Racing day!

be warned: you are about to get a play by play of the race.....

I woke up at 4:30am, cos we had to leave by 5. We were worried about traffic and parking since there were 23,000 runners!!!! it was a record for the OKC Marathon. (i like to call it that so people think i ran the marathon, hahaah!)

Got up, had 1 cup of coffee, peanut butter toast and were on our way. Ok, so i was planning to wear this cute green shirt for the race with my new little headband (not sure how i feel about the headband actually, i can't decide if i look cool or like i have cancer). but then Mike was running in a shirt i had bought for him, and Daniel and I have the same shirt. so we all changed so we could match!

We called ourselves "Team Kidney" for Sarah.

here is mike's bib:

It was COLD this morning. this wind was whipping!!!!!

We got there pretty good, and of course had to go the bathroom. we waited about 20 minutes!!

here's the group photo:

this is about the time i got jealous of all the little time chips people had on their shoes. I realllly wanted one!!

we're ready to race!!!

not sure if i mentioned it....but it was freezing!!!! it was SO cold with the wind!!

We left Sarah behind the corral, and went and got in line for our race to start. The half and full went before us. We got to see them run past us at the starting line. It was SO cool to see thousands of people all running. so inspiring!!!

here's the breakdown:

Mile 1: my PR,  11:40. I felt great and my breathing was controlled. i was ready to kill this race!

then came the hills. i didn't know there would be HILLS!!!

 

I didn't want them to slow me down, so i attacked the first hill. i thought if i ran up it really fast i could still have a good time. but i was wrong.

after the first hill, my pace slowed so i could recover. but i refused to walk. i wanted to run this thing.

hill #2 came.

Mile 2: 25.00. not great, but oh well. I could feel myself slowing down. i was scared that there were more hills and i wouldn't make it. there was one point i reallly could've started walking.

Mile 3: the last hill. and almost to the finish line!!!!!

i SPRINTED towards the finish line. i actually was running so fast the last few seconds i thought i was going to fall bc i was SO out of control, ha!

finishing time: 38 minutes. not great, but okay. i was disappointed that i didn't run faster. but i blame the hills and am happy i finished. I let out a REALLLLLLLY loud scream when i crossed the finish line. twice.

i was SO thrilled that i had done it...and not died.

my running partners, Mike and Daniel, were great, and we had a lot of fun. we did miss Sarah though :(

then they gave us all medals!!! i wore mine so proudly!!!!

my cheerleader and trainer!!!

Just for fun: (and to prove that i did it)

love of my life:

 

I had the absoloute best time!!! thanks to mike & Daniel for running with me. For Sarah training with me, even though she couldn't run. And for the countless support and encouragement i've receive along the way.

so what's next??

Sarah & I are training for a 10k on october 31st in Texas. I joined a local running club that meets twice a week! I'm BEYOND excited about this!!! we'll be running outside!!!!!

here's a quote i saw today to encourage the runners. I teared up when i read it....

“A runner is a runner is a runner. Even if you’re a two-legged traffic jam, you’re still a runner. You can take pride in that. The important thing is you’re out there giving it your all… As a runner, you’re probably in better physical shape than most of the nonrunners you meet. That alone raises you into the ranks of the elite. Ultimately what matters is not when you cross the finish line but how you get there and what it means to you when you do. There’s an old saying: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters; it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Ditto for runners. A runner who finishes 5000th can show more heart, more pluck, and more gritty determination than the runner who finishes 5th. And that’s what so great about this arguably odd, sometimes lonely, utterly compelling pursuit. It’s very democratic. The joy of it is freely available to all.”

love

laura