The gun went off and we stood there, waiting for the masses ahead of us to move.
Eventually we walked slowly until we got to the start line when we could actually start running slowly. Wait, what's this? An urgent message from my bladder? WTF?! I ran maybe .25 miles then peeled off to hit the porta-johns that were at the high school. Eye roll - what a great start to the race, ha!

Took care of business very quickly and was back at it. Found Cuda (since she now bascially caught up to me) and ran with her a little bit after 'sneaking' up on her. Chatted a tiny bit then resumed my pace. It was a foggy, low-cloud, cloudy day but yet very pretty and enjoyable just the same. A few trees had started to change their colors on the surrounding hills.

The route was fairly rural at this point with houses spread far apart by wide, expansive yards and fields, yet the support and presence of the locals was impressive! Residents came out to cheer and watch at the end of driveways. The elderly ones out there with walkers impressed me the most, standing there voicing their support. I wished I could hug every single one! I have a major soft spot for old people. I settled for waving, smiling, and yelling 'hi' or 'good morning' to them. ;)

A few miles in, I noticed a bunch of people looking and taking selfies and/or pictures of something. Scenery? Random pics? Nope, try Sasquatch! Or at least a life-sized wood carving of Sasquatch. I laughed and wished I had my phone along to get a pic.

My coach had set some pace goals for me that gradually increased over the duration of the race. Start very conservative and pick up the pace every 3 miles or so. With this tactic I was essentially passing people the entire race, an interesting phenomenon. I felt really, really great and happy and loving the day for the first 9-ish miles, then it all changed.

At mile 9 I attempted to pick up the pace a bit more per coach's plan. It sort of worked, but I couldn't hold it. **Important point: I don't think my 'implosion' had anything to do with coach's plan, I think my fitness (and knees) just weren't quite where they needed to be. My knees and Achilles had been reminding me they weren't happy for a few miles but now they were really speaking their figurative minds. I felt like I was exerting myself much harder than I was in reality. I tried all sorts of little distraction-y mind games which would work for a little, then no more.

Eventually it felt like I was running through sand and every single step hurt. I was no longer happy. I was no longer savoring the experience or the day. I was in pain but yet still very determined to finish. I saw a woman with a shirt that read, "I can. I will." I used that as my mantra and used some other mind tricks yet again, thinking of those who aren't able to do this for one reason or another.

My discomfort was so that I didn't even partake of gummy bears or Swedish fish some high schoolers were passing out around mile 12. Somewhere in that stretch between 12 and the end was another photographer. I tried to summon a smile but didn't do so well. I was determined not to walk because switching from walking to running or vice versa made my knees scream worse.

Finally, FINALLY we were back in town and making our way down the main drag toward the finish. Why does it seem like I'm not getting any closer to the line?! I swear they were moving it! I was to the point where I was pretty much in a stupor, not fulling paying attention to what was around me. I saw the finish area had two sides, a left 'lane' and a right 'lane'. I couldn't ascertain a difference between the two so I headed to the right since there were people in the left. Much later I realized they split the lanes one for the HM and the other for the M. Naturally I ran through the side that was eventually used to time the marathon. Oops. It didn't seem to matter at that time as the first marathoner hadn't come through yet. Also later I noticed there were big potted chrysanthemums dividing the lanes - were they there when I went through? I really don't think so...I think they put them there later. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I crossed the line and was so glad the race was over!

Firstly, lose weight. I know my extra poundage adds to my knee pain and discomfort and of course slows me down.

Secondly, I'm not 100% sure what caused the tail end of my race to go pear-shaped. Hydration and electrolytes may have played a part, maybe I needed another gel in there somewhere? Hard to say for sure what went wrong, exactly.

After crossing the finish line and getting my awesome glass 'medal', I was asked by a volunteer if I was OK. Kind of but not really, but I didn't feel quite bad enough to necessitate medical care, plus I didn't want to get whisked away to a med tent or something and for Cuda to finish and have no idea where I was or what happened, so I said I was OK. I felt a bit out of it. Make that a lot out of it.

I got a water and a chocolate milk (chocolate milk! Heaven!), then found a place to sit near where they were offering massages. No massage, just borrowing the chairs. Oh, how bad my knees and Achilles hurt! I wasn't sure my knees were going to bend and then support me as I sat, but it went reasonably OK. I sat there and drank my chocolate milk and rubbed my knees.

After resting a few minutes, I slowly made my way through the food line, zombie-like with my knees and Achilles and feet aching. My stomach doesn't really like heavy, solid foods after I'm done racing, so I passed by many things like cookies, bagels, bananas, apples, bars, pizza (yes, I passed on pizza) and chose chicken noodle soup. I went off to the side out of the way and ate my soup. Either the chocolate milk or the soup brought me around and improved my condition noticeably (I think it was the soup). Of course it wasn't a 100% improvement but I felt considerably more 'with it'.

Dragged my carcass to the bag pick up, then to the car, moving glacially. Slugs were passing me! Sat in the car a bit, then changed, then dragged myself to the finish to watch for Cuda and managed to get a few pics of her coming in to the finish.

Pictures: yes, I changed clothes and hats after I was finished, hence the different clothing! First pic is the glass 'medal' (so cool!). #2 is Cuda and I before the start; #3 is us after the race after I changed; #4 is one of the numerous K9 officers (and his person) keeping us safe at the finish. I don't think this is the same one who snooped in Cuda's bag - that one was a German Shepard, this guy looks like a Belgian Malinois. :)


Being a 'sturdy girl' as Cuda would say.


I can understand why this has been a long-standing, very popular race: quality swag, nice town, nice course, good volunteers, good organization. The glass medals are custom made by Corning Glass and are different colors and designs each year. The HM and M are different colors, too. I will definitely return someday to do this race again!