Did I really just do that?

I did it. I completed the Route 66 Half Marathon on Sunday!!!

It was absolutely freezing outside at the start line. Check that, it was below freezing; 26 degrees with a wind chill of 13 degrees. Thankfully the hubby drove me as close to the start line as he could and dropped me off so I wouldn't have to walk far or stand around forever in the cold.

It was so cold that I didn't really get nervous because I was too busy focusing on the fact that I couldn't feel ANYTHING!!! I was in the last corral at the start (13+ min/mile) so it took my group awhile to get to the start line after the gun went off. As a matter of fact, I didn't even hear a gun. We inched forward and bounced around to stay warm. When I finally reached the start line I took off through all the confetti and that excitement/adrenaline lasted about 10 seconds. It hit me really hard what I was about to undertake; 13.1 miles is no joke.

My shins were feeling amazing and nothing hurt, so I thought that was a pretty good sign, but I was less than a mile into the race. I was expecting to see my Dad and hubby at mile 2, but they surprised me before mile 1, and it was awesome. Seeing them unexpectedly really gave me a boost. They rode their bikes in that freezing weather to see me several times on the route and I am so thankful. It made a huge difference for me mentally and I didn't feel so alone out there.

I saw Dad and hubby again just after mile 2 and then we started into a pretty hilly neighborhood. This was the first time I had to walk for any extended period of time and I wasn't pleased. What goes up must come down though; so there were plenty of opportunities for me to "sprint" downhill and make-up for walking. Just outside of the neighborhoods near Woodward Park between miles 4 and 5 I saw actual bathrooms. Not porta potties, BATHROOMS people! Obviously I stopped and stood in line. I waited a good 10 minutes but it was worth it. I remembered to turn off my Nike app while waiting but I knew there was nothing I could do about my chip time. It is what it is and I had to pee!

I saw the hubby again right before Brookside around mile 6. I gave him a pair of my gloves because my hands were getting warm, but that's the only layer I shed the entire race. It never really got any warmer no matter how much I ran. My face was frozen and I couldn't feel my ass at all. Very weird sensation while running by the way. I'm used to that thing bouncing all over the place back there. I suppose it still was, I just couldn't feel it.

Mile 6 was a tough one. I knew the last part of the race was northbound along Riverside into downtown. When the route took us west and I could see people running on Riverside I was super pumped. My enthusiasm waned when I saw that we were headed southbound for what I assumed to be a turnaround (I didn't exactly memorize the route, just bits and pieces of it). But we ran south on Riverside for awhile and then turned back east (AGGGHHHHH why are we backtracking) towards Peoria. Then we ran south down Peoria (Brookside) all the way to 33rd (I think). During this little stretch of pavement, I had quite an emotional moment. 'Hold On For One More Day' by Wilson Phillips came on my phone and I literally started bawling. My sister and Mom and I used to listen to Wilson Phillips while cleaning house all the time and this song just tore me up! Do you have any idea how hard it is to run with a lump in your throat? No? Well it's stupid hard!

By the time the route turned us onto 33rd through a neighborhood towards Riverside I had lost track of what mile I was at. My hands were too frozen to pull my phone out of my belt and check, so I just kept going. There was a group of people sitting in their front yard by a fire handing out beer! I told them that it was tempting, but that I wanted to finish (crazy folks). They had a sign in the yard that said 'Don't blow the last 4-3/4 miles', so I suppose I was between mile 8 and 9 at this point.

As I turned onto Riverside and headed north I began to wonder when I was going to see my Dad and hubby again. I also began to realize that the minute I crossed the 9 mile mark I would be running further than I ever had before. This was a bit scary, but I was still feeling strong. At this point I had stopped to choke down a Gu at every water stop, plus they had Gatorade, so I was feeling okay.

Just before mile 10 I saw my Dad and hubby. I begged for water and they walked beside me while I drank. It was then that I realized how truly tired I was and how much distance I still had left to cover. I never felt like I wasn't going to finish, but I was seriously kicking myself for letting things get in the way of my training plan. My Dad told me to keep on moving and hubby gave me a kiss and said he would see me at the finish line. That felt like so far away at that point, but I kept trudginng along.

Miles 11-13 are a blur. I remember passing the 11 mile marker, but after that I kept asking every volunteer along the road where the finish line was. I'm sure I sounded ridiculous to them but I just needed to know where I was. I should've known I had a long way to go judging the distance I was from downtown, but I wasn't thinking very logically at this point. There was a lot of walking in the last 2-3 miles.....A LOT!!! I was really mad at myself for walking so much when I was so close, but honestly I hadn't trained my body for these later miles, so I wasn't that surprised. Plus there is a giant effing hill (okay maybe it's not that bad) coming into downtown off of Southwest Blvd. I was less than thrilled to see this monster in the last mile of the race, but what are you gonna do! This fat girl just walked up the damn hill and then ran down the other side (problem solved).

I honestly do not know what carried me through the last mile of this race. I was extremely fatigued. My legs didn't hurt, they were just very tired and heavy. My back was sore, my face was cold, and my uterus hurt (yes, really). But I did it. I crossed that finish line at 3 hours 29 minutes 49 seconds. That's right......a whopping 11 seconds before the 3-1/2 hour mark (Nike app says 13.1 miles in 3 hours 20 minutes 24 seconds). Not my original goal time of 3:10, but I beat my "adjusted" goal time by 11 seconds. Hey, I figured I couldn't go out there and totally dominate this thing or I wouldn't leave myself any room to PR the next race! It was so awesome to see my hubby and kids screaming for me at the finish line. My in-laws were there too, cheering me on as if I were their own! And my sister and her wife were there supporting me as well (click on video link below to hear sister screaming her head off)!

VIDEO LINK OF MY FINISH

One good thing about being fat and slow is that you're usually at the back of the pack (although I did NOT finish last) and there are a ton of pics of me all by my lonesome (link below):

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY FABULOUS RACE PHOTOS

Some pics are good, some are not so good. But I did it!!!

This experience has been amazing and I can't wait for the next race. I plan to be able to run the entire 13.1 miles. And someday I will complete a full marathon. Right now I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I have the first race under my belt.

MIND OVER MATTER