I haven't been able to find the words to explain how I'm feeling.. Four days, 48.6 miles later and I have very few words. I'm feeling excited, happy, sore, overwhelmed and most importantly I'm feeling grateful.
I would not have been able to do any of this, the training runs, the mental preparation, the early mornings, the distance if it wasn't for some very special people in my life. My passion for running, my training schedule, my races all affect more people than just myself. My husband, my daughter, my parents, my sister, my friends.. They are all a part of it all, from beginning to end. If I didn't have them to help with the physical and mental preparation for all of my goals then I probably wouldn't be able to do anything.
Races started on Thursday with the 5K. I ran the course near my parents house and ended up running faster than I had any intentions to. I knew that if I wanted to finish the weekend strong then I would need to keep a slow and steady pace, but I felt good when I got out there and I just went with that feeling. The first mile was uphill and I felt strong. The last time I ran this same course (Tuesday) I didn't feel so confident about what I would be able to do on Thursday for race day, so I was pleasantly surprised with how things went.
Mile 1- 12:28
Mile 2- 12:31
Mile 3- 11:33
Total distance- 3.26
Total time- 39:44.90
Avg pace- 12:11
I waited until Friday night to run the 10K since I was at work in the morning. It got dark a lot earlier than I had anticipated, but there was plenty of time to finish and to finish strong. I slowed down a little from the 5K, but was still faster than I had planned.
Friday January 9th- 10K- Minnie
Mile 1- 13:05
Mile 2- 13:04
Mile 3- 12:39
Mile 4- 12:46
Mile 5- 12:15
Mile 6- 12:18
Total distance- 6.30
Total time- 1:19:52
Avg pace- 12:40
I woke up early and ran in the morning for the half marathon. I was really glad that I didn't wait any longer than I did because I wanted to be done early enough to get some things done and have some time to rest my body before the big day. It started to sprinkle around mile 6.5 and then really started to come down around 8.5. I love to run in the rain, but it did put some doubt in my head about Sunday's full marathon because the main part of the storm was supposed to come on Sunday. I also started to get into my head about how it would be to finish. I kept thinking that maybe the build up was bigger than the finish would be and that I would finish and feel nothing. Thankfully I had Patrick to talk to about these doubts.
Saturday January 10th- Half- Donald
Mile 1- 13:14
Mile 2- 13:06
Mile 3- 12:50
Mile 4- 12:58
Mile 5- 12:54
Mile 6- 12:40
Mile 7- 12:06
Mile 8- 12:50
Mile 9- 12:55
Mile 10- 13:07
Mile 11- 12:55
Mile 12- 12:56
Mile 13- 13:01
Total distance- 13.34
Total time- 2:52:13
Avg pace- 12:55
I woke up a few times throughout the night for various reasons. If the dog wasn't waking me up to go outside then I was awoken from the sound of the rain. If it wasn't the rain then it was a dream that I had overslept and had to start the marathon too late in the day.. Needless to say I was ready to get up and get going as soon as my alarm went off, no matter how early, dark and wet it was outside. I started running around 6:15am and it was dark and raining. I had a feeling I would be running the whole thing in the rain, but thankfully it stopped around mile 4.
There are a lot of thoughts that go through my head when I'm running, but even more so when I'm running such long distances. I cannot begin to try to figure out what I think about.. What I do know is that I hit my wall really early, like around mile 3. Weird.. I usually hit my wall much later, but for whatever reason I started playing the numbers game with myself, including (but not limited to) pace and figuring out how many miles I had left. It worked out for the best though because I didn't hit another wall the rest of the run, and when I finished I felt as though I could keep going. What's more? I PR'd my marathon time by 2 minutes!!
Sunday January 11th- Full- Mickey, Goofy and Dopey
Mile 1- 14:07
Mile 2- 13:59
Mile 3- 13:49
Mile 4- 13:34
Mile 5- 13:47
Mile 6- ???
Mile 7- 13:16
Mile 8- 13:12
Mile 9- 13:17
Mile 10- 13:20
Mile 11- 13:11
Mile 12- 13:14
Mile 13- 13.28
Mile 14- 13:20
Mile 15- 13:05
Mile 16- 13:17
Mile 17- 13:55
Mile 18- 15:47
Mile 19- 14:14
Mile 20- 13:21
Mile 21- 12:54
Mile 22- 12:53
Mile 23- 13:14
Mile 24- 12:55
Mile 25- ???
Mile 26- 11:12
Total distance- 26.20
Total time- 5:50:58
Avg pace- 13:24
I cannot begin to explain how lucky I feel right now.. After each race my parents gave me a stuffed animal corresponding with the race. Those were my medals for each of the races.
When I finished the marathon on Sunday my husband surprised me with an actual medal. Something he had been planning for awhile and had made especially for me. He even had them put a 48.6 on the front of Dopey's shirt. His own bib.
I took Patrick, Isabel and my parents out to dinner to thank them for all of their support and wore my Dopey ears that my coworker gave me for Christmas, made by her daughter.
Then I was surprised at dinner with a special cake.. Although the waitress said Happy Birthday to me, so yeah. I'm pretty sure I don't look like I'm 48.6 years old..
And then.. as if all of the above wasn't enough, my mom gave me my Dopey gift. The below figurine with a special engraved plaque. I have been an emotional mess throughout this whole thing. From the ears to the stuffed animals at the end of each race to the Dopey keychain from my sister to the medal made special for me to the amazing support from friends near and far to the special finishers award.
I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful for all that I have and for all of those around me who care so much to make this experience even more important to me. I will never forget these 48.6 miles. I will never forget how much support I received for the crazy that I partake in. I mean, it only took Patrick 5 years to finally figure out how crazy I really am. And I take that as the highest of compliments.
What else is there to say?
I'm not sure if my last comment published or not, so I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS! I am so proud of you and amazed that you did the Dopey challenge at home. That's amazing! I remember when you were working so hard to break 6 hours for the first time, and now you did it again on the last day of Dopey! That's awesome. Congratulations again and thank you for representing Team T-Rex so well!
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how much your comment means to me! It was such a wonderful experience for me to prove to myself that I could do it. The support I recevied along the way from family and friends (both IRL and on the internet) has meant so much to me. Thank you and I will continue to rock the T Rex Runner shirt with pride :)
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