Race Day Run Down

Well, its done. Yesterday was the Race for the Roses 1/2 marathon that my sister, Ava & I have been training for for 12 weeks. I crossed the finish line in 2:13:24. A bit slower than I'd wanted but not too bad for the first time out. :) The beauty of running a new-to-you race length is that no matter what, you will set a personal record! So, my PR (that's runner speak for personal record) is 2:13:24.


The festivities began on Saturday when Ava & I went downtown to pick up our race-day packets. These packets include our race number, a timing chip that goes on our shoe, and of course, our coveted event T-shirt! We also got a fun little drawstring backpack to put everything in and lots of advertisements and coupons. Its like a little prize pack before the race even begins.

Then Ava hosted a pre-race carbo loading dinner party. We had rice pasta w/ a delicious pasta sauce, made from scratch by Ava, and an equally delicious green salad. Along w/ copious amounts of hydrating water. After sufficiently carb loading it was home to bed for a good night's sleep.

Ava & I headed to the race at 6 a.m. We were very excited and everything went smoothly. With so many people and a time crunch - to be at the starting line at 6:45 -- it can be quite hectic on race day.

The weather was great! No rain and not cold at all.

We were both concerned about the pain we'd been having since the Shamrock 15K four weeks ago. We decided to just take it slowly and hoped that it would work itself out.

The first two miles we ran together at an 11 minute pace. It was my plan all along to run slowly the first few miles and warm up my legs. After mile one I really wanted to go faster but I had to talk myself into pulling back, knowing that I had 12 miles left to go and not wanting to run out of steam too soon. At mile 2+ I realized it was time to pull ahead a bit and get up to my regular speed. I gave my sis a hand squeeze, "see you at the finish line sis!". From then on we were on our own.

At mile 6 I saw my mom and dad, Eric & Troy, waving and snapping photos. I smiled, waved, posed for a photo and kept running. Then I came to a table w/ little cuties (oranges) and gummy bears (my favorite!). I grabbed a cutie and a dixie cup of bears -- YUM!
Then I saw Corie standing on the corner waiting for me to come by. I think I saw her first and yelled "Corie!" and waived my arms around. After a quick hug, and handing off my gummy bears to her. I kept going. Even though I only got to see my family & friend for a moment it was a HUGE encouragement to keep me going. I can't explain how much it means to have someone there cheering for you. Sometimes I would even pretend that other people were cheering for me too AND each time I'd pass a dog, who was watching w/ its owner, I'd pretend that it was secretly cheering for me. Silly? Maybe, but it kept me going.

I prayed a lot too. Asking God for strength, both mental and physical and He answered by giving me strength.

Once we got to highway 30 (about 7.5 miles in) we had to run down and then turn and run back the same way we came....this was the opportunity to see who was behind you as runners were running both ways. I knew that I would get to see Ava and we'd have a chance to cheer each other on. As I turned the corner and headed back down the highway I checked my watch. Thinking she was probably about two minutes behind me I started looking for her. When the runners started trickling by, well past the 12 minute pace I knew something was wrong. I had either missed her running by or she hadn't made it this far. I prayed. I asked God to cover her, hoping she wasn't out on the course somewhere limping or hurt and alone. For a second, I considered running back down the course to look for her, but I knew I had to keep going - God would take care of her.

Once I hit the 10 mile marker, I knew that I would finish. I had three miles left and I knew that I could run three miles -- no problem. About mile 11.5, I started to get tired, "why am I getting tired" I thought. Then I remembered, "well, you just ran 11.5 miles". Aah, ok, I SHOULD be tired...keep going.

At mile 12.2-ish I had to go to the bathroom SO bad I stopped at a port-a-potty. Even though there was less than a mile to go, I was sure I could hold it no longer. I stopped my watch so I 'd have an accurate run time, put my ipod in my mouth so it wouldn't drop in the toilet, did my thing and got back on the race course. Feeling much lighter I took off, sprinting the last mile to the finish line.

As I rounded the corner to the finish I saw my Dad first, "go Sally!" as he snapped pictures, then Eric & Mom, "go Sally!" snap snap, more pics. Mom called out, "Look Up!" I looked up at the overpass above me. There was AVA smiling down, cheering me on w/ Troy! " Thank you Lord," I said, so glad to see her safe and sound.

I crossed the finish line and collected my finishers rose. I did it.....I did it!

It turned out that Ava was forced to stop at mile 6 because of her hip pain. She was limping and would not have been able to safely finish the race. Thankfully, she was able to stop when she got to our family so she didn't have to limp off of the course alone. I'm glad Troy talked her into stopping, because I know that she wanted to try and finish -- but it wouldn't have been a good choice. There will be other races.

What's more is that yesterday wasn't really just about yesterday. It was about the last four months, planning and training and rewarding and encouraging one another. Working "together" with one common goal. I would not have done it if it hadn't been for AVA.

I think that Bette Midler said it best when she said, "you are the wind beneath my wings".

Stay tuned for pictures.