The day before, I felt horrible! I had a migraine and a whole host of other girl problems that left me feeling cranky and oh not so ready to be running a race the next day. Seem familiar? I ran the March Madness half on day 3 of a migraine as well...hmm...weird... Two nights before I got a ton of sleep, so when I was up from 2-3:45 the night before, I wasn't too worried that I'd be rested enough. When the alarm went off at 4:45am, I bolted up and got right down to business getting dressed, getting contacts in, stretching and making coffee.
During the car ride to Schaumburg, Mike and I were downright giddy with excitement! You know that I'm excited or nervous when I start talking non-stop and the volume at which I'm speaking raises to 11 and that's how it was. We pulled into the parking garage around 6:20. When we got to walking to the start, we found Melissa right away and we didn't have to wait long before we were getting into line.
So remember when I dropped my glove at the last race and almost caused a 100 man pile up at the March Madness? My DAMOTR (dumb-a** moment of the race) for yesterday was proudly exclaiming at mile 16, "Ok, we got this! Only 10K to go!" Melissa just smiled and nodded and then I realized what I had said! Doh! Not 10K, 10 miles. That's what happens when you start running long distances! You get insane in the membrane.
This phenomenon was especially apparent miles 18-22. But let me explain what happened first. Just before mile 17, Melissa and I tearfully hugged and decided to see each other at the finish line. It was a hard decision, but one that I am definitely confident that we are both glad that we made. Thank you, Melissa for being such a great friend and running buddy! I am so thankful and glad that we were able to run the first 17 together. You talked me into this race and I am so thankful that I listened to you! Look at you! You've been running less than a year and you've already run your first half and full marathon and totally rocked both of them! You're oh so inspiring and I'm so grateful to call you a friend!
Ok, sorry for the digression, but it had to be said...Miles 18-22. So you know in the movies when someone is totally high, or crazy and they show the whole world whizzing past them and they are just like in a haze? That is how miles 18-22 were for me. I had to close my eyes briefly while running along because I felt a little dizzy and just generally discombobulated. I'm sure much of it was just mental because I no longer had a partner, so I wasn't talking. I didn't have music, so I had nothing to distract me. I was drinking at every water stop because I didn't have a ton of water left in my bottles. (BTW, I am SOO glad I brought water! Definitely a must for such a long distance. I will never run more than a half without water!)
I was expecting to see a friend of mine at mile 22. My friend Mike was going to run the race and then come back to run the last 4.2 with me. I made these plans a week ago when I wasn't sure if Melissa's knee was going to be an issue for her or not. I called him a week before the race and asked if he'd just run the last few miles with me and he was like, "ya know, I need to run 26.2 sometime soon, I'll just run the race and then come back for you." What? Yeah, he's pretty amazing. He's an ultra-runner. He runs like 50 or more miles at a time. So I had no doubt that he could do it. But at 22, he wasn't there. I was a little concerned, but I kept going, figuring, that I'd hopefully see him soon. About a quarter mile before 23, I saw him. He was walking. Apparently, he went out too fast and around mile 17, the wheels came off and he had to walk. It was a bummer to know that I asked him to run this and he got hurt and also that I'd be running the rest by myself, but after I left him, I totally got a second wind!
Miles 23-26.2 were way stronger than 18-22! I powered up the last huge hill to the highway overpass and during those last 3.2 miles, I passed a lot of people, but no one passed me. I still had to walk every so often, but even though my legs felt like cement beams, I felt powerful!
My time was 5:07, not too shabby! It was all about finishing, but I'm very pleased with the time. I looked back at my results and my first half and second half were nearly identical.
I signed up for this race before I became an ambassador for The Running Depot. I can't wait to see what they have in store for me next! I'm sure training for the next race will begin soon! Stay tuned!