Rewind to the day before Race Day. The forecast for Springfield, Il was a chance of thunderstorm and 80% chance of rain during the entire time frame of the 1/2 Marathon. Ugh. I have ran training runs in the rain, but the sheer thought of running a complete 1/2 Marathon in the rain, was anything but appealing to me. My answer was to do a lot of praying to God. As my father and I drove to Springfield, Il from Indiana I prayed. We arrived in Springfield, checked and settled into our hotel the Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center and then I prayed. Dad stayed to rest in the hotel while I walked to the race expo event about .4 miles from the hotel, again I prayed. Picked up my race packet, bought a 13.1 magnet from my car (pink btw), and started back to the hotel, again praying as I went.
When I arrived back at the hotel, plans were made to meet up with my Grandma "Gigi", my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Rich, and Cousin Beth. Dad and I picked up Gigi at her home and then we all drove to Texas Roadhouse to meet up with the rest of the family. During dinner we all prayed that my race day weather would be pleasant and that God would be with me during my run. We had a good time chatting and catching up and had good food too. I ended up eating about 4 ounces of pork, couple bites of baked potatoe, green beans and a dinner roll. After dinner, I drove Gigi home and then Dad and I headed back to go to bed. It was a late night, but I opted to lay out my items for the race before heading to bed.
I arose at about 6:30 am and the first thing I did was throw open the curtains to see what the weathers fate was, and as amazing as it was, there was no rain falling from the sky. Once I realized that my dream of running would come true that day I started prepping for my race. I put on all my gear (way, way, way too much gear) and tied my running shoes really well to avoid having to stop to tie my shoes mid run. Then I attached my timing chip and race number (#508 baby)!!!
I arose at about 6:30 am and the first thing I did was throw open the curtains to see what the weathers fate was, and as amazing as it was, there was no rain falling from the sky. Once I realized that my dream of running would come true that day I started prepping for my race. I put on all my gear (way, way, way too much gear) and tied my running shoes really well to avoid having to stop to tie my shoes mid run. Then I attached my timing chip and race number (#508 baby)!!!
So after I got done prepping, I gave my dad a hug and kiss goodbye and headed out the hotel door. On the ride down the elevator, I met another 1/2 marathoner and she and I walked to the race start line together. It was good to have someone to make small talk with until the race was ready to start. To be honest, I wasn't nervous. I was too excited to be nervous. I just wanted to start running. At the starting line Mr. and Mrs. Abe Lincoln was there for a photo op so I took a moment to get a picture taken so my mom would have some scrapbooking material. ***Love ya mom!!!!***
After the picture was taken it was about 10 minutes until the race would commence. I headed towards the starting line, making sure to not be too utterly close to the starting line as to not get in the way of those actually competing to win the race. For me winning the race, is finishing the race. When the race finally commenced my heart soared. I took off running in what I knew had to be an even faster than normal pace for myself. I tried to slow my adrenaline because I knew to finish the race I had to run like I would on any other day. It seemed no matter what my brain told my feet, my feet were on a mission. At mile marker one, I passed the timer at a little over 9 minutes. My norm for minutes per mile is in the 10.5 to 11 minutes, so I knew then that I was indeed running way faster than normal. In my head I was telling myself to slow down and run this like I was alone, to not worry about the other runners passing me and run this for myself like I do at home. I tuned myself in to my music and got in my zone. Another issue started presenting itself and that was the fact that I was way overdressed. I realized that having the long sleeve jacket/sweater that I had on was a bad option since I couldn't easily remove it. I opted to run with it on to keep myself from having to stop running. (Talk about one overheated feeling runner....never will do this again!)Well in mile two I came across one hug hill. During this first hill I didn't think too much of it as the course description had said the course was "mostly flat." I was cool with the hill even though my knee wasn't so much. However I soon realized that the description had to be wrong because all it seemed that I did from there on out was go up and down hills of various sizes for the entire course with a few flat spots in between. The hills were kicking my butt and my knee was throbbing something fierce.
At about mile 4 or 5 we started running through Washington park. This park was near and dear to me because my Gigi and my grandpa used to take my sisters and I to this park to feed the ducks and to go fishing with our bamboo fishing poles. Oh how I missed my Grandpa in that moment. I dedicated that mile to his memory as I teared up thinking about the past and how happy he made me as a child. During that mile a light sprinkle started, and it was such a welcome light rain as it was just enough to cool me off for sure. I am pretty sure it was a gift from God and my Grandpa.
We continued running through site after site of places dedicated to President Lincoln. At the Linocln Memorial I took a moment to wave at the Race Camera Man.
After mile marker 12, I was on what was labeled as the last huge hill an my knee started hurting to the point of tears. I knew if I wanted to finish running that I had to walk a little while. I walked to the top of the hill and tried to start running again. That was a no go. I ended up walking about a 1/2 a mile before I could run again. When I got to the last bend I found my inner strength and was able to full out sprint to the finish line. I felt like crying when the race crew at the end put the medal around my neck. I have never, ever felt so proud of an accomplishment in my entire life. The medal was beautiful, imaged after a penny. At the finishers tent, I had my picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln once again.
Once the race results posted, I was thrilled to learn that my offical run time was 2 hours 25 minutes and 57 seconds. Woohoo. This is an average of about 11 minute miles, not bad considering all the hills, the knee pain, and the small amount of walking. Next step on my way to fulfill my dream to run a 1/2 Marathon in all 50 steps is the Indy Mini Marathon on 5/8/2010.
