Yesterday I ran the Surf City half marathon (13.1 miles) with my friend Gwynne and although we trained for a few weeks and the weather was great in training... we were not prepared for the rain and wind that we were given on race day.
On race day at 5:30am I woke up and heard a car go by... it wasn't the normal sound I hear when cars drive by my condo... this one sounded like the roads were wet! I opened my front door and peeked outside just for confirmation and sure enough it was raining pretty good! Not a really hard rain but enough to make me want to crawl back to bed and say forget it! It was cold (40+ degrees outside) and the wetness didn't seem extra appealing! I never ran in the rain before... I quickly started to think about what could happen, blisters, catch a cold, etc... Well my friend Gwynne and I were either crazy or very dedicated because we decided to go to the race!
Amazingly enough over 8400 people were just as dedicated out of the 10,000 people who registered for the race! Great Odds! So, on our way to the parking lot where the shuttle will take us to the race Gwynne... such a good friend... always looking out for me... let me borrow her husband's UCLA windbreaker with a hood! Silly me... I declined on the offer and thought to myself ... how could I run in this for 13 miles! Well on my way to her car I was pretty wet and the jacket was looking pretty nice! I ran the whole race with that on and the hood was tightly tied on so my hair and ears could stay dry from all the rain and wind! I forgot to mention that on Friday I was diagnosed with [Tennitus] a medical term for ringing of the ears! It was causing me to not hear so well and get dizzy! Gwynne was my life saver on the jacket situation... Thank you Gwynne-myster
Before our race... the 5K event was taking place.... We did see her but the announcer said a lady was running in a wedding dress! Crazy people...
Back to our race! Gwynne and I started the race in the 9th wave of 10! They put markers out so you can start with people at your own pace. We went to the 12mile pace because the 10th wave was people who were likely walkers! So we stood out in the rain for over 20 minutes until it was our turn to cross the starting line...
We were off~
We saw people with trash bags on their bodies and also plastic type pants! A few people really stuck out during the beginning part of the race! One man was running barefoot for the half marathon and then we had an Elvis impersonator running with a portable music player playing popular Elvis hits... he told us in his Elvis voice... to make sure we had a peanut butter and banana sandwhich at the finish line for him! We didn't see him finish :( so we ate banana's in his honor!
Gwynne and I like to see our progress during the race... Those mile markers that tell us we accomplished yet another mile are always a relief to see when you have 13 of them before the finish line! Unfortunately it was windy, remember! Well those markers were not all standing by the time we got their! They were upside down or on their side and it frustrated both of us! I wasn't my usual talkative self because I could hardly hear with the Tinnitus and the wind/rain beating on my hood while running! So conversations were short and sweet!
We did get kinda bored and needed something to pass the time... we decided to play games! What kind of games can you play when you run, you might ask? Well we played "Eye Spy" and the "Animal Alphabet game" we definitely entertained ourselves for a few miles but once we hit the mile number 10 Gwynne was focused and I was starting to focus on every step completed and thinking 3 more miles left... We can do it! So we said a few encouraging words here and there but were definitely more serious in our run at this point! I was starting to feel every move I made and I know Gwynne was too. Her Right knee was bothering her and we walked a little... actually she speed walked and I jogged next to her at a pace to match her walk. I found out I am not a good speed walker and it was easier to run than walk!
Once we approached the finish line she darted into a sprint and I tried to catch up to her! She beat me by 2 seconds! I am so proud of us! IT was her first marathon and my second marathon and the time said 3:00:29! I knew we were around 2:45 because of the late start from the waves of people they had to use to make the starting race not like a can of sardines! We were so sore and could hardly walk and wanted to sit down so badly but knew that is not the thing to do! We needed to turn in our race chips and stretch and cool down! Mind you it had just barely stopped raining when we crossed the finish line!
We never really had warm muscles throughout the race and we were officially soaked to the bone! The jacket I wore kept my upperbody pretty dry and my hair dry! Gwynne on the other hand was wetter than me! Her jacket was made of different fabric and it went through the jacket and her shirt was wet!
Post Race... she was energized after her stomach calmed down! My stomach took longer to calm down and when it did (about 4pm) I had some snacks and then I was energized! Gwynne and I hung out after the race and collected our goody bags. Michelob Light was offering free beer to finishers and although Gwynne was excited about that on Saturday when we picked up our race packets we both agreed that Hot Chocolate sounded better! We headed back to my house and changed into our swimsuits and put sweats on over them. Headed to the community Sauna in my complex and by the time we were ready to leave the sauna we had the temp at 156 degrees! It was hot but it took that much to warm our muscles and get to our VERY cold BONES!
When I did get my energy back up! I felt pretty good! In fact, I canceled my bowling league for Sunday night and had a sub (my friend Michael [Erin's Boyfriend]) take my place for the day! At 5:30 when I was resting I thought... You know I could go bowling! I feel pretty good now! Well I already had my friend Michael planning on taking my place so I took the night off! And boy am I glad now!
The results are in for the race: 2:39 minutes and my pace was 12:09/mile! I am happy to announce I improved my scores by ALOT! Last year I finished the same race in 2:44 and had a pace of 12:31/mile! Yeah US!!!!!
As early as I woke up this morning and I didn't even take a nap for the day I managed to stay up until about 11:30 last night because I was so wired from the day!
Now Today...
I feel like a train wreck! The next day after a race is always so hard to do anything! I can sit down with ease, LOL! It's the getting up that causes difficulty! I have stairs to my bed... stairs to the condo... stairs at work! I feel every step and wish that somewhere I would see an escelator or an elevator!
I managed to attend my tap class which I think I did quite well! My friend Renee who is my tap teacher and my friend Sky's Mom I hope agrees :) ! She announced my accomplishment in class after I went to sit down for a second... trying to get a break for my feet! They were all impressed... I think!
I hope tomorrow I can walk up stairs without holding on to handles and sit and stand with ease!
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