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Comments: Took a little over 10 minutes to get to the start line, but with the chip timer it didn't matter at all. Started my watch and I was off. The course was extremely crowded. I mean, more than just a little. The first mile we were just shuffling along, trying to find some open space. After that first mile it opened up a little and I was able to start passing people. I didn't see the first two mile markers, but I saw the third - I was under 10s, so was happy about that. After mile three, the 2:00 half pace group passed me. I amused myself for a moment and tried to keep up with them.. heh. Miles 4-8 were all right. I felt good. I was taking in the course, which ran through some gorgeous neighborhoods. Just lovely. I was taking Gatorade or water at each aid station, making sure NOT to stop running. This was difficult as most people just abruptly stopped even if they were in the middle of the course. I'd opened a GU between miles 6 and 7, and nursed it for a good 2 miles. I knew if I threw it down my tummy would hate me. Nursing the GU worked perfectly! At mile 8 I told myself I was NOT going to hit mmy 8-mile wall. I'd done a 10-mile race a few weeks ago and didn't, so I knew I wouldn't. That worked. Until mile 9. Started to feel some leg fatigue. I looked at my watch and realized that if I held this pace I would beat my goal of 2:15! At mile 10 my bad knee started screaming. Damn it. I told myself it's just a 5K, just three more miles. Miles 10 and 11 were the longest miles mentally that I've run in a long time... each and every single step was painful. My right calf got a dull cramp that moved up into my hamstring. So now my right knee, calf, and hamstring were all mad at me. At each of those mile markers, though, I noticed I was still running under 10s, which would get me to under 2:15. Huh!! At mile 12 I was still hurting, but the thought of "just one more mile" made me start to forget about the pain. Push through it, push through it. You'll get there. And I did. At the 13 mile marker I forgot all about my pain as I looked at my watch and realized I would make it UNDER 2:10 if I could finish the last tenth of a mile in under a minute. HOLY CRAP I AM GOING TO FINISH IN UNDER 2:10... OMG OMG OMG!!!!! I sprinted hard and finished with 18 seconds to spare. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I paced myself beautifully and ran through/managed the pain.  Post race
Warm down: As soon as I crossed the finish line I started to cry like a baby. Here I was, finishing in 2:09 and some change. The last half marathon I did (in April of this year), my finish time was 2:21 and some change. I'd just knocked 12 minutes off of my half mary time. OMG. I continued to cry for the next 5 minutes at least, while I picked up my medal and shirt. I'm sure I looked like the biggest idiot, but I didn't care. I was so damn happy, they had no idea. Suddenly, I found myself in a beer garden! Naturally, I picked one up and started sipping on it. Meh. Only drank about a third of it before I headed to the food. Ate a granola bar and sipped on some water, then went to the marathon finish line. It was nearing the 3:00 mark and if Tom was going to BQ he had to come in under 3:11. I really didn't expect to see him then, but I would have kicked myself in the ass if I wasn't there and he BQ'd on his first marathon. So I found a place at the finish line and just camped out until I saw people finish. Saw tribullbutter come in with an AMAZING time. I couldn't remmber his first name, and I didn't want to yell "BUTTER!" So I yelled "BT!! GO BT!!!" I'm sure he didn't hear me, but whatever. Then around 3:30 saw Stan come in, then Alan, then Lonnie. All of my tri club friends were in except for Tom. I was really expecting him around 3:30-3:45. 4:00 came and went and that's when I got worried. How would I know if he'd gotten hurt, or stopped the race?? Then at 4;01 I look up and there he is. The look on his face was one of excruciating pain. He had his shirt off and was just booking it to the finish line. Wow. My boyfriend is a marathoner! Now let's go see how bad it was. Took me FOREVER to find Tom. Like probably an hour. Finally found him in the massage area. We both got one. He was hurting pretty bad, and immediately told me that the full marathon was so much worse than a half ironman. Great. How the hell am I going to feel come February if Tom - my running IDOL - my strong boyfriend who can do ANYTHING - is feeling this bad?!?! My worry set in immediately, for him and his pain, and then for me and my race in just over 2 months. Only time will tell. Went back to Gary's to shower, then ate some FABULOUS Mexican food. OMG YOM NOM NOM. Then got in the car to drive the 6 hours back to Wichita. I told Tom to sleep first, so he could keep me awake later. Good decision, because after Oklahoma City I was SOOO TIRED. We made it home just after 11 p.m. What a long, fun, painful, and tiring day. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing. I set a PR by 12 minutes. I'd say I ran pretty fast for me. Event comments: This was just too big of a race. I love bigger races, but this one seemed to lack some organization because of it, especially at the start and finish lines. The course is fun, with bands, and such, and is really beautiful. But the sheer number of people almost ruined it for me. I may come back some day, but I will just know what to expect next time. Last updated: 2008-10-15 12:00 AM
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United States
65F / 18C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 2202/5773
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 200/680
Tom and I loaded up and left Wichita Saturday morning around 10 a.m. This was Tom's very first marathon, and my third stand-alone half marathon. Got down to Dallas and went straight to packet pickup. We walked around the Expo for about an hour and a half - I love Expos. Bought an "irunlikeagirl" tech shirt, some Larabars and some Clif bars. Good prices.
Met some local tri club friends for dinner at some pasta place. Being that I can't eat pasta I was trying to be a good sport and ended up eating a dinner salad, baked eggplant, and some cottage fries (with soooo much raw garlic on them, oh my!). After dinner we found our way to Hotel Garrrry :)
Didn't sleep too well; I never do before races. I probably woke up 40 or 50 times and never slept more than 10 minutes at a time. Oh well.
Got up at 5:30, knowing traffic would be interesting. Left at 6:15 (for an 8 a.m. race start) and followed Gary downtown. We got to the American Airlines Center exit a little before 7 a.m. and then promptly sat on the exit ramp for about 25 minutes. It was excruciating. Not a single car was moving. When we finally moved enough to cut across some lanes, we ended up parking across the highway in some random parking garage. What a mess.
Walked about 10 minutes to the Cluster Eff they called the starting line. On the way, I stopped at a construction porta potty since I knew once we got in there it would be hard to find one without a massive line. NO toilet paper, woo! :\
Got into the main area and said goodbye to Tom and Gary. I was in "coralle B" but the tens of thousands of people were just trying to get anywhere in the main coralle. We squeezed and shimmied around the other tens of thousands of people, trying to get back far enough past most of Coralle A. People were getting pissed, it was not pretty. I never did find Coralle B, but when I saw the 4:30 marathon pace group I just went in there. My goal was around 2:15 for the half.
Maneuvering around the Cluster Eff they called the start line.