We got there with enough time to take care of some bathroom "business" (a MUST before a long run!) and walk around to a few booths. As we were walking, we started talking big. Like Marathon, big. Some of us thought that would be a "fun" idea, to run a marathon together! We laughed about it, but I was seriously thinking, yeah, I'd like to do that soon. I mean, I'm half way through the training now, right? Ask me how I felt about it at mile 10! Not so enthused about 26.2 miles. In fact my exact words were...well.. Hell NO! It was truly how I felt!(Its just like asking a woman who just gave birth if she wants to have more children. I think a similar response would follow!)
So the race started with Brian and Justin WAY ahead. The four of us stayed together through the first 4-5 miles. But by mile 8-9, Becky and I were the only ones together. Everyone else was running solo. Anyways, at about mile 1o I was hitting a REALLY hard brick wall- like the hardest I've ever hit before as a runner. Becky had said she was hitting a wall, and I commented that I was hitting it hard. Two ladies next to us tried to cheer us on, which was very thoughtful. But, it wasn't that we were going to give up. It was just SO HARD at this point, we had to mentally "breakthrough" the wall. Physically, I was well past done. This is when I mentally have to power up. Well, my theory was, as long as I was breathing normally, I was going to keep moving as fast as I could. It worked. I kept moving.
Here we are getting ready to cross the finish line. Our game plan is, when you get to about the last 1/4-1/2 mile of the race, you make a break for it. When you can see the finish line, it becomes an all out sprint. Becky was about 2 strides ahead of me. She looked back and grabbed my hand, so we could cross the finish line together. It means something to us- with all of our training together- to cross the finish line together.
Crossing the finish line was quite a euphoric feeling, a powerful feeling, even. I can't quite describe it. It might be one of the reasons why I love to run. All I can say is, it felt good accomplishing something that was really physically and mentally hard for me. It was so hard, but so worth it!! Running that distance for me is so much more mental than it is physical. Anyway, mine and Becky's time on the picture says 2 hours 22min- that's the gun time. But our actual time, when we crossed the starting line (the time our micro-chips recorded) was 2 hours 19 min- which shaved about 14 minutes off of our first Half Marathon time- YES!!! I was hoping just for a minute or two improvement, but 14 minutes was beyond what I'd even thought of!!
Brian did so great! He ran it in 1 hour 57 minutes!! He shaved a minute off of his time from the last one-dang he's fast! But Justin beat us all, coming in at 1 hour 53 minutes! Yaw-ser!! Maybe its all that soccer playing...
Dena came in at 2 hours and 33 minutes- which is outstanding, especially for her first time, AND she was sick the week before! Terry came in at 2 hours 25 minutes. He continues to amaze me. I think pretty soon, he's going to outrun us all-distance and speed!
Brian is the best husband ever! He finished up when we were at mile 11. He ran back to the car to get the camera and move the car closer cause he knew we were going to barely be able to walk afterwards, and we parked pretty far away. So, he was back in time to take these pictures of us coming in! I wish I could have caught some pictures of him coming in! It was great to cheer on the rest of the group as they crossed the finish line. T. Weav, J. Webb and D. Webb rocked the house for their first Half Marathon!
Brian and I feel so blessed to have family and friends who love and support us. It was an amazing experience- something we will definitely do again. As far as a Marathon goes, I'm sticking with the Half for now. I'll keep the Marathon in my mind....just WAY in the back!
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