Seattle - 13.1 Race Day!!!!

I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt to finish this half marathon. I do not enjoy running so I was not expecting to ever hear myself say that I loved it so much. I hated the training and said throughout all of it that this would be my first and last one. The only part I enjoyed about the training was that it held me accountable to work out and it was something measurable. I liked the way it changed my body and I felt so much better about myself. I am sure the no sweets helped too. I did it by the way four months of no sweets. I don't think I should ever let ice cream be absent for that long again. So with that said I am hooked. Hooked to races not running. Although I hope to be able to enjoy it more the more I train for more races. 

The morning of the race I tried not to think too much about what I was going to do. My Uncle Dave and Aunt MaryAnne were running the half with me. They both have done quite a few so they helped keep things light hearted and comical. The plan was for all five of us to run together until mile 6 when my Mom and Kels split for the full. Somehow we lost my Mom and Kels right at the beginning because there were SO many runners. 

(Blurry race pics stolen from the website. Apparently whenever I saw a camera on the course I felt the need to raise my hands and stick out my tongue)

I stayed with my Uncle and Aunt until we got separated somewhere around mile 5. The first 5 miles felt awesome I was having so much fun and actually was totally surprising myself. Then I turned a corner right after mile 5 and HOLY COW HILL! Seriously running up it was hilarious! If there were a hill like that here in flat land Texas it would be compared to Mt. Everest ha! I had fun watching peoples reactions as they turned the corner. Running back down it I was sure I was going to brake both my knees it was SO steep. 

Minus the hills I felt great all the way up till mile 10. Miles 10-13 were a steady uphill and I was about to kill over. At least that is what my mind was telling me. I have not mastered that part of running and it really bothers me. At different times during the race my mind would tell me to stop. I would evaluate how my body felt which was always great so I kept going. That is until stinking mile 10. I had run out of water and boy did my mind get the best of me. The last 3.1 miles took me 40 minutes!!! Ahhh I am still so annoyed about it. Slow poke big time! I went in with no goal as far as a finishing time other than to finish. Finish I did! I completed it in 2 hours and 27 minutes, about an 11 minute mile. 11 minute mile sounds so slow, but when I think about doing it for 13 miles I am more ok with it. Next time I definitely want to finish in the 10's.

Trav, the boys, Kyle, Sloan, Brienne, Grant, and my Grandma Haymond were our little support group. The kids were SO good from what I was told. It was so fun to see them at the finish line and seeing the poster Trav and Bobo made saying "Our Mom is the Bomb" with Boston's little bombs he drew all over was definitely the cherry on top. 

This whole Seattle trip came together when my Mom said for her 50th birthday she wanted to run a full marathon in her hometown Seattle with all her family there. Kelsey was nice enough to do the full with her. They ran together the entire time and came in right at 5 hours! That is way too long to be running if you ask me, but I was beyond proud of them and seriously if I look like my Mom at 50 I will be one happy lady. So glad my Mom rallied me into doing this and putting me way out of my comfort zone. I can't not mention the movie like finish to their crossing the finish line. I started to down pour literally right as they crossed the finish line. The forecast predicted rain the entire day so we were all so thankful that we didn't have to run it the rain I am sure that we would have all thought very different of our experience had it rained. 

I can totally see how people get hooked to running. It is so cool to think about what your body can do. I don't remember what mile I was at, but the 1st place full marathon finisher passed me and holy cow incredible! SO glad I pushed through the training I felt physically ready and really wasn't sore at all the next day for which I was very proud of. Next time I hope to have my mind in a better place. 

Raise your hands and stick out your tongue Teresa is crossing the finish line. Note to self next time to look more normal in pics put your long ape arms down. Ha .The finish was so brutal! I rounded a corner and it was a steep uphill to the finish line. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I did it!