Saturday it was really cold here...like 41 degrees and rainy...Just yucky weather....My mom came and picked me up and we headed down to Dallas at 12:30....We arrived and it was in the 60's there and just gorgeous...But we knew what was coming...The yucky weather just hadn't made it to the Dallas area yet....We checked into the hotel and then drove down to Fair Park so that we would know exactly where we were going the next morning since 25,000 runners would be doing the same thing....We came back to the hotel and met up with Mike....We were starving and drove right down the street to some hole-in-the-wall Italian place....But it was super yummy...I could have just eaten bread for dinner and been totally happy...By the time dinner was over, it was rainy and windy and cold in Dallas:(.....
We went back to the hotel to watch OU get spanked by OSU....I actually tuned out during the 3rd quarter and was going to bed at 9:30 knowing the 5:00 am alarm would be early!!
We got up at 5 on Sunday morning...I looked outside immediately and saw the rain just coming down....Not good and not very motivating....And it was in the low 40's as expected....I put on my long-sleeve shirt with a short sleeve on top...My capri tights...My ear warmers and nike hat...And my gloves that I could throw away if I needed to....I ate a mini bagel with some dark chocolate peanut butter and we left the hotel right after 6:00....
I honestly wasn't that nervous which was weird...I get crazy nervous for just stupid 5Ks here in town...I think the cold, rainy weather was my main worry....And not the whole running 13.1 miles!
We arrived and walked and walked...Found a restroom a mile long...Waited inside a building for a bit....The race was to start at 8:00...About 7:55, knowing we were in Corral C and not at the front, we headed out to the starting line....We got to see the fireworks and hear the National Anthem...And it wasn't raining....Just a very light drizzle.....We got to see the elite runners take off and we just walked until we could get into the corrals....
But the rain started not 30 seconds into the race and it never really stopped.....The first 2 miles Mike and I ran side by side....Then I could tell he was probably going to keep a faster pace than me, so I gave him the go ahead....And he took off ahead of me....I'm really glad I wore my hat b/c it really helped when the rain started really pouring around mile 2.5.....But it wasn't bad...I never thought it was too much and I honestly never got cold...The first 3-4 miles really flew by....I was keeping a good pace (for me) right at or under 10:00 min/mile...The rain let up some too....
My times are a little off b/c I had to start my runkeeper a little before I officially ran across the starting line...It was hard to mess with b/c I had my phone seran-wrapped and in a ziploc bag and then in a little pouch that fit around my waist...that phone was NOT going to get wet (Kerry warned me that I would be in big trouble if it did)!!!
Mile 1--9:57
Mile 2--10:03 (grabbed some water at a station)
Mile 3--9:52
Mile 4--9:57
The rain started coming down again and I thought I might be going to fast but it felt good and comfortable...I knew coming though at mile 6 were some hills...But they really started at mile 5.5 and the never ending hill lasted until mile 9....I was familiar with it since we ran a lot of the same streets as the Rock N Roll in March and these hills I had run on before.....I felt way more prepared and in shape this time around....My goal was to attempt to keep around the same pace or just a tad slower, but not kill myself so that I still had energy from mile 9 on...I only trained up to 10 miles and only did it once....
Mile 5--9:53
Mile 6--10:10
Mile 7--10:09
Mile 8--10:06
Mile 9--10:12
But man when those hills leveled out, I could tell my legs were tired from all that...I was happy that my splits were still OK b/c I grabbed water twice at 2 stations during those miles....Then I was really ready to see if I could speed up and finish it...I knew I was doing well and I was feeling good...Again, I couldn't believe my feet were not frozen since you stepped in a million puddles...I was soaked and I had on 2 pair of gloves that I never took off....I was actually just fine temperature wise....
Mile 9 was where we split from the marathoners...We went right and they went left...I honestly still can't imagine doing a marathon and I was glad to be turning right:)
Mile 10--10:01
Mile 11--9:34
Mile 12--9:56 (stopped for water)
A little before 12.5 miles, the cops started buzzing and moving us all over to the right b/c the 1st place marathoner was approaching!!!...I just yelled for him...It was amazing knowing he was passing me!!!...He finished 26.2 in 2 hrs 17 mins!!!!...Crazy:)...Sure was inspirational though:)
Mile 13--9:33 (I love that this last mile was the fastest of all of them!!)
And then I couldn't get my stinking phone out the of pouch to push the stop button for a good 30 seconds after I finished which was super annoying, so it's a little off...Of course, it's even more off since I ran techinally 13.31 instead of 13.1...I wasn't the only only who had that mileage either...That's OK...I like these numbers better:)
My official 13.1 race time was 2:11:38 for 10:02min/mile pace....I guess I was disappointed for a second b/c all I knew was my time on my phone and I saw my average pace of 9:58, but again my distance was longer...But I got over it quickly knowing my last 1/2 was a 2:20 something finish at a 10:36min/mile pace...That's awesome beating that time for a new PR!!!!As soon as you finished, you were shuffled into a building which was nice...B/C it was fah-reeezing the minute you stopped running!!...They gave you your medal and you got your picture made...Mike found me right away....We walked over and got our finisher shirt, a banana and a water....Then we walked outside and froze again to another building to meet mom so she could take our pictures:)
Mike did awesome...His time was 2:10:19 so a little over a minute ahead of me....Super proud and amazed by him!!...Think about where he was this time last year...Right in the middle of his battle with cancer...He was on a feeding tube, receiving chemo and radiation, etc....And now look at him...Seriously, he is amazing!
I could not get those clothes off FAST enough...I was just soaking wet...And it probably took me a good 15 minutes to change in the bathroom stall...You know how hard it is to get wet clothes off and then put dry clothes on your sticky, wet body....I'm glad I signed up for White Rock...I'm proud of myself for completing 2 half-marathons in 2011....I'm glad I beat my previous time....And I can't wait to sign up for my 3rd one...Contemplating one in January in town...If not maybe Cowtown in February??...Not sure yet:)
1 comment:
great job, Kendra and GO MIKE! Amazing! He's an inspiration for all!
(btw - I've heard cowtown is hilly! but nothing seems to slow you down, so DO it!)
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