They called the warning for everyone to start lining up. There were so many runners, just a sea of faces in every direction. Everyone anxious, making sure their shoes were tied tight enough, gear in the right place, ipod's set on their running mix, stretching and moving in place. And then we were off, slowly at first to get the mass of runners through the starting gate and up the hill past the boat launch. I started to get antsy and began to bob and weave my way forward to get some space and pick up some speed. It took about a mile in to get a good pace going and spread out a bit. I felt my adrenaline surging and kept thinking about a quote I read from a great running coach:
"Run the first part of the race with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart." I didn't want to burn out too early, but was also trying to make sure I wasn't going too slow. My adrenaline was making me want to speed along.
About the 4 mile mark I was keeping stride with another girl runner and stayed that way for another mile or 2. At one point she looked over at me and told me thanks for helping her keep a good pace. That was the cool thing. I felt like even though we were all competing against each other, we were all in it together too. Because 13 miles is a long ways to go and you have respect for each and every person that is puting the effort into completing it. After the turn around I felt a bit of relief, and knew once I got back to the main running trail with about 4 miles left it would be go time. I watched the miles tick down and kept pushing and pushing myself.
At about mile 11 I was suddenly siezed with a painful side cramp that would not go away. I was on the home stretch and I just kept telling myself not to stop, just keep going. For the record, I have never gotten a side cramp like that ever in my last few months of training so why I got one that day I can't say but I felt like it was a test of my will. At mile 12 I was still in pain and wanted to quit and walk badly. I had never wanted anything more than to just be done with this race and I kept asking myself why I had thought this was a good idea in the first place. I was not having fun, I knew I wasn't going to finish in the time I knew I could do it in. I was getting so mad and upset at the situation. Finally I came around the last bend with a half-mile left to the finish and I decided to just give it one last push of everything I had - pain or not. I could see the finish line and hear the cheering. The ending was cruel as we had to run back up the hill by the boat launch to reach the finish and my calves and side were screaming. About 20 feet from the finish line I spotted my children waiting to cheer me on and as I passed through the finish line I saw Riley waiting there for me with flowers. I was done! I simultaneously felt like a million bucks and like I could die at the same time.
Running a race like this is something I never thought I could do. It was so mentally and physically grueling, but very rewarding and worth the effort and months of running. Riley and the kids were my biggest cheerleaders and were always encouraging me and helping me find time to go on the long runs. Cooper and Kale when seeing me put my workout clothes on will always ask, "going running mom?" and I have to laugh. Overall it was a great experience.
