Everyone is watching the playoff game, my neighbors decided to lock my source of free internet, I accidentally ordered and drank a $18 60 oz Margarita and everything hurts.
Let me back up. Last weekend was half marathon weekend. And it really did block out the entire weekend. Friday night I had dinner with some friends and then went to bed super early. Saturday was busy. I woke up at 7:30 and got ready for a full day. I headed down to OKC to meet Cyndi and go pick up our race packets exactly when the Expo opened that day at 9. We went to the Cox Convention Center and picked up our bib numbers and walked around the Expo. I bought a 13.1 sticker for my car and we looked at all the running stuff. Everything was so cool but we decided we really didn't need any of it since we trained for so long without it! So we left there at 9:30 and I headed to a wedding shower in which I'm one of the bridesmaids. That ended at about 11:30 and I stopped at home to say hi to my mom, Pepper, and the cats.
I was still feeling sick from my head cold so I came back to my apartment in Edmond and took about a 3 hour nap/lay around time. Then, a few of us that were running the half were going to make dinner, and hang out that evening at Cyndi's and then I was going to stay with her in Oklahoma City so we didn't hit traffic that morning. That ended up being one of the most fun parts of the whole thing. I brought the ingredients for one of the salads that has been my favorite throughout training and weight loss. It's from McAlisters and it's greens, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, blu cheese, and cucumbers with a sherry shallot dressing. I got 3 bags of salad mix, dried orange cranberries, sliced almonds and blu cheese from Sunflower Market and a creamy Italian dressing. Everyone made their own salad and we ate spaghetti with meat sauce, bread and we all drank lots of water. But the most fun part is we sat around the table and talked about our training, what we were looking forward to, what we struggled with, what music we listened to on long runs (only one person there was running the full and he said he listened to podcasts and sermons!) and what we hated most about training. Training/running is such a solitary thing for most of us it was awesome to have that connection to everyone else. It was so fun to hear about everyone else's journey and share in the nerves and peaks and pitfalls. I loved that special time with friends and we all left with a light heart and good spirits.
Cyndi and I stayed at her house and I took a NyQuil to 1. Calm my nerves 2. Get me to sleep with a cold. I slept for the most part but I woke up in the middle of the night to HAIL and freaky weather (also a Thunder W so I was excited) but when our alarm clock went off at 4:30 I was wide awake. I had that "ugh I got up too early my stomach hurts" feeling so I tried to choke down some oatmeal and PB but it was sooo hard. We left the house after getting all of our race stuff on and toting 2 bananas to eat on the car ride there. It was so hard to eat. I also took an Aleve for colds and snorted some Vicks to clear out my nose. During the race I never coughed and my nose never ran.
We parked with no problem and made our way to the corrals for the starting line. There were so many people there! We found a sorority sister and stood together and talked. I was so nervous. Then Val called me to try to find me and eventually she made her way to us as well so we could all start together. Then after a funny moment during the national anthem and the 168 seconds of silence (for all the people lost in the memorial bombing) we were off!
Not really. After the gun went off we waited for about 10 minutes to move to the starting line. But once we made it, it was incredible. I don't think there's anything like that feeling I had when I crossed the starting line, ever. I got teary eyed a few times during the race. All of these people have dedicated their time and pain and sweat and tears and everything just like I have. And they were all running too. It was amazing, because I was in my town, running past the Chesapeake Arena and seeing the Thunder signs and through Bricktown and past the Capital. I don't even know how to explain it. Passing the people with shirts that say "in memory of" or passing signs that say "thank you for running", it was a true testament to the character of people of this state.
Some of the fun parts were over by the Capital and the HSC, there were bands set up and playing as we ran by, also funny signs from different companies around the metro. One of them said "Worst Parade Ever". I saw my parents around mile 3, and then again around mile 6/7. I think my favorite part of the race was running through the first residential neighborhood. Everyone was out in front of their houses with signs and some people had their sprinklers on to cool us down. There were a few houses with bars set up, so if you wanted to you could take a shot of vodka, rum or tequila. One little girl had a plate of snickers bars and bacon, and in a moment of true insanity I ate a snickers bar. That's one thing I'll never do again. Ever ever why did I ever do that. One house was even serving mimosas and bloody mary's.
I drank from every water stop along the way. I tried to eat the orange slices but I couldn't choke them down. About mile 8 it started pouring down rain. Like hard. I mean my shoes never got wet and the rain actually helped cool me off so I appreciated it. I took some GU but I never felt good enough to eat it. Around mile 10 I started feeling sick and I walked a few times near the end. My GPS was wayyy off and I kept hitting miles but then I would see the mile marker a half a mile later. The last mile, I ran all the way. I remember seeing the finish line and just kept going, I never stopped once I saw it.
The finish line was probably the most emotional I've gotten. Once the woman handed me my metal tears welled up in my eyes and I thought about the last 3 months. The early mornings, the times I didn't go out drinking with my friends because of the long run in the morning, or I didn't eat that cheeseburger or all the negative reactions I've gotten or the times that I could have quit but didn't. It was a split second and I held that metal in my hands and I had done it. A year ago I would have never thought that I would be where I am today.
Today I was talking to Val and sometimes I get envious of people my age making huge career moves. Moving away or getting promoted or taking a new job. But then I realize that I've always needed/wanted to be comfortable with my body and it's my time to do that now. I have to realize it's my journey that I have to focus on. Running a half marathon is a huge accomplishment for me and I'm not sure how I've gotten here other then God's provision and plans. And hard work. And oatmeal.
Anyway, after I had that emotional moment I got extremely stressed out. I was at the finishers area and all I wanted was water and to find Cyndi (I knew she had probably finished before me) I also thought maybe Bryce and Sarah and Abby and Sarah were there to surprise me (@K sent me a text to make me think that) but I was wrong I guess. I actually felt really sick, and since there was so many people there my phone had no signal. I stepped away to a clearing and called Cyndi and after about 20 minutes of searching I found her. She wanted to go back in and get me some food (they had so much! bananas, cheeseburgers, oranges, chocolate milk, powerade, everything) but I just wanted to be away from people. I sat down in the parking lot and after about 5 minutes I felt a lot better. I saw Jackie before then which was good, and I also saw some people I knew but I was so exhausted I didn't want to talk to anyone.
We sat there for awhile and then we walked back to the car. I was feeling a lot better by then but very tired. We drove back to Cyndi's house, I picked up my car and my first stop was MCDONALDS! I ate 2 McChickens and a Strawberry Pie (It doesn't take long to get my appetite back) Then I came back to my house, showered, and got ready to go out to eat with Cyndi, Mere and Boom. Once I got back to my apt I was so tired I took a "nap" at 5:30 and woke up at 8:30. I then just took my contacts out and took a NyQuil and went to bed.
My GPS was off about a mile. It said I ran 13.83 in 3:06:39. My official results were 13.1 (obvs) in 3:04. Which made my pace about a 13 min mile. I started off an 11 min mile but by then end I had a 14 min mile. I would like to have a sub - 3hr time at my next race. My app also said I have run 149.81 miles in the past 3 months. That figures out to (adding in my 10 mile run which wasn't tracked - 159.81) about 2 miles a day. Since Feb 6 (since I've started training) I've lost 10 pounds (almost 30 pounds since November) (ugh that doesn't seem like much) but I've built a lot of muscle. I'm hoping WW will help me with actual fat loss. I'm ready to keep going.
I'm very sore today. My legs and my shoulders really hurt but I know that will go away soon. I'm so thankful for everyone who has had to listen to me talking about my morning runs or how I'm doing a half marathon and everything. I kinda woke up today and thought "now what?" I'm taking a break (at least for today) but I really do want to get signed up for Weight Watchers, and since it's free right now to register I think I will.
So long winded, right? I'm going to sleep now, big day at work tomorrow (and this whole week) see you all in August!
Mal xoxo
1 comment:
Thank you for a perfect post.
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