First of all, I should be open and honest. I haven't put in as much energy in training as I have in the past. Shame on me. I need to make more time for this, making it more of a priority. Going into this race, I had no exceptions of my own time. I wanted to do it in around four hours, but reality is, I was going to be pleased with anything that was not as slow as my first. This was going to be my new base line race that told me where I was now: better shape yet no training. I made travel arrangements with my race friend I had met in Phoenix to do this race with her; together we would make it ours. This was my third half marathon in Western Washington.
Mile one seemed to drone on and on. We know that I hate the first mile in any race as they are the longest. Mile two was pretty much a mile long incline; the first of many uphill battles. In fact, up, down, up, down, flat, down, up, up, and repeat was the name of the course. It was brutal! I never have done so many hills in a single course before. The CDA Half Marathon was also hilly, but this was even more so. Think along the lines of a roller coaster track. This kept things interesting for both my feet and my head.
I knew that I was towards the back of the pack, yet I had no qualms about this. At Mile 4, things changed a lot. My walking partner had to stop for the restroom, and if you have kept track of my own journey, you know that I will not stop for anything. My walking partner told me to keep going, and I was sure I would see her again later. At this point, I felt myself s-l-o-w d-o-w-n! The thought crossed my mind, "Who is crazy enough to do this distance, and why am I?" My walking partner still had not shown up. I was alone, and losing steam. Insert a banana and hope for the best.
I kept going, but I hit a wall. A horrible, blinding, almost caving in wall, ready to collapse on me and hold me hostage. I did not travel five hours to not finish a race. I must keep going. Miles 5 and 6 were a blur. Mile 7 came, and so did the ambulance sirens. Now I was scared. My girlfriend was doing this race as well, but had sustained a knee injury two weeks prior. She had intended to do the race in a wheelchair, but the tires were flat at race time, so she pulled out the crutches. I knew she was far behind me, but hearing those sirens terrified me! And then I heard an all familiar ding: my cell phone telling me I had a text. It was her, and the message was that she was okay. She knew I would be worried and texted me to say she was not in that ambulance. That gave me a little bit of steam, but it too began to fizzle out. Insert the frosting flavored bathroom caulk and again, hope for the best.
Mile 9 came, and I knew that once I saw the Mile 10 sign, I would only have a 5K left. I had looked at the clock on my phone earlier and had estimated my time to be around 4:20-4:30 for finish. I was okay with it as at this point, I just wanted done. And then music could be heard. Some house in the neighborhood was playing 80's music and it was invigorating! As soon as I could not hear it anymore, I realized that my cell phone had Pandora, and I could play an 80's station for myself. Why on earth had I not done this until now??? Soon the music was playing, loudly for anyone around me to hear as I did not have ear buds, and away I went! I was starting to pick up the pace. Song one played and I crossed the Mile 10 sign. And right after that, my new half marathon theme song played...
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers was blasting around me. And this is exactly what I needed. Again, the pace picked up, and now I was running! I ran the rest of that mile which is estimated at about 3/4 to 4/5 of the mile. Me! The person with screws in the leg who feels pain from running too much. ME! The one who was out of gas at Mile 4! ME!!! I was running and singing!!!
"But I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more..."
And you better believe that those words coming out of me were felt deep down to my core! Just so you know, I don't sing. If I do, I tend to have the charming melodic voice of a dying seagull mixed with 20 cats in heat. It really is that bad. But I needed to sing, and I didn't care who heard it.
That wall was crumbling! The energy was there but only in heart. Digging deep into my soul was the only thing getting me through, and then some music. Mile 11 came and started to get hard again, until I saw someone ahead of me on crutches and I knew exactly who that was: my girlfriend. I ran up to her, and she explained that she was picked up by the race crews and moved forward a few miles. Then she looked at me, knowing I wanted to stay but that I was fading and told me to go. She knew that I was struggling, but seeing her and hearing her blessing was enough to give me the last bit of steam. Around the rest of the curve I went, running ahead until I saw the Mile 12 sign. This was the hardest moment for me. Mile 12? But the finish line was RIGHT THERE! I could see it! A quarter of a mile away, if that, yet the sign said otherwise? And then someone in the sidelines yelled that the sign was wrong and I was indeed done. I ran with everything left in me. I crossed that finish line a winner. I gave it my all, pushing through so much, and here I was now with a medal around my neck! I did it! A few tears started to well, but I cry in public even less than I sing. It was truly emotional for me to finally be done. Then I spun around and was talking to race staff. I wanted to be able to present my girlfriend her medal. I may have had a hard time with my race, but it was nothing compared to hers. They agreed, and so I waited. It was during this time that I finally looked at the clock and was confused. The time was reading 3:59:some second. This was impossible I told the staff. They told me that no, it was based on the first wave of half marathoners to leave, and so they asked what wave I was in. I was in the last, but still, I was due to come in way after 4 hours, and the clock was reading in the three hour range. My interests were piqued but I needed to watch for the winner of my heart and medal. About 15 minutes or so later, there she was, and amazed to see me waiting for her. She fell into my arms and I just knew that it was time for a trip to First Aid. Blisters on the feet, extreme swelling of her knee, and a horrible amount of pain, but she could say she survived. Ten minutes after her came my friend from the Phoenix race. I was also allowed to present her with her medal and a giant hug. It was now official: All three of us had finished!
My finishing time was a huge surprise to me: 3:53:35!
I couldn't believe it when I saw that I was under four. How could this be? All I can say is that if it was not for my realization that music was needed, it would not have been this good. The surprise for me was seeing how close my time was to the CDA half in May. One minute, two seconds off! That had been my most challenging course until this one, and to see that time showed me that I am doing well, and with training, I can do even better.
So what did I learn? First of all, 13.1 miles needs to be respected. This was becoming to be easy for me, and well, it's not! This race humbled me to a place that needed to be reminded of and should keep in the front of my thoughts. Secondly is that music is my friend. I have never done music in my other races as there was often many bystanders cheering us on, or music being played that I was kept alive and motivated. Here I was stuck in my own head and this was not a good place as I was getting tired. Thirdly, training is so important. I have another race in about six weeks, Seattle Half, and you better believe that I need to train. I also realized that recovery post race is important. I am sore today and had a massage done this evening to help work out some of those knots that formed. Reality is, post race massage and acupuncture have been so great for me that I think in the future, this will be a requirement of mine before signing up for a race. If massage or acupuncture is not offered, I will not do it. This race was definitely harder than even my very first race, but I would not trade it for the world.
With that, I leave you with my Mile 10 anthem...
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