Monday, October 4, 2010

The RACE!!!!

So, I totally won.
Like, the whole thing.
Yep.  Me.
:-)
Kidding.

BUT I DID FINISH and I DID RUN THE WHOLE DANG THING!!!!!

2 hr 38 min.
12 min mile pace
#363 out of #502 in the 30-34 yr old category
50 degrees outside (I'm still cold)
lots and lots of pain
so glad we did it!!!










It was not a pretty or smooth course, the event itself was nothing to write about except I don't know that I'll be seeking this race out again next year.
The 'girly' was fun but not what I was imagining and the quality was just a little odd.
Kind of a bummer since it was my first one....

BUT I RAN 13.1 miles so ....WHATEVER!

It was hard.
I was hurting in two places that I've never hurt in before, my shoulders and my knees.
My hips, which only bother me sometimes, were both hurting me - I was pretty much done by mile 6.
Done.
But I wasn't going to give up.
I had trained, I had paid money, I had traveled, I had committed, I was finishing.
I stopped three times to stretch and that did help.
I don't like it that I stopped but without that, I would not have finished.  Each stretching stop rejuvenated my joints big time.

Mile 11/12 was my hardest.
Thankfully Becky had an energy spurt and ran ahead for a few minutes because I needed some time to cry and have no one notice me.
I was crying thinking about my kids and all the cute encouraging things they'd said about my race...cute, little girl things like, "Mommy, you're faster than a bumble bee" and "I think Mommy's going to win!"
and my dad's text before I started "kick butt sweetie!" and this picture Jake texted me RIGHT when I was in tears:

with the caption: Your Cheering Squad!
and he had no idea I was melting.


I had my 'moment', Becky waited for me, we got our tiaras and boas at mile 12 and then we literally raced as fast as we could towards that finish line, hand in hand, boas and all!!!

When we finished I was pretty sure I'd never run again and I wasn't sure if I'd ever walk again, let alone make it to the car.
And I do not exaggerate here.
It was ba.ru.tal for both of us.
Actually we looked around and everyone had a huge kink in their step!

We made it to the car, really really slow, got back to our hotel room, cranked the heater up to 80 degrees, crawled in bed to stretch in the warmth and chowed down on some super greasy hamburgers and fries ;-).

We thawed off, took showers and then drove home.
OUCH.

Phew!
A Half-Marathon.
DONE.

I love it.
I love that I trained for it, I love that I got to see New York on this trip, I love that I ran it, I love it.

Can't wait for the next one!!!
(I don't know that I would have said that last night, but this morning I don't hurt at all, just sore in my thighs, so I can say it now)

my camera battery died the night before the race, so these are all from our phones. bummer!!!

the start line:


the crowd (in one direction, multiply by four sides!)

the boa and tiara station:

and odd picture of me right after I was crowned:

a random sign that was not for me but that I claimed for me anyway:



done!!!!!!! some 'refreshment'!




OH yes!





11 comments:

Liza said...

These pictures are GREAT!! I'm so proud of you :)

Daphne said...

holly - you are officially on my list of heros. :)

Naomi Haverland said...

Good job! I hope to run 13 miles in one sitting someday.
But didn't the boa get all gross and sweaty? I think if I got a boa at mile 12, it would have been plastered to my neck with sweat, and the feathers would have been limp and dripping. Hehe. Maybe I sweat a lot.

Shelby said...

Congratulations! I knew you would do it! Sounds like you had a "normal" long-distance race with all the emotional highs & lows. Good for you!

KB said...

yay!!! you are so cute, so jealous I couldn't be there with you. I've never been to NYC and I have now decided I want to go with you!! Congrats on finishing, amazing accomplishment!

Missy said...

I couldn't stop crying when I got to the part where you wrote,

"I had my 'moment', Becky waited for me, we got our tiaras and boas at mile 12 and then we literally raced as fast as we could towards that finish line, hand in hand, boas and all!!!"

Whew! Every time I read that and think of you two, running side by side, hand in hand, my eyes well up again.

That moment, being there with Becky...your gym/running/accountability exercise buddy from the very beginning, here in Nebraska, and getting to run a half marathon with her before she moves again. Aside from everything else you got to do with her this weekend, this marathon, doing this with her, is what is awesome.

This represents so much more than the 13.1 miles you ran. It stands for all the sweat, early hours, uncountable sacrifice that you invested long before this race on Sunday. And for that, my dear friend...congratulations. So proud.

Tisha said...

Wow Holly! What a huge accomplishment!! Super happy for and with you. Well done!!

Tisha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You are truly one in a million and in my book can accomplish just about anything!
Congrats! Miss ya sista!

PS> the movers picked up all my goods yesterday.... 8 weeks left!
~Ginger

Sara said...

way to go! By the way, I ran into Katie (Sampson...not sure her married name) and she's going ot be looking up the blog soonest :)

Courtney said...

i just had to come back again...and read it again. did i say i am proud of you? i am. so so proud. and you are gorgeous. so so gorgeous!