2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 340.9 Aaron: 264.4 (b: 242; w: 22.4) Elly: 64.1 Total: 669.4
So much has happened over the course of the last three days, and I have much to share!! Welcome to reverse-order sharing while I bring you to today's RACE DAY! I'm still kind of buzzing from it, so it makes sense to channel the energy instead of fighting it to go chronologically. Just sayin'.
Before launching into the details of today's big run, I want to share it happened under the following theme:
As most Half mornings go, it started bright and early. I woke up thinking only the following: "I just want to take a nap." Then, I made a plan: Go run, then shower, then take a nap. I am totally not kidding; that is what got me out of bed.
The cool thing about a running morning is I can sleep until the second I absolutely need to be out of bed. Clothes are simple, hair is pulled back and there is no shower time to account for. All running bonuses. I mean, I have to get out of my cozy bed, but there is very little of me required beyond that.
You can tell by my pics at the starting line that I really and truly was not yet awake:
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| Whoops. 'Didn't know the zoom was on ... let's try that again... |
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| Indeed, Aaron's face is cut off. But, on try number 3, Pit Crew #3 closed his eyes. In both, I look exhausted. Not a good thing before the race ... Fortunately, looks are sometimes deceiving. |
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| Good morning, St. Louis!! A perfect 60-degree, no-wind start! |
You know how I love all of the pretty shoes!
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| This dude was awesome. I high fived with him around Mile 10, told him I loved his shirt and that I want to be him. Meaning, 60 and cruising a Half, not that I want to be a dude. |
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| There were a lot of bunny ears this run! There were at least 7 women I saw with them. And, 7 is a lot more than the normal zero I see ... |
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| Lots of fancy-schmancy skirts were happenin' this run! |
Of course, I noted one of the most important aspects of any race -- the support systems on sides:
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| Those weren't the only huge balloons I saw today! |
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| Looks like I'm not the only one wondering if the 1% (for real) chance of rain is accurate ... |
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| Almost there! And, that high five in front of me was an almost-hit! Whoopsie ... |
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| There's PC#3 keeping his eyes peeled when the race started! I'm not in this group; these are the super-speedsters! |
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| HA! Almost missed me! |
With all of those thoughts in mind, I admit I wanted to hit a Personal Record. I knew if I gave it all I had, I would not be disappointed with the outcome whether I PRed or not. But, I also knew it was in my reach. I didn't so much picture a PR as I did its very strong possibility. I absolutely believed it to be possible even during those moments on the course when I thought for sure I'd fallen out of the pace that would get me there. No matter how I was feeling, though, not once did I lose belief in myself. And, that was my entire focus today.
Well, that was my internal focus. Of course, none of this was going to happen without focusing on the historic preservation of the event, duh. I did not photo for record the woman who fell almost immediately out of the start which is a pretty scary thing when there's a stampede behind you. She was just fine hurting her pride more than her body for sure. I did not stop for nor photo the nickel I found in the first few hundred feet. And, I almost, almost snapped a shot of a group of boys (very late teens) in front of me running in a group because one of them kept turning around and running side stepped or almost backward looking for someone they'd passed. It wasn't that his performance was picture worthy; it's that I was tempted to show there are fools around many of the bends. Anyone want to put money on if he fell or not? Well, he didn't, but he had a huge side-step stumble that almost took him down. The running gods are the only reason he stayed up. He looked straight ahead from then on while his buddies chided him for being an idiot. Someone had to do it.
So, those were the non-photos. Here we go with what I did take! This was one of the very first visuals on the course. It was pretty sweet.
I was cruising along in the first two miles. I could tell I was going faster than usual by the way I felt (which is what Race Day tends to produce), but I also knew because there was a 2:30 pacer right in front of me. I had already made peace with going along on this run by letting my body do what it was going to do (with some encouragement from my brain if I had it to give), but I did use the pacer as something of a carrot. At the very least, it gave me some focus and something to reevaluate each mile.My thoughts on the pacer totally went away when we passed Mile 2 as there was a group from a local Baptist Church cheering, singing and high fiving. It was lively, and it was fantastic. I would have appreciated even just one of them going along with me for the rest of the course!
Just after that group, the 'race within the race' began which was a 3.5-mile out-and-back across the bridge to Illinois ...
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| I loved this bridge because we could actually see water, unlike running over the ones with the concrete walls at just the right height to not see a thing. |
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| Take that, color run ... |
It was between bridges that the rain started, too, by the way. Everyone around me seemed to voice displeasure or other indignant sentiments. It was then I was glad to have a super-trusty Ziploc bag in my pocket to protect the camera. I can get wet; the camera, not so much! Lesson: Just be prepared, and there's no need to panic!
Okay, my pace was still chugging along (confirmed by the pacer who was still around) when we came to one of three turn-back points. I usually hate these because you see runners coming back your direction, but I tend to not know how far down the road they are. Meaning, I see them and think, "Oh, hey, there must be a turn right up there" only to usually find out 'right up there' means those runners are miles ahead of me but the course happened to align there. It's totally mean. Today's first of these experiences was unlike any I've run because I saw runners coming back the other way and immediately saw the turn!
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| Unheard of!! And, YAHOO!! (I got hosed later in the course, don't worry.) |
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| My fave was in the middle. By the way, PC#2 said she saw one that read, "Run like there's a hot guy in front of you and a creepy one behind you." HA! |
I found that pacer sign. I lost track of it along the way and didn't really realize it until I saw it again. Strange thing, though: the pacer wasn't the same person. I started out watching a short woman, but I was now seeing a tall man. Weird. I didn't have the capacity to crack the code, but I did have enough in me to realize he had come from behind me. Instead of being bummed that he was passing, I congratulated myself for having gotten past him. Whenever that happened.
Okay, so the stretch itself: The first part sucks. Period. The turn-around point is decent. There's good stuff to see like ...
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| People stopping and taking pictures with the Clydesdale cracked me up! |
At Mile 11, we were given -- get this -- chocolate! I do love chocolate, but I have to admit it sounded just terrible at that moment. A local candy place provided Nonpareils. I took one with the intention of holding on to it until the end, but it was only when it was handed to me that I realized they weren't wrapped (of course they weren't ... who'd want to clean up that mess?). I ended up flinging it in the grass; I felt bad, but not as bad as my dry mouth would have felt with a piece of chocolate, no water stations left and 2 miles to go! After my chocolate fumble, I looked ahead to see the pacer far enough away that I knew I'd have to let him go. Funny thing, though; the original woman I saw came up right behind me! There are often two in a pace group, one to lead and one to sweep that time. Apparently, I was still within this pace range. It was hard to believe even with actual proof staring at me on a sign taped to a dowel.
Onward I went, up a hill and down a stretch until the marker for Mile 12 was right in front of me. That, by the way, is the very same moment I completely lost the pacer. Both of them. They were just gone. I did wonder what I'd ultimately end up turning in, but that soon became the least of my concerns as I got to that, "I really, really just want to finish this!" state of mind! Had I actually known where the finish was, I wouldn't have started to get antsy. But, I didn't, so it was a perpetual guessing game, and one I don't like to play at that point in the game! I finally saw a banner that looked just like the mile markers, but noooooooo, it was one denoting the turn for Half Marathoners (while the Marathoners went straight). Turn? TURN? That's supposed to be a MILE 13, not TURN! Oh, drat!
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| I'm in the purple almost connected to the hair of the lady in yellow in the foreground. SHE already passed the dreaded turn-not-13 sign. Lucky duck. By the way, I totally heard Aaron yelling at this point. I had no idea where he was, but I most definitely heard him all the way over there! |
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| Whoop-whoop! |
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| I love this sign for its sentiment and for the fact that Aaron holds it high at the finish so I can find them! |
I was also pleased to sit and have a Kona Ice with my boy ...
I know that has, like, nothing to do with running. But, not everything does. Even today wasn't just about the run itself. It was way, way more than that. It's nice when you dig really deep to survey what you're made of and find out that you're really happy with what you find.
And, that you have people who love you no matter what
More weekend roundup tomorrow!! See you then ...!
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