Wednesday, January 14, 2009

20 Mile Run

Sunday was race day and it was COLD! 
The first 10 miles were the worst. I don't know if it was because of how cold it was or how many miles I knew I had left. The furthest distance I had accomplished
d training for prior to the race was 13.1 miles (the half marathon I ran back a the beginning of December) so every step beyond that was new territory. I will break it down by miles. 

1-5 Miles: Frozen. I should have worn my tights but last time I wore them it warmed up quickly and I was so hot that I wanted to rip them off and streak to the finish (j/k). I definitely needed them Sunday. I walk at mile five to take a shot blok which sounds funny but CLIFF Bar makes them and they are gummy and delicious and you just chew them  up and it gives you a bit of energy. 
5-10 Miles: I can now feel my legs and realize quickly that it was much better when I couldn't. At mile 8 the part of my leg behind my knee (where it bends) is tight and I stop at a water station to stretch and drink a small cup of water and a small cup of Gatorade. I see 2 motorcycle helpers drive by with 2 runners who couldn't finish as their passengers. "Dear Lord, please don't let that happen to me". At mile 10 I take another shot blok. They are GOOD!
10- 12 Miles: That part of my leg that was hurting is hurting more than even and that is when God sent me my race day angel, "Stephanie".  Stephanie runs by me and she smiles from ear to ear! She asks me how I am feeling and I blurt out about my tightness in my behind the knee thing. She asks if this is my first long distance race and I tell her yes. She runs ahead of me and I am thankful for my perky friend who slowed down to say hello. At least it kept the pain off my mind for a minute or so. At mile 12 I see a water station and slow to stretch and rehydrate. That's when Stephanie became my angel. A water-hander-outer person shouted, "girl in the blue shorts!" and I said, "yes??" and she said, "Stephanie told me to give you this." and what did she hold...?????? ALEVE!!! AMAZING!!! It was just what I needed and I wanted to cry. Within minutes I can feel my leg relax. 
13- 16  Miles: This is taking forever! Are you kidding me! I think I'm sunburned...scratch that..I KNOW I'm sunburned but I absolutely LOVE the sun on my face and begin to get restless with the distance. I start to speed up but remember "slow and steady" and regain my pace to ensure that I can finish. I take a shot blok and continue on. 
16-20 Miles: I am so ready to finish that I can taste it. I feel WAY better than I did the day I ran my half marathon and mile by mile passes. I have to leave my running partner Sara behind at mile 18 because she tells me that she left her achilles tendon at the water station :) I love her and keep on running. The last water station was at mile 18.5 and this cute old bundled up lady tells me that I have less than 2 miles to go. After 18 that is an amazing thing to hear! I keep running and making sure to use my arms. At the mile 19 sign I relax and start feeling great! At mile 19.5 I pick up the pace and can see the finish line. With a quarter mile left I start to sprint ( know) and I see my husband Kyle standing at the finish line. I cross the finish line and smile! 

It may have taken me over 4 hours but I finished. I am looking forward to the last few weeks of training. I guess I am really gonna run that marathon :)



4 comments:

  1. Ok, this is gonna sound crazy, but I am crying now. I'm so proud of you for finishing! I have no idea why it made me cry, but it did. Congrats!

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  2. Go, GIRL! Love you!

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  3. Thanks for giving the mile-by-mile recap, I kinda felt like I was there with you. I don't know how you did it, but you kinda inspired me to run a distance race again with this post. I'm so proud of you!

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  4. This is awesome! You are such an inspiration Miss Jenny! Thanks for sharing

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