Race Recap

I finished the race with a smile on my face!! It was a complete opposite feeling compared to my wretched San Diego finish. But then again, a half marathon is far more enjoyable for my body than a full marathon. I think i'll focus on doing more half marathons and put 'run a full marathon' on my "Things I would like to do only ONCE a year" list along with 'shave my legs' and 'pay rent'.

Not that i don't want to run more marathons, but so far my experience with full marathons (in the ONE that i did), hasn't been too pleasant, with that 'minor' injury and what not. I just think half marathons are easier on my body, both in training and during the actual event. And both half marathons i've ran have been awesome experiences and enjoyable times.

Back to my race recap...........

Saturday was an ideal day for running. It started out cool in the morning, but i knew that it would warm up so i shivered at the 50 degree start in a sleeveless top and my new pink shorts. (afterthought: i forgot to put on sunscreen and now my face and shoulders match my pink shorts) It was great to have so many fellow TNTers there for motivation, even though josh and greg said they were running a 9:00 pace and took off, leaving me in the dust after only a short distance. That's okay, i didn't really have a specific goal, except that i wanted to finish in under 2 hours. Of course, I wanted to beat my St. Louis half time, but i wasn't going to worry about it.

The first 2 miles were great, just those stupid hills by Liberty Memorial and then headed downhill to Westport area where i knew my roommate Cat would be waiting to cheer me on. I had packed a sort of emergency kit for her to carry in case i needed anything: sunglasses, Chapstick, Blister bandages, Biofreeze, camera, gum, etc. Luckily, the only thing i needed were sunglasses since we'd be headed directly into the morning sun soon. My shins hadn't felt this great since i don't remember when, and my blisters were causing no pain at all.

I was actually running a little ahead of my pace schedule (which i'd markered onto my forearm the night before), but i picked it up even a bit more as i anticipated seeing my friends Jamie, Jessi and Erin cheering me on at mile 6. Jamie was the only one i saw, so I stopped for a bit to hug her and kept on going. The bands along the course were helpful and while i was expecting more spectators, the first 8 miles seemed to fly by.

But it was at that point that my stomach began to cramp up a bit and i had to walk through the next water stop as we headed up another hill. I really didn't seem to mind this one though as i knew once i got to the top it would be all downhill (literally and figuratively) the last 2.5 miles. The tummy felt a little better and i used the downhill to my advantage, but had to stop again and work the uncomfortableness out at the last water stop with 1 mile left. I figured i'd give myself a little break, then bust it in to the finish.

And that's what i tried to do. But that last mile, as every runner knows, is the LONGEST mile of the race and i wanted to stop so bad.
NO katie, you're almost done. keep going.
Ugggh, my tummy hurts.
NO katie, you can do it. Only 3/4 mile left.
But i think my Gu might come back up.

And that was when i saw my big brother standing along the street. Like the hero he's always been to me, there he was, just when i needed someone the most. I waved my arms and ran over and gave him a huge, sweaty hug. My legs were heavy and i felt like i was dragging, but he said "you're running so fast! you're almost there, i'll meet you at the finish." And with that extra boost of encouragement and motivation, i sped off, rounded the last corner and sailed down the hill, feeling good, feeling strong and most importantly, not in any pain (other than the obvious 'i just ran 13 miles' pain).

I saw Cat cheering for me and i got teary-eyed, mostly because she was wearing a t-shirt with my face really big on it, and then there was Jamie hollering as i ran through the finish. I didn't even see what the clock said. I didn't care. I looked for my brother and when i saw him i was so happy and couldn't stop smiling. It was just incredibly awesome to have people care enough to wake up early and come out and support me. We all hung around at the finish area cheering on other runners for awhile and then they left and i stayed another 3 hours to cheer on fellow TNTers. Everyone did an awesome job that day (josh, kevin, courtney, brent.....and everyone else, but i don't know if they read my blog) and I cannot wait for my next half!

I did end up finishing in less than 2 hours, but upon further review, i did not end up beating my St. Louis time and I'm perfectly okay with that because this was a much better all-around experience. I think i'll still reward myself with a new pair of shoes. Ohhh, maybe some cute boots!! I deserve it.

Official time: 1:56:26. 8:55 pace.