Cowtown Recap

Well I have been waiting for my Dad to send me some pictures from the finish line to add to this post but since I don't have them I guess I'll just have to add them later. You'll just have to use your imagination and trust that even without action shots I did actually run a marathon. :)

Okay so I ran the Cowtown Marathon on Saturday and it went really great. Aaron also ran in the 5K and did great. We are so happy to be done with the race and I couldn't of been happier to see the finish line. Here's a little (well not so little actually) recap of the race experience.

Morning of: We spent the night at my parents since they live closer. I fed Carson at 5 AM and couldn't fall back asleep because I was so anxious. We left pretty early but when we got to downtown there was so much traffic. I noticed lots of runners jumping out of their cars and jogging to the starting line, so I jumped on board. It wasn't very far and was a nice little warm up.

Starting line: Oh my gosh, so many people! Better use the porta potty before I begin, yuck, I hate those. I try to find some people who are about my pace to line up with. There is a staggered start so that is really nice.

Mile 1: There are a lot of fast people in this race, it is always nice to start a race going downhill. I tried to stay a little slow for the first mile and then work into my pace.

Mile 5: Oh my gosh, it is such a gorgeous day. I can't believe how much we lucked out on this weather. Seriously, you could not have asked for a more beautiful day, hardly any wind. And those of you who heard about my 22 mile run know that I ran that baby in gusting winds and just about died.

Mile 7: Finally, splitting from the half marathoners. Don't get me wrong, I love a half marathon, but there are WAY more half marathon runners than full and it was SO nice to have more space. After the split I hardly had to move around anyone the rest of the race. Plus they were just too darn happy. Oh 7 miles we're more than half way home. In my head I'm like 7 miles, I still have a long way to go.

Mile 8: Yea, half way to when I'm supposed to meet Aaron. I'm still feeling really good and keeping good pace. A little under 8:30 min. miles. I start wondering if I should shed the gloves, I don't think I can make it all the way to mile 16 wearing them.

Mile 10: This is such a beautiful neighborhood. I wonder how much these houses cost. I wonder if any are for sale. Ohh there's one for sale, with a pool, mental note to come back and look at this house.

Mile 11: Good bye gloves, hopefully some homeless person finds you and uses you to their advantage. Oh my gosh is that a beer stand?? People are drinking beer while running, crazy people.

Mile 13: I gotta shed my sweatshirt, the sun is just too warm. I'm still doing good, keeping the same pace. Half way mark, if I had run the half I would be done, slight regret fills me. I down a chocolate Gu and continue on.

Mile 15: How many hills have we gone up, my goodness, I thought Texas was flat!! Oh my gosh is that the guy in first?? He's on his way back already. He is hauling and making it look so easy. This gives me encouragement.

Mile 16: Where's Aaron, where are you?? I can't find him, he's not there. I get so sad but I can't stop and wait. We are in the park now and I figure maybe he's somewhere down the way. But I don't want to miss him, he has my Gu, I've run so far alone...

Mile 17: Still no Aaron, maybe at mile 18...

Mile 18: It sinks in hard that I'm not going to see him and not going to get my Gu. I get really sad and start to slow down. The 3:40 pace group catches up to me and I run with them for a little while but I'm losing motivation. Its sad because this is one of the prettiest parts of the run.

Mile 19: If I just walk for a second, oh my gosh, walking, it was fabulous. I wonder if I can walk all the way to the finish line. I keep telling myself I'll start running again but I can't make myself do it. It feel TOO good to walk. I walk up ANOTHER hill and somehow make myself get going again, but its not the same. Its just about moving now, I've stopped enjoying this.

Mile 21: I feel awful but I remember that Aaron and I are going to meet at mile 22. I see a friend of mine's husband on his bike and ask him where his wife is. She's five minutes behind me. Come to find out we were running the same pace this whole time she just started five minutes after me. That would've been nice to know. I know she's going to pass me though because I am slowing down unbelievably fast.

Mile 22: No Aaron, I should've known, we just mistimed when we would meet. I walk again, I see another hill coming... Are those firemen handing out water?? I notice the man in the hula skirt is slowing down too, he's had a smile on his face this whole run. I decide then and there no matter how slow I'm moving, I can't walk again or I will not start running again.

Mile 23: Here comes my friend Becky, passing me, man she looks like she's not hurting at all. She would go on to cross the finish line 7 minutes ahead of me.This tells you how slowly I ran the last three miles. Oh my gosh these mile markers are getting so far apart.

Mile 24: You have GOT to be kidding me, I cannot climb this hill!!

Mile 25: I miss the marker. I ask a worker how much farther, one mile, he says. One mile! One mile! My spirits pick up I know I'm going to make it to the end. I drink some water and powerade and I take off. I see I have a little less than 10 minutes to finish in under 4 hours. Every part of my body aches but I dig in to push myself to keep going.

Mile 26: The crowd is cheering, I see the finish line, I worry that no one will be there that I know but I don't care because all I can think about is getting there. I want to cry because I am so proud of myself. I remember how hard it was to have a baby and how empowered it made me feel and I find a way to push to the end.

26.2: I made it, I made it! I know my body is shot, it has used up every last bit of energy I had. I start to look around and hear my name. My parents are there waiting for me with my sweet baby. I embrace them, I am so happy. Where is Aaron?? "He is waiting for you at mile 22," they tell me. We just missed each other at 16 and he got worried that I was hurt or something and was just moving really slow so he was waiting for me. He hurries to meet me and I fall into his arms. "You did it babe, you did it." I did do it.

(Here is a shot from the phone when I called Aaron to see where he was...)

After I got some food, I felt much better. My quads burned but the rest of me felt pretty good. I walked away with no blisters, shin pain, or knee pain. I worked hard to get to this day and if you knew what I went through to nurse through the whole training process. I might even be more proud of myself for that as I am for making it to the race. Aaron took very good care of me the rest of the day and I indulged in cheeseburgers, french fries, two Coldstone creations and many chocolate chip cookies.

Will I do another one? I think so, I had a really good experience and I'm so proud of myself but not for awhile and never again with such a young baby.