the great race

how do i sum up this experience?

let me start by saying that i never played sports as a kid.
i never took ballet or dance. (ok, i took jazz one summer at the local park as a kid.  i was so excited about my turquoise leotard and matching wrap around skirt.  not so much about the actual jazz.)
i was never on a team.
i don't have trophies. (i do have a first place ribbon but that was for a bake off at the kids' school.)
i was never good at sports. (i did receive the presidential award for the fitness test in high school but to this day i am sure that it was a mistake.  i can't do a pull up to save my life.)

i think you get the picture, right?  i am no athlete.
and now you know why doing this race meant so much.

the other part of it is that it's been a while since i've done something like this for me.
i am lucky that i do get time for me but it's spent reading, scrapbooking or watching tv.  i haven't challenged myself like this in a long time.  running required discipline and focus that i wasn't sure i had in me.  i mentioned in a prior post that i thought i knew what my limits were.  but the biggest thing that this race taught me was that i am capable of so much more.

saturday morning i woke up around 5 and drifted in and out.  i finally got out of bed at 6.  i felt calm and ready.  but i also felt guilty that we were getting the kids out of bed so early on a weekend.  we had a long drive and it looked cold outside.  i was really hoping it wouldn't rain.  but i loved that the weather would keep us cool during the run.  bobby brought us bagels for breakfast.  it was just enough fuel to get me to the race feeling good.

when we finally made it to agoura it was crazy.  the 1/2 marathon was in progress and there were people everywhere. the sight of all those people running made the butterfly flutters a little more intense.  the parking was very limited so bobby dropped me off so i could meet my group.  on the way up i found my friend amy and we were set to go.

we met up with our training group.

no, we did not coordinate our outfits.  but it will make it easier to scrapbook these pictures.  after pictures the announcer said "all athletes please move to the starting line."  athletes?  that meant me.  

we headed to the starting line.  that's when it hit me.  the nerves and excitement took over as i saw all of the people gathered together to run the race.  i could see the starting line but could not hear the announcer.  i put my earphones on as they announced the start of the race.  with firework by katy perry blaring in my ear, we were on our way.  i kept saying, "i can't believe this." i wanted to raise my arms in the air and really take in that moment. it was an intense moment for me.  amy and i just smiled at each other.  the pack of people disbursed and we had a little more room to move our legs.

it was so cool running in this neighborhood but a little disorienting because i wasn't familiar with what was coming next, or how far i was from the mile marker.  we slowly lost the rest of the group.  actually, we quickly lost our trainer and a few of the other faster runners. but amy and i maintained a good pace. 

mile 1 seemed to come so slowly.  then mile 2 was a relief.  and then the pain started kicking in.  my ankle was feeling sore and my right leg was starting to hurt. and to top it all off i could feel a side stitch coming on.  i quickly lifted my arms to my head to relieve that discomfort.  i watched little kids pass me by.  i mean kids that must have been 8 or 9 pass me by.  we saw one guy who was carrying his son on his back and running.  and then we started catching up to some of the runners that were way ahead.  i never walked, although i could have.  i never let up on my pace, although i wanted to.  we maintained a pace just under 12 minutes.  faster than i had done all training.  i just kept going.  

and then we turned the corner to go up that last hill.  i was running out of fuel.  so i remembered something i had read in runners magazine. (the orthodontist has a subscription and surprisingly i picked it up before reading people.)  it asked what you do to finish a race when you are running out of energy.  the response was to pretend like you have a scooper that digs deep inside of you to pull out that last bit.  i imagined that and it worked.  we made it up the last hill and turned the corner to see all the people lining the track and yelling.  

i started smiling at that point.  i tried to look at people's faces.  i tried to take it all in.  i think i wanted to cry,  but i didn't.  i was looking for bobby and the kids.  but i was also feeding off the energy and trying to record that moment in my mind.  and then i saw the finish line.  more people yelling.  the announcer and the clock.  i found that last bit of energy and turned it on full speed to cross the finish line.  amy and i hugged each other and laughed.  we did it!!

my parents were there to give me a hug.  bobby and the kids, who at that point had been standing for 2 hours and just wanted to go home, greeted me with hugs.  

and i felt a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!!

i collected my medal and took more pictures.

thanks to my sister and bobby for the photos.  and then it was all over.  we had a long walk back to the car.

this week i am taking it easy.  just as everyone predicted amy and i started planning for the next race.  another 5k so we can improve our time.  maybe then we could do a 10k.  why not, right?

thanks for reading along and following me on this journey.  i felt the support throughout the run.