The Half Marathon

I've debated whether or not I should give the long version or the short version of this story. There are very few firsts that occur later in life, so I figured I might as well give the long version while the memory is still fresh.

We drove up to Sacramento after Aaron got off work on Friday night. We left around Grace's bedtime and hoped that she would sleep in the car. She felt like a 30 minute power nap was all she needed on the two hour drive. We checked into the hotel around 10:45pm and immediately got ready for bed, set up the pack and play, and said our goodnights. My stomach was a big basket of butterflies. I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the fact that the thought of running the next morning was making my stomach tie into knots because Grace was screaming. For the next hour we tried every method to get Grace to sleep: crying, singing, rocking, cuddling. She wanted nothing to do with any of it. I got to the point where I was begging her, "Not tonight, baby, please not tonight." Finally at 11:45pm, she fell asleep, and so did we.

My wake up call came at 6:00am. I ate a banana, chugged some water and laid back down. I didn't sleep, but I figured relaxing wouldn't hurt. At 7:00am, Aaron got up and started packing while I got dressed and ready. We headed over to the start line. There was no where to park so Aaron dropped me off. I ventured into the start area, got my number, went to the bathroom, and munched on some sport jelly beans (thanks Alie!).

As I moseyed around I felt like I was the only person there who wasn't with a group. I made my way to the crowded starting line, and as we waited for the last shuttle of people to arrive I chatted with a woman who was doing her first half marathon too. People were decked out in all sorts of running gear: belts, water bottles, braces, tape, hats. Things that I had never seen before. I felt like I was entering some sort of club for runners only. Suddenly the starting lights lit up and we were off.

For the first mile we all ran in a clump, slow and steady. I couldn't find my pace, was I going too slow or too fast? I weaved in and out of people. After the third mile things started to clear up. I found my pace and let my mind wander.

Mile 6 I started to lose energy. I grabbed a gu pack and slowly ate it. I hoped it would kick in instantly, but it didn't. I kept running, but people behind me kept passing me. Around mile 8, a good song came on my iPod and I had the sudden urge to sprint, my legs felt twitchy and the only cure was to run full speed. The gu pack had kicked in. I took off. It was the weirdest feeling. I kept thinking "Why are you running so fast? This will make you so tired." but at the same time i thought "This feels so good." After a while I slowed down and eased back into my normal pace.

Mile 9.... 4 miles to go..

Miles 10... 3 miles to go..

Mile 11.... Is that a cramp? No no no no no, I cannot be having a cramp right now. It slowly got worse. I didn't want to stop, my whole goal was to run the whole thing. Breathe in, breathe out, you can make it. As the pain got worse I started praying "Please help me so I can keep running, even if its painful please ease the pain enough so I can just keep running." My pace slowed but I still ran. I rubbed my side. It never got to the point where I needed to walk. I love the power of prayer.

Mile 12... I started seeing people with their finishers medals around their necks.... I was close to the end. The more people with medals that I saw, the more I thought, "Well rub it in why don't you!" I wanted to ask someone.. how close is the finish line from here? How much further? My side was killing me and I wanted to be done.

Then I saw the balloons. I was there. I broke out into a sprint. I think my whole body went numb as I was sprinting because I didn't feel a thing. I crossed the finish line, I had done it, I ran the whole thing even when the cramp at mile 11 tried to stop me. 2 hours, 28 minutes.

As soon as I stopped running my legs hurt. Everything from my hips down was in pain. I just kept walking. I grabbed my medal and a water bottle and went to the spot where Aaron and I were supposed to meet if we couldn't find each other. I needed to sit down and knew that if I stopped, I would be down for good.
I didn't feel an immediate sense of accomplishment. I was too tired, and too sore to really think about anything else. But now I can say that I'm so glad that I did it. I did it on my own and I did it for myself. I trained for 4 months and all my hard work paid off.
I'd like to run another one in the future and next time I'd like to go with a group of people to see how its different. If you're in the mood to run one and want a running buddy, let me know.