my son, my husband and my BIL, I got so choked up, I could barely contain myself. I will probably never have that feeling again, but it is something that will remain with me forever.
I also insisted at the 18K mark that I would never be doing this again It's a little like giving birth. In the moment it's painful and hard and you wonder what the f*ck you're doing. But once it's over and you get your recovery bar and water, you ask yourself, "when can I do this again"? I'm definitely looking forward to starting phase one of
Dr. Poon's diet again tomorrow. I'm going to get into the best shape I can, and completely destroy myself so I can be the best runner I can. Good times!
Thanks to all for the endless amount of emails, Twitter messages, Facebook messages and texts that I got to offer support and good wishes for my first half marathon. It meant the world to me. I'm gonna crush The Bay with my hubby. We're so pumped to do this and there isn't anyone else I'd rather do it with (with the exception of my gal Beverly of course). He's my biggest cheerleader and supporter. I love him to pieces:)
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| Beautiful Dawn. She's a real pleasure to run with:) |
