See Jane Run-Half Marathon

The day has finally came, HALF MARATHON time!

I was feeling really the good the week leading up to the half. I had read in Runner's World magazine that your taper week attitude can really determine how your race attitude will be. So I was going into this as optimistic as any Positive Patty could be. I was happy and bubbly and just plain giddy leading up to my half.

I took a personal day on Friday and my friend, Alicia, and I headed to Wichita for packet pick-up and some fun girl time. We headed to Wichita and got there with plenty of time and got our packets. We checked out our cool swag bags and goodies, then headed to our hotel room.

Once there we laid around and did nothing. It was FABULOUS! We are both full-time working moms who are trying to raise good kids, be bad asses at work, Susie homemakers, and just be wonderful people all around. It's tough, don't let anyone fool you!

We finally decided to walk to Old Town and get some dinner. We had used UrbanSpoon to get a food recommendation and settled on a bar that had an eclectic mix of food. We arrived at the bar and as we were walking in I noticed this kind of racy poster on the wall of half-dressed men but didn't think anything about it because this was the hip part of town. We eat our food, which was fabulous, and then I decide to use the restroom before leaving.

Once there I see the poster again. This time I look at it closely and realize it's men dressed in hot pants dancing with each other and then drag queens in the background. We were at a GAY bar! This didn't really bother me but I found it incredibly hilarious. Of all the places in Old Town for us to pick to eat at we pick a gay bar. Only us!

We head back to the hotel and grab some gelato on the way. Once we get back to the hotel we decide to do what we can't do at home; lay around and do nothing! It was fantastic and worth every penny of the hotel we had. We headed to bed early and got some much needed sleep.

I laid out all of my stuff in the morning and got ready. We got up around 6:15am and spent time getting ready, eating some food, hydrating with water and going to the bathroom, a lot! We saw people from our hotel room heading to the start line and we decided to do the same.

This was us pre-race! I didn't feel nervous and was pretty happy. They had a fun 80's aerobic workout for us to all do as a warm-up. It was fun and really broke the tension everyone was feeling with themselves.

The start line! We stayed toward the back and in the slow lane. There really weren't that many people there. I thought there would be a lot more for this big event. I found out later on that there was another half-marathon the next day and that probably didn't help.

We started the race and I felt really good. The first 4 miles seemed to fly by. We walked through every aid station. I made sure to get Gatorade to keep hydrated and my muscles moving. I ran to mile 6 and that's when things started to slow down. I walked some from miles 6-8 and then after mile 8 it was a struggle. I literally felt like I had no energy to run. My legs felt great and I could keep moving but I just didn't have the pep I needed. I tried a Gu at mile 8 and it was disgusting and I couldn't tell a difference. I ate another Gu at mile 10 and still nothing.

Once I approached what I thought was mile 11 and passed it I started to tear up. I was literally ugly-face crying after running 11 miles. The idea that I was then running farther than I ever had and was so close to being done just all came to me. I thought about Mike and how great of a hubby he has been to me through this whole training process. I thought about Wyatt and him cheering me on each run and thinking I was a rock star, no matter what. I thought about my family and friends that have been cheering me. As I was running I was coming up to a cop who was holding traffic and I told myself to get it together because he would probably make me stop running because I was looking so disturbed.

I saw mile 12 coming and took some more Gatorade. I was going to run this last mile and make it my bitch! I did end up walking some but it was more my bitch than walking was. Once I hit the two block mark I let loose and sprinted to the finish line. I ran the hardest I possibly could and it felt great!

 

 

My official time was 2:43:55! I will take it. This has definitely made me want to do another half. My future training plans will include carrying food with me for energy. I think this will make my energy levels more leveled and I can keep that great feeling after the 6 mile mark.