Extra Extra... Half Marathon Completed!!
Well, I am officially a half marathoner now! I ran the Make It By Midnight Half Marathon on Friday, July 18th. I can't remember if I posted that I was planning on doing it or not, so here's the jist of it. The goal was to estimate the time it would take to complete the race, and start accordingly. We were supposed to finish as close to midnight as possible without going over. For doing so, we got a tiara (even the men) and if we missed it, we got a pumpkin.
We left our house, (DH, son and daughter and myself) at around 7:30 pm. We were followed the directions to the race area, which was actually a gated neighborhood where you have to stop at a guard booth to get in. We were under orders: when telling the guard where we were going, don't tell them it was a race, just give the address and the guy's name. They didn't know! It was guerilla style racing! LOL.
First of all I must say- HILLS HILLS HILLS! I dont think there was a single flat anything out there, other than my heart line! The course was actually a 4 mile loop that we ran three times, starting out at the race director's house and through the neighborhood, then a 1.1 mile add on after the third loop.
I got there on time and was ready to go at 8:36 pm, assuming that it was going to take a while to run it, with all of the hills and my knee issues. After a quick warm up up the street and back, I got my flashlight, donned my reflective belt and off I went.
My running partners and I took off and tackled the hills at a blazing pace (yeah right!) We trodded on and I was so happy to see the cooler (un-manned aid station as they called it) at mile 2. The humidity was incredible, along with the hills.... it made for a slow slow pace, just as I thought it might.
When we made it back, finishing the first 4 mile loop, I found that my daughter had become best friends with all of the people working the aid station area, and was helping to get the glow sticks ready to give out. By this time it was getting dark. We donned glowing bracelets and necklaces and took on a little hydration, and we were off once again! Zooom! Second lap.
That second hill is always the uber kill, or was it the third? Fourth? Hmm. They kinda blurr together about now. It was now dark and oddly spooky. That last mile towards their house always seemed to get further and further away! Another lap down! By now, my legs are feeling the miles some. My calves and hamstrings were getting a bit tight. More hydration, and ready to tackle the last full lap!
That last loop was a killer. Around 10 miles, my feet were hollering at me to have mercy! My legs were getting tired and my knees were starting to twinge a little. I was ready to just say I did two laps and would be happy. But nooooo, I had come this far! I refused to give up. I kept going! At one point we got a little turned around and had to find the way again. They had little LED lights on the turn signs, and the batteries were failing by this time, so they were hard to see and the course was getting a little confusing in the dark! That last loop went by slower and slower. I felt in a time warp. For Pete's sake... who moved their house!!?
I finally rounded the last turn and saw swirling glo sticks and then I knew, I was nearly done. I did the final bit of tenths to make it to 13.1. Finally. Done. Hills. Gone. Body. Tired. I picked up my tiara and was my finisher's medal, which was put around my neck by my daughter... and went straight to the car. I was ready for a shower and BED!
All in all, it was a great race! I enjoyed the experience, and I have a PR that will be fairly easy to beat.. My time ended up being 2 hours and 48 minutes thanks to those wonderful HILLS!! I am about to post a few pictures that were taken in my photo album... take a look! And I checked the race results and found out that I WON the half marathon... I was the overall winner. Of course, there were only 5 people running the half and 8 doing the full... but still.... 1 out of 5 ain't too shabby in my book! LOL
~Becki~