I knew that the Tacoma City Marathon...or half marathon that I would be running would be a challenge but I have been working hard to get back to the shape that I was in when I made strides last summer before my accident that has caused a few set backs...well that and you know eating!
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| Hotel Murrano - Tacoma, WA |
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Packet pick up was at the beautiful Murrano Hotel in Tacoma, WA and what a great time that was! I love it when you can get to a packet pickup, have no lines, expo folks all to yourself and get in and out pretty quickly. It is even nice when the place that your packet pick up is could double as an art exhibit.
About the time that I picked up my packet I was having a debate with myself...could I do it? Should I do it? Would my knee like it? Wouldn't it just be easier to sit at home and spend time with the family and so much more!! And yes, it would have been easier to skip it but nothing AMAZING has ever come easy...and I was never going to get back to where I wanted to be fitness wise, where I was and where I wanted to go by sitting at home. Even if I sucked it up I would just be going for a super long walk through Tacoma - but I wouldn't have to worry about that because I was going to rock it! ...and I kept telling myself that!
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| Race Course Map...I did the blue route |
I am not a person to dwell about courses because mainly I tend to stay away from hills as I am not ready to make them my B!*#H quite yet, but this course was amazing! The first 5ish miles were all a slow climb but after that it was downhill and flats for like 8 miles...I could do this! I might be slow at the beginning but I would be able to make up the time for sure!! I think that I counted on that a little too much in the end...and I can only chalk that up to a "Lesson Learned" moment in my life.
{You would think that I would know by now in life that if I think it is a good idea I should just remember that I am never right and prepare for dooooom!!}
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| Don't leave home without the important stuff |
So I went on with life *cough* all sorts of delusional *cough* with the belief that this was going to be no big thing and gave it no other thought! I Saturday morning I gathered everything together that I would need to get me from the starting point and the finish line maybe not quickly or even in the prettiest manner but I would be alive, finished and have new bling and well that's what we call WINNING!
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| Packing this was my enemy! |
Now, I am going to have a rant moment here for a minute...have you ever had a moment in your life where both of your kids have baseball games & pictures, your husband loses his wallet, you have not only a birthday party to go to but also the surprise after party AND you are trying to pack your over night bag that needs to contain: sleep ware, pre-race stuff, race stuff and post race stuff?! Oh you have, well let me ask you, DID YOU ALMOST LOSE YOUR MIND TRYING TO DO IT?! I must have packed my bad about 3 times because I thought I was forgetting stuff throughout the day but thank god I did because the things that I was forgetting were like my bra, socks and oh I don't know a shirt!! I think that I was losing my mind with everything going on!
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| Flat Nutmegz |
So here we are...post baseball crazy, post parties and missing a whole lot of sleep! It is the morning of race day and "Flat Meg" is waiting for me to put on and get to work. Now, I am not going to try and lie, sound like a hero or anything when I say that I WAS NOT EXCITED! Normally on race mornings I am nervous but excited to get out there, and this morning was nothing like that. I would have done anything to have slept through my alarm clock, to trip down the stairs and sprain my ankle or to even have a freak snow storm that would confuse everyone and make them cancel the race...but no such luck. When you have those moments in your life you have to remember to thank all the people who do believe in you, who are waiting for you at the starting line, and who telling you "BITCH GET MOVING YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE" because without them my mental block would have won and I wouldn't have ran that race that morning.
So...I'm at the starting line and now the BIG panic attack sits in - I have to run over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. A bridge that scares that piss out of me. A bridge that I white knuckle over each time I drive it...but thank god my friend was there and stayed with me until I made it across!!! So Jennifer and I took off together...now she is beast who can do half marathons much faster than I can (tho I'm going to get to her level one of these days) and she was helping me with intervals and keeping my pace up...I was feeling amazing & thought yup I can do this and I'm going to do it FAST! Well after the race took off I don't know who didn't get the memo but the half marathoners began running down a part of the course that was designated for the marathoners and we added an extra mile right off the back! ...are you kidding me?! I know that it means longer course, more fun and more value for your money but talk about MIND GAMES when your Nike+ GPS voice (who I've named Bertha) tells you "You have completed 1 mile" and you're saying to yourself...um, what?! and where is the marker?!?! ...and it as like that the whole course! But we have to love Bertha because I yelled at her quite a bit throughout this race!
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| Way too beautiful for words |
This picture here is my proof that I ran across the bridge...well I guess I also have a medal to show that I did it as well, but this picture is so pretty. Now, let me just note that I am thankful I didn't drop my phone off this bridge as when I walked up to the railing to take it I was shaking worse than a hairless cat in the winter without a sweater!
So now I am in the thick of it so to break it down a little better...
Miles 0-3 (Bertha Miles 0-4) were amazing! I had an amazing friend get me across the bridge, helped me run further and extend my intervals, make amazing time and remind me why I want
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| Jennifer & I Made It! |
to get faster because I don't want to run alone...Jennifer took off after we took our post bridge selfie because she was going to kill my time and I didn't want to hold her back! I was going to concentrate on intervals and getting to that finish line as quickly as my legs would carry me!
{Note: I do not like off ramps...why do hills in cars seem like nothing but hills or inclines on your feet feel like you're climbing Mr. Everest each and every time...this needs to change soon or I need to grow wheels!}
Once I got to the top of the off ramp, told Jen to go and leave me in her dust I knew that I just needed to make it to the park and things would begin going downhill and flat until the finish line so
Miles 3-6 (Bertha Miles 4-7) were going to be where I rocked my world and proved to myself that I could do things faster than I thought I could...but yeah, about that - can you say walking?
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| View from Tacoma's Skyline Pedestrian Walkway |
There was a second bridge around mile four that I needed to cross and I was able to steal this quick pano of a view that I've never seen with my own eyes and loved it! On the other side of the bridge there was a huge out pour of cheers and support from the families who lived in that area and I was able to do my 2:1 intervals for the most part until I hit about mile 5...when the biker from hell crossed my path! Now, I am the first to admit that when I see a cyclist blaze by me while I am not just struggling but I'm chasing the struggle bus down and not able to catch it and they ring their little bell and wave...yes yes I see you just keep on peddlin' sir! But at mile 5 of this race there was a cyclist that didn't let me know that he was coming and clipped the back of my heel, sending me falling and rolling off the sidewalk and the yelled at me because I got in his way! Oh I was mad! I so wanted to run ahead of him and throw a tree branch in his wheel while he was flying down hill and see if he liked it...but #1: I am a nice person and couldn't so that & #2: I so wasn't running ahead of him, no way no how...so my imagination would have to be good enough. I got to mile 6 behind the time that I wanted too, telling myself I couldn't do it and looking at a mental wall that just about broke me!
When I reached the half way mark I was excited...I was almost there...it was all downhill and flat from this point and now
Miles 6-13.1 (Bertha 7-14.2) would fly by as if they were nothing! Yeah, again about that delusional thinking thing I mentioned earlier...*insert crying face here*!! I was doing good at running the downhills but the flats were much harder than I expected and it seemed like everything was building that damn wall in my head grow higher and higher...it was hot, I needed water, I was HANGRY and I just needed the race to be over!!! The things that I held on to was that I had amazing friends who were waiting to cheer me on - I mean how many people wait almost 2 hours to cheer you in for the worse race of your life. I had friends blowing up my phone reminding me that Finish Times do not matter...it is the fact that I am doing it and getting there and making the choice to come back after injury. I had bling waiting for me...and most importantly I had fooooooood waiting for me and it was needed!
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| I have amazing runner hair... |
When I crossed that finish line I was spent and done! I came in at 03:54:59 which was my worse time so far by about 30 minutes...however, it was my longest half marathon ever (LMFAO) because the course ran long...but it was amazing!!! I GOT MY BLING!
I remember one of my BFFs, Alyson, was picking me up from the finish line because it was a point-to-point race and when I checked my phone and saw a text from her I swear to god I went dumb because she sent me a screenshot of Google Maps of where she was parked to where I was so I could find her and all I could think was "Bitch Please! What the hell is that...a drawling?! Do you expect me to find my way to you!? Can you send Uber? Thanks!" ...and it was weird because seriously I couldn't have found my way to her if I had tried at that moment in time...and all I had to
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| Bertha's Tracking Bull-ish |
do was walk up some stairs and turn right and walk for five minutes; but in my head she was asking me to walk across Texas after running like Forrest Gump.
Once I got to the car, got some water and made our way to Katy Downs (BEST BURGER IN TACOMA) I took out my phone and looked at the GPS Data for the race from Bertha and Nike+...ugh I didn't like what I saw but what are you going to do? Dwell on it or do better next time and train more?! That's right...do better!
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| MMMMM...BUUUURGER! |
...but no matter how bad I thought I did in my head or how much I hated how long it took me to complete this half marathon (plus some) there was one thing that I was sure of...I GOT TO EAT A CHEESEBURGER!! Holy Molly was this cheeseburger amazing!! I have decided to go back to the cheeseburger being my reward for running a half marathon because if not I could eat them daily and then I'll look like Chris Farley and that wont help with the whole go faster goal stuff!
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| ...Well Done? |
Overall it was an amazing day! I'm glad that I not only had people who would have slapped me silly had I not showed up but also that I decided to not skip it like a whimp because even throughout all my misery each and every race that I run is amazing and I love it! However, this race was exactly what I needed to remind me that my goals coming up are going to come true if I don't rock my training and keep pushing through the mental blocks and pain!! ...I also learned that even if you don't think that it is going to be hot & sunny outside wear sunblock anyways because glowing from being sun burnt isn't an extra perk of running a half marathon!
{I apparently forgot 4 things when packing my bag 29840392480 times!!}
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| Don't Tell Me To Move.. |
The most comical part of the night for my husband was when I was struggling to keep my eyes open watching Game Of Throws (BECAUSE DUH!!!) and my
Garmin 920XT decided that I'd not been moving for long enough and send me a reminder to get up and move and I yelled "LEAVE ME ALONE I DON'T HAVE LEGS ANYMORE"! I mean crap...I think I had enough steps and crushed my daily goal obviously that you think the thing could give me a break for a little while...or at least let me finish Game of Thrones and watch the Kardashian's Premier in peace with my Stump Brew Cold Brew Coffee!!!
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| Nom Nom Nom...Guilty Pleasures |
I hope everyone had a great race weekend!!!
Next post will be my workout schedule for the week, next races & what ever random stuff might pop in to my head!
Meg
{#Nutmegz}
HF#12333
Half Twisted Runner
