There are a lot of words that very appropriately describe my first 1/2 marathon experience.
COLD
WET
Emotional
Exciting
Cold
Wet
Fun
Addicting
The list could go on...and on...and on....
My weekend was crazy busy to start with. We moved into our new house last Monday...so I spent the whole week moving and unpacking...and not running. I told myself I was letting my legs rest before my 1/2 so they would carry me the entire 13.1 miles...in all reality I just didn't have time to run.
I honestly have no clue what I did Friday night....But bright and early on Saturday O-No met me at our house and we loaded the car and headed to OKC. We got into town around 1-ish. Checked into the hotel (after driving around for 30 minutes trying to find it!) Then headed to the Expo to pick up our packets and do a little shopping. I got a spi belt, a 13.1 sticker, and a sticker that says "Will Run for Wine!!" And restocked on some Gu Chomps.
Next we drove to Tulsa, another 1.5 hours in the car. My best friend and my cousin are getting married in June and their "couples shower" happened to be the day before my first Half....and it was a fiesta....and the margaritas were calling my name. I was a good girl and only had half of one....along with the 1.5L of water I drank (That's just at the party...I drank 3.5L of water total this day!) We stayed until around 8ish, way later than I planned....then made a 10 minute stop by my parent's house. I felt bad that I didn't get to stay, but we HAD to get back to OKC to get some sleep. We stopped by Zios on the way out of town....I carb loaded while driving. That takes SERIOUS talent!
We FINALLY made it back to OKC around 10:30, said goodnight to our loves, and attempted to get some sleep. Lets just say 4:15am came WAY to soon....this girl works night shift, 4:15am means I get to go to bed in a few hours...not that I have to get up now!
We got up, got our gear together...and headed to the lobby for breakfast. Half of a plain bagel, some water and half an orange later....we were on our way to the start line.
We got there SUPER early because we planned on taking shuttles, but the hotel General Manager was nice enough to drive runners back and forth in one of the hotel vans. We decided to walk around the bombing memorial some, figure out where our corrals were, and try to meet up with friends. IT.WAS.COLD...but not that cold. Not that cold - that I decided to wear tempo shorts and the ONLY long sleeve running top/pull over thing I have. BAD IDEA.... O-No was complaining of the cold but I was actually ok.
Then the lightning started....then came the down pour....and the 30 minute start delay. Great...we've been here for an hour and a half already and now they're pushing the start back. I texted all the people I knew were running....Amanda @ 5MilesPastEmpty and I were supposed to meet (My blogger idle!!) but thanks to the weather that didn't happen. O-No and I hid in a parking garage attempting to stay as dry as possible until the race started.
At 6:30 ish we decided to head to the start line. I was already soaking wet....and freezing cold.
It took us almost 10 minutes to get across the start line from the time we "started." And again...it was COLD. and WET.
We started off running just outside of the memorial. There were people already stopping to pee because we never found the porta-potties at the start line. There was a decent sized hill within the first mile or 2. I told O-NO I was going to dominate the hill....and we did just that. I had to keep myself at a pretty slow pace or I never would have made it to the finish. Honestly I waited to long after my run to finish my recap so there's a lot of details I don't remember specifically! I remember being numb from head to toe the ENTIRE time. I remember people dressed in banana suits just before we ran up "gorilla hill." I remember running the first 6 miles STRAIGHT without stopping....until I just couldn't hold my bladder any more and we stopped to pee, then I ran another 2.5 miles before I stopped to walk, and being INCREDIBLY impressed with myself. I remember trying to stretch in the porta-potty line but getting no relief from my frozen muscles. I remember all the AMAZING people standing on the side of the course cheering us on, despite the cold and rain! The frequent water stops, the stop with GUs and the lady that let me switch my chocolate mint for a vanilla one! Haha I hate chocolate, so what was the point in wasting a GU? I also remember how awesome O-No was in the end....cheering me on and encouraging me even though I wanted to walk!
Looking back at the pictures online is funny...I'm smiling in EVERY one of them!! I definitely didn't feel like smiling but some how I was!
When we were about half a mile from the finish line, I realized I had a blister on the back of my right heel that was bleeding all over my shoe, and wondered how I JUST NOW realized this. Then this super sweet lady told me that it can't hurt any more than it does right now! That was an excellent point...and it definitely helped me make it to the finish!
I finished in 2:53. My goal time was under 3 hours, so I beat my goal with a few minutes to spare!
I crossed the finish line and my legs just went completely retarded. I couldn't walk straight, my back and my legs hurt, I was cold, and I was wet. I took a water and a cheeseburger but couldn't even hold them I was so cold. I took maybe 2 bites from the burger and gave the water to O-No. Then we made the LONG truck back to the van....I shivered the ENTIRE way back to the hotel, took a hot shower, put on every dry piece of clothing I could find....and took a 30 minute nap in the bed. Ugh the ride home was miserable! I had to have O-No drive because my back hurt so bad, the only position I got any relief in was on my side laying flat. Once we made it back to Texas I took a hot bath, some ibuprofen, and laid around with the Hubs.
As miserable as the weather was I am totally addicted to Half Marathons and can't wait to run another one!
I will update with more details as I remember them!
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