September 9th, 2017Oh man...I was on point for training for my half marathon until we moved at the beginning of August, I was overcome with unpacking, lack of sleep, not being as close to the gym and not having a very good route around my house to run, so I suffered a lot. It was rare that I would be able to get at least 6 miles in on a treadmill at least once a week. Not only that, but running around my new place was all hills, so just the 2 mile route that I have would wear me out. Additionally, I went for a 2 mile run a few days before the half and a small blister appeared on my foot, I tried to repair it the best I could. One more thing...my boyfriend was suppose to run the half with me, which would have been great support and pacing, but he messed up his knee and is only just getting back into running...so he dropped down to the 5k. I was glad he would still be there at the start and finish, but wouldn't be there throughout the race.
The night before we got everything ready, I was nervous and knew I was unprepared, but excited to see a few friends there that I haven't seen in months. I was able to get some sleep, but that alarm still came up early.
That morning I had mentioned about the blister and my boyfriend was like..we are getting moleskin now...so we stopped by walmart on the way and I put some on my foot on the way there. We managed to arrive with about 20 minutes before the start and I was only getting more and more nervous. I saw a few friends of mine and was excited. Corey was there to wish me on my way, and I was nothing but scared. There was no backing out now though, and figured, worst case I walk a lot. My goal was under 2, and off I went.
The race started on a field, and hit the road around a tenth of a mile in. I started out fine, knowing I needed to get into a pace I ran in a group of people. At mile 1 I was already not wanting to be there, I wasn't feeling in a groove, and wanted to just quit. At mile three I was thinking..if I had switched to the 5k I would be done now, but nope..you just have to keep going.
During these first 5-6 miles I was having pacing issues and running too fast, so had to stop and walk a few times. I could also feel the blisters beginning again. The sun was also starting to shine hard, and get pretty hot. I finished 6 miles in under an hour, and was still happy with my time even though I wasn't performing great. Not to mention, it was hillier than I thought it was going to be in the first half.
I was running around a guy in yellow who asked if I needed help pacing, I told him I couldn't get breathing down and was having a bad running day, but thanked him. He ran next to me (and vice versa) for a little bit, and it actually helped me calm down a bit, but I had to get some water at the next stop, so I walked as I hydrated and he ran ahead.
At mile 8 there was a huge high school band, that was awesome and a downhill which gave me a little boost, and I finally could see the lake. We ran across a bridge that crossed the lake and the view was beautiful and a small recharge that I needed. It didn't help the heat though, and my blisters were getting bad.
I did some walking/running and was keeping up a fairly good pace still, and was thinking I could still make it under 2 hours if I could get into a pace to just keep moving. At mile 10 I was getting more excited....only a 5k left, I could do this. I was in an ok pace and moving along when I caught back up to the guy in yellow who was walking ( i later found out his name was Todd), I said "come on, only 3 more miles, we got this" and he started to run with me at my slow pace. It was nice to have a buddy running, but he wanted to talk and I was, which I think messed up my running. Mile 11 had a gigantic uphill and I had to walk it. I texted Corey (knowing he would be done with his 5k, and that some of my other friends would also be done already), he sent one back saying to keep going and that I was doing great! It made me smile and gave me a little push. I grabbed a water at the next stop (it was getting hot) and Todd also grabbed a water and we walked until the next mile marker. I looked at my watch, and was over 2 hours, but knew we were still at an alright pace, and was still going to be pretty happy.
We started running again and about 3/4 way through that mile we walked again for a few minutes. At mile 12 he was like "ok, let's do this, last mile, let's go a little faster and finish this." I was like, no, I can't but let's run. We started going and I knew there would be one more water stop (we finished on part of the 5k route, so I knew it was coming). Just over a cool wooden bridge I told Todd to keep going, I needed water. I stopped and he continued. Less than a mile away, and I tried so hard to continue running, but my legs were hurting, my hips were hurting, I was hot and the blisters were getting unbearable.
I saw the final mile marker, and the turn back onto the field. I picked up running again, and ran as hard as I could to the finish and heard my name as I crossed the finish line. I started crying and gave Todd a high five as we grabbed water, and thanked him for helping me throughout the race!
I looked all around and didn't see Corey or anyone I knew, so I started limping/crying my way in the open field as I chugged that water!
I saw Corey waving and running from the deck at the winery and he ran over to me and gave me a hug and a kiss and said congratulations. I said I was hurting a lot. He said he was sitting with Brooke, Brad and had a beer waiting for me! We grabbed some of the snacks and went up to the deck.
Brooke had rocked the half with a time of 1 hr 38 minutes, getting third female! She rocks. We had a beer, some wine and a mimosa and relaxed for a few minutes. Corey told me about his race as I took my shoes off and socks off...my blisters were awful and hurt so much.
After we finished our drinks we walked over to the results tent and got our print outs. Corey placed in his age group (2nd) for the 5k and although I didn't place, I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes...not the pace I wanted, but I finished, and I finished around 2 hours.
I have another half next Saturday...so we'll see how that one goes!
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
