I So Rock!
Over the weekend, I ran my first half marathon. I knew I was going to be slow, but my goal was to run the whole thing and I did it and it was very cool and fulfilling to make a big goal like that and then accomplish it. Here is a breakdown of the race including some highlights and some lowlights.
9:30 pm Saturday I went to bed, but was unfortunately kept up for half the night dealing with little people issues, courtesy of Joslyn and Caleb. Not necessarily the auspicious beginning for which I had hoped.
4:30 am Sunday I woke up to my alarm and stumbled out of bed. I have never claimed to be a morning person, but thought I was pretty lucid considering. I had a bowl of frosted mini wheats, got dressed and most importantly fed Chase! Phil got me out the door at about 10 minutes past five and I took off.
5:10-5:55 am was spent driving. I knew the way, I had been sure to drive there on Friday. I didn't have any trouble until I got close and they started closing roads due to the race. Time was ticking. I needed to be there at 6:00, and I was lost. I finally ended up on one of said closed roads and I drove along until I got flagged down by a woman who said "What are you doing? This road is closed. Don't you know there is a race that is starting in five minutes?" to which I replied, "YES! That is where I'm trying to go!" So she said to park on the side of the road and walk up to the starting line, which was, mercifully close. I had just enough time to find a spot, do some quick stretches and ask a nice lady for help affixing my timing chip to my shoe lace and then we were off.
6:00 am the race began. It was still dark when we started running and along the road they had tiki torches and men dressed in traditional Hawaiian garb blowing on conch shells. Very cool. I won't bore you with all the hairy details, but I will touch on some interesting points of the race.
At about mile 3 it started to rain. At first it was just a light drizzle and was no big deal. Then the rain began in earnest. I seriously felt like I was running in the shower. The down side was that it was hard to see with all the water in my eyes, the up side was that we were in Hawaii, so the rain was warm. I was completely soaked within minutes and my shoes were squishing. Some people pulled over to hide beneath trees, but most of us kept on going. After a couple of miles the rain stopped and it was really beautiful with the moon still out and all the lush greenery all around.
At about mile 6 we ran through the famous tree tunnel. I didn't have my camera on me, but I found this picture on the internet.
At about mile eight I got my biggest laugh of the marathon when I saw a sign posted on one of the cones that separated the race route from the one way traffic. It said CAUTION Chickens Ahead.
On one of the few downhill slopes, I was passed by a guy with shorts that said "I So Rock". At each of the water stations along the route, they had hula dancers and at one point on the road there was a group of drummers beating out a great running cadence.
At about mile 10 I got my legs sprayed with some stuff that cooled my skin and invigorated my muscles. It was very helpful. At mile 11 they were handing out sponges soaked in freezing cold water. By this time, the sun had come out and I was feeling rather warm, so I took a sponge, squeezed it on the back of my neck, yelped loudly, and kept going.
This is what I saw as I approached the end of the race:
At about mile 12 I started to speed up because I could see the finish line. The closer I got, the faster I went. Then I saw Phil run out with the camera and start taking pictures. He was yelling and urging me forward. I felt so overwhelmed at having met my goal. I couldn't believe that I had made it. That coupled with the fact that Phil was there with me almost brought me to tears. It was so wonderful to have him there and then I passed my kids cheering from the sidelines and I felt like I was flying! I was running all alone at the time and the announcer blared out my name and everybody was cheering. It was very cool and I couldn't stop grinning. I got a metal, which impressed my children to no end, and then got to go and eat some of the yummy fruit and things they had for us. I finished 748th out of 994, and did it in 2 hours and 50 minutes. I feel happy that I was able to actually run the whole way. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time. I am glad that I did it and am now ready to take on the Honolulu Marathon in December. Want to come watch?
9:30 pm Saturday I went to bed, but was unfortunately kept up for half the night dealing with little people issues, courtesy of Joslyn and Caleb. Not necessarily the auspicious beginning for which I had hoped.
4:30 am Sunday I woke up to my alarm and stumbled out of bed. I have never claimed to be a morning person, but thought I was pretty lucid considering. I had a bowl of frosted mini wheats, got dressed and most importantly fed Chase! Phil got me out the door at about 10 minutes past five and I took off.
5:10-5:55 am was spent driving. I knew the way, I had been sure to drive there on Friday. I didn't have any trouble until I got close and they started closing roads due to the race. Time was ticking. I needed to be there at 6:00, and I was lost. I finally ended up on one of said closed roads and I drove along until I got flagged down by a woman who said "What are you doing? This road is closed. Don't you know there is a race that is starting in five minutes?" to which I replied, "YES! That is where I'm trying to go!" So she said to park on the side of the road and walk up to the starting line, which was, mercifully close. I had just enough time to find a spot, do some quick stretches and ask a nice lady for help affixing my timing chip to my shoe lace and then we were off.
6:00 am the race began. It was still dark when we started running and along the road they had tiki torches and men dressed in traditional Hawaiian garb blowing on conch shells. Very cool. I won't bore you with all the hairy details, but I will touch on some interesting points of the race.
At about mile 3 it started to rain. At first it was just a light drizzle and was no big deal. Then the rain began in earnest. I seriously felt like I was running in the shower. The down side was that it was hard to see with all the water in my eyes, the up side was that we were in Hawaii, so the rain was warm. I was completely soaked within minutes and my shoes were squishing. Some people pulled over to hide beneath trees, but most of us kept on going. After a couple of miles the rain stopped and it was really beautiful with the moon still out and all the lush greenery all around.
At about mile 6 we ran through the famous tree tunnel. I didn't have my camera on me, but I found this picture on the internet.
At about mile eight I got my biggest laugh of the marathon when I saw a sign posted on one of the cones that separated the race route from the one way traffic. It said CAUTION Chickens Ahead.
On one of the few downhill slopes, I was passed by a guy with shorts that said "I So Rock". At each of the water stations along the route, they had hula dancers and at one point on the road there was a group of drummers beating out a great running cadence.
At about mile 10 I got my legs sprayed with some stuff that cooled my skin and invigorated my muscles. It was very helpful. At mile 11 they were handing out sponges soaked in freezing cold water. By this time, the sun had come out and I was feeling rather warm, so I took a sponge, squeezed it on the back of my neck, yelped loudly, and kept going.
This is what I saw as I approached the end of the race:
At about mile 12 I started to speed up because I could see the finish line. The closer I got, the faster I went. Then I saw Phil run out with the camera and start taking pictures. He was yelling and urging me forward. I felt so overwhelmed at having met my goal. I couldn't believe that I had made it. That coupled with the fact that Phil was there with me almost brought me to tears. It was so wonderful to have him there and then I passed my kids cheering from the sidelines and I felt like I was flying! I was running all alone at the time and the announcer blared out my name and everybody was cheering. It was very cool and I couldn't stop grinning. I got a metal, which impressed my children to no end, and then got to go and eat some of the yummy fruit and things they had for us. I finished 748th out of 994, and did it in 2 hours and 50 minutes. I feel happy that I was able to actually run the whole way. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time. I am glad that I did it and am now ready to take on the Honolulu Marathon in December. Want to come watch?
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