Running on Empty - Day 14

Crossing the finish line. Yes, I am in pain.

Watering flowers with Nana.

A visit with Papa.



Today I was able to check something off my personal goals list. I wanted to complete a half marathon before I was 40. I squeezed it in a few weeks under the wire today. Yup, I completed 13.1 miles for the first time. I fell short of another goal, which was to not have to walk at all. I did have to walk a few times, but I knew going into it was I was not fully prepared. And then, the route was much, much harder than advertised.

It started out with about 6 miles on a dirt road through the woods. It was a beautiful place to run, cool and scenic. I was surprised that the group was pretty small, not very many runners. Great, I thought, more chance of me coming in last. I paced myself pretty well for the first half, but then I was unaware what lay ahead. After leaving the dirt path the route wound through some farm fields past cows and horses, very lovely. Then it started uphill. The organizers had said the second half of the run featured "moderate to difficult rolling hills", but these were not rolling hills! A hill has an uphill slope and a down hill slope, I was planning on powering through the uphills and recovering on the down hills, but there were no downhills! This was a steady 6 to 7 miles of uphill grade. There would occasionally be flatter areas, or a small slope downward, but basically you were climbing a hill, pretty steep in places, for 6-plus miles. Ack! I managed for awhile, but eventually I had to walk for short periods. I didn't stop moving, though.

The race ended at a local high school. We ran around the end of the building and there, in stadium you could see the finish. At last! But no, you had to do a final lap around the track to make it to 13.1 and THEN you could cross the finish line. I have to say I was pretty used up when I finished. I don't think I could have gone much longer. So it was not the best time, but I finished AND I was not the last one in, thank goodness!

It is interesting to watch the other runners. Some take it so seriously with their running gear and running talk. Some are just there to have a good time. I am amazed at the number of people who run without iPods. How on earth do you keep going for 13.1 miles with no music? I would quit out of sheer boredom.

In retrospect there are some things I would do differently. One is that I would check out the route before hand so I would know if I was facing a 6-mile hill. Another is that I need to learn to run with a water belt. There were not enough water points at all and I was way too dehydrated when I finished, I am sure that affected my running. Another is that I would attempt to bribe my child into NOT getting up at 5 am the day of the race. Not sure how successful I will be with that one. In any case, there is another half marathon here in a few months, maybe I'll sign up for that one, too. Eek!

This afternoon Soldier-Boy's dad, LSP's Papa, came over to visit. She was happy to see him, but played a little bit shy. I am sure she will get over that soon. Then, sensing, perhaps, that her mommy was totally exhausted, she proceeded to cause all sorts of Curious George-like trouble this evening. The first was a repeat performance of my least-favorite trick, Poop in the Tub. That is always fun. Then we had a couple of rounds of Spit Out the Antibiotic All Over the Floor. After she attempted "Fall Out of the Very Tall Chair," we decided it was time to be done for the night. Luckily she went to sleep pretty fast, let's see how tonight goes.

Now I am off to bed. I am one tired blogger.