Jordan, our high school babysitter, arrived at our house bright and early at 5AM on Saturday. Of course, the kids were still asleep. We took off around 5:30 and got downtown around 6. We fiddled around the car for a while trying to determine what layers to take, which to gear check and which to leave in the car. I thought it felt pretty good and just went with what I planned to run in - long exercise pants and a short sleeve shirt. I did pack a pair of flip flops for after the race though. That's always the first thing I want to do - yank my shoes off and strip off my socks!
We were early to the start gates, which I actually like because it gives you a little time to enjoy the surroundings and get a feel for how big this event actually is. (35,000 people in the Mini + 5000 in the 5K + 4000 volunteers!) We took a few photos. And, yes, Tom mohawed his hair for the occasion.
We all made a trip to the Steak and Shake bathroom and then headed over to Gear Check. On our way back from Gear Check, I had to go to the bathroom again. So, back we went. By now, it was really getting crowded. It was hard to walk in a straight line. And, let me tell you about lines! The ones for the port-o-johns were LONG! Worth it though to not lose time in the race. We went our separate ways from here and went to our starting corrals. (Me - M, Tom - I, Mom & Dad - U).
I messed around with my phone for a while trying to get it set up right. They were batting beach balls around too. Which, was probably fun if you were paying attention. Otherwise, you may have gotten a beach ball to the back of the head.
I actually crossed the start line at around 15 minutes after the gun which was much better than last time. I was surprised that people actually started running before the start line. I was still messing with my iPod, etc. Anyway, it was really crowded to start and I made a beeline over to the left side of the crowd. I only had to do a little weaving in and out the whole race and it didn't really bother me. Mom, dad and Tom on the other hand, said their experience was much different and worse. I was really surprised that Tom was in such a high corral and still had a bunch of walkers. I probably only passed five true "walkers." I passed a lot more people who were walking, but somehow I could tell they were actually runners.
So, I was blown away to see the mile one marker so soon. It was only 9 minutes. So far, so awesome. I've been training between a 10 and 9 1/2 minute mile. I thought for a brief second to slow down, but didn't because I figured, get it in while I'm feeling good. Hit mile 2 at 18 and mile 3 at 27. Great start! And, I was really feeling good (and thinking I may actually finish under two hours). At mile 4, I thought to myself, well, mile four is where my knee started hurting last time. Then, BAM! Pain shooting through my knee. I ignored it the best I could and it went away (until the day after. )
I kept up with my 9 minute pace through about mile 6, when I lost 10 seconds. By mile 7, I'd lost a minute and wasn't feeling top notch. I did find someone to pace off of though which got me through about mile 9. She was wearing a blue shirt with LOPO on the back. (One of the activities I did while passing the time was anagrams - Polo, Loop, Pool). I'm sure she finished with about a 9:15 pace because she was right on it and was seemingly effortless. I lost her around mile 9 because I started feeling like sh*t.
At mile 10, I thought to myself, come on Sara, only 3.1 left. You did your first 3.1 in 27:45. You can do it. But, my body thought differently. It still seemed very far away. So, I started walking a little more. Earlier, I was only walking through the pits and very briefly at that. From mile 10 on, I walked the entire pit station and a bit more.
Around mile 11, I started getting blind spots and zigzagging lines in my eyes. (I've had this before, so I wasn't totally concerned.) I glanced at my heart rate monitor - 197! So, I slowed down and walked a bit more. According to my log, I actually hit 205 at some point in the race. Mile 12 came and I really felt like I wouldn't make it although my brain knew it was only one mile - 10 minutes. I did a fair amount of walking that mile. Although, I knew that I really wanted to finish in the 2:02's, so I couldn't totally slack it. I started counting my steps at 0.75 miles left and really forget what happened from there. I do remember giving it my last kick in the last 0.1 mile, even though it wasn't much of a kick. Once I could see the finish line though, I knew I could actually do it in the 2:02's. My final time was 2:02:43, better than two minutes off my time from 2 years ago. (And, Jack is only 10 months old - just sayin').
After a brief moment, grabbing a water bottle, I looked at my heart rate monitor and I was already down to 150. Good sign of being in shape - quick recovery. I had the absolute best sugar cookie and chocolate chip cookie ever known to man and then caught a glimpse of Tom.
We then waited for mom and dad and got a text that they finished. We caught them in the "refueling" station and they posed for a pic.
We all felt pretty good afterward - no real problems! As a reward, and a two year tradition, we hit up PF Changs for a drink and good food. A little hot tub, wine and pizza was in order for the rest of the night. We made it up until 9PM!
It was a fantastic day and I'm so proud of my parents (in their 50's and 60's), and their drive to not only finish, but finish better than the year before, by A LOT!!!! And, I still have a goal to achieve - under 2 hours. I'll make it happen - next year...
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