I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and decided not to try to go back to sleep. I wish I could say that I got up and prayed - prayed for strength, for endurance, for health and a strong finish. I didn't. I tooled around on FB, Twitter, and MFP. We left on time and arrived at the school to secure a coveted parking spot. This is one of the few races that have a walkers start time and a runners start time. With the 3 and one half time limit, I chose to start with the walkers. This was good for two reasons. First, I could start with my friend, Deb. Second, we could finish faster.
There were about 20 of us that started early. It was still dark outside, it was drizzling and the ground was wet. It was also cold. The organizer pulled us all together, gave us a pep talk - let us know the water stations weren't all manned yet, but that the route was well marked. Had us line up and then said "Go!" Not exactly the big horrah of other races, but it got us out and running.
Three people took off running immediately. Then two other women were up ahead, then a guy wearing a yellow shirt, two other women, and then Deb and I. The guy in the yellow shirt walks every years, so we knew we had to at least stay close enough to him to know where we were going. The cobblestones were wet and slippery. By mile two, I was behind a minute of my pace time, and knew that if I wanted to meet my goal I had to step it up. When I put my earbuds in I heard nothing. What? I looked at my nano, and realized that it was not recording anything. Oh crap. I punched in half marathon again and hit start. Well, at least it would record 11 of my 13 miles.
Deb and I agreed that we would do our own thing, so on the first long down hill, I waved goodbye and set my sights on the guy with the yellow shirt. He is a very tall and thin man and one of his walking strides is much bigger than mine, so I didn't catch him until almost mile five. When I did and waved hello, he took out his earbuds and started a conversation. I thanked him for being my pacer for the first few miles and commented that I thought this early start was a great idea for people, like me, who still need to walk/run. He said "say thank you, David" I said "thank you David. Are you David?" He said yes, and then shared that he used to run marathons, but since knee surgeries and arthritis, that he doesn't run anymore. But he still trains with a running group and strongly suggested that I do the same. He shared some history of the area, pointed out some fun places to take Mark and the kids, and talked about the history of the race. Since mile 5 was all up hill and was a winding road, he suggested I pace myself and not overdo it. He says his goal is to be on the down side before the first runners catch up. We were almost at the top of the hill when the police motorcycles came by, followed by the police car with an officer with a bull horn. She shouted, "good job, David, keep it up." Then she shouted "good job, lady in pink" - Hey, that's me! Immediately following the police car were the first few elite runners. Wow - were they going fast. It was as if they glided in the air only touching the ground for the briefest moment just to kiss the pavement before jetting back up. It was 7:30, meaning that they got to mile six in 30 minutes, including cresting that big hill. I was in awe.
When we turned the corner, David told me that we were already heading back. Wow, that was fast. On the downside, I said goodbye to David and tried to make up some time. Starting with finding a runner I could try to pace with. Silly me, any pacing was for about thirty seconds before they were out of sight. As I came around the bend, I saw lots of runners heading up Marblehead. I tried to find someone who stood out to see if I could stay in front of them. I did, a man in a kilt. Ok, I settled into my music and thought ok - just a 10k left, I just did that on Sunday, lets go.
Fuel on the road is a tricky thing. Volunteers hold cups of water or gatoraid out. This year's flavor was berry. I was concerned that if I drank it straight that I would get two little red upside down fangs above my top lip. Yet, I knew it was important to hydrate. I also tried to Gu. Coffee flavor was the flavor I got, it wasn't bad. I remembered someone telling me to wash it down with water, so I made sure grab water too. The heartrate monitor was beeping quite a bit. I couldn't tell if it was accurate or not. It kept saying that my bpm was 180. No matter how slow I walked to bring it down, it didn't come down. I felt fine, could breathe fine, so I just turned up the music and ignored it.
The next hour was a grinding hour that brought me past mile 12. I was out of gas, and had been dealing with a small pebble in my shoe for the last mile or so. Do I stop or do I keep going. I kept going. As I learned later...BIG mistake. On the last half mile, the man with the kilt passed me. Lots of runners who had already finished were walking back to their cars. As always, they shouted words of encouragement. You're almost there, its just around the corner. As I was beginning to give up hope, a runner in a bright orange t-shirt came wizzing by. She was flying. God bless her sprinting to the finish line. I finished in 3:23:39. My nano said that I completed 12 miles. What? I didn't even start it until two miles were up. So I guess my calibration was off. So my practice half, was not 13 miles. Hey, I'll take my new PR, and be happy that I beat my goal of 3:30 for Salem.
The medal was a little cheesy, but hey I earned it. I drank some water and finally got the rock out of my shoe. What a giant blister on the bottom of my heel. Oh, and it was not fun trying to put my sneaker back on. I waited for Deb by the finish line. In the interim, I texted friends, updated facebook, and cheered for David as he crossed the finish line. I was able to get a photo of Deb as she crossed the finish line. So proud of her. We refueled, and headed back to shower and change before going home.
Although I was sore, and my feet hurt from the blister, I felt great. We made it home in time for me to see Kathryn's soccer game. She decided to sleep over a friends house. While Mark ran an overnight bag to her, while Ry and I played Sequence - States and Capitols. At one point he's getting ready to to pick his card and said "come on Boise" He's such a fun little kid. Right after the game I layed down. Mark said he was going to get a drink and did I want something? I said water. The next thing I knew it was 4:00 a.m. I guess I was tired.
All in all, I was glad I did it. I have 10 weeks to go before my next Half. I have got to be able to run for at least 30 minutes at at time. This means lots of short endurance runs during the weeks and my long run in every weekend.
But most of all, I need to get back into my reading routine. There is one song that was on my ipod that has lyrics that say . . . I coming back to the heart of worship, for its all about you, its all about you, Jesus, I'm sorry Lord for the thing I made it, cause its all about you, its all about you, Jesus.
I've forgotten about Jesus, the last few weeks. I need to stay on top of my reading and keep it about Him.
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