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| About to Cross the Finish Line |
Now for a blow by blow. Gotta remember every moment of this day...
Woke up at 3:30am in the morning, had a coughing fit that had me gagging and running to the bathroom to throw up. I kept thinking "WTF???!! This better not be anything other than nerves or just the coughing!" Went to bed and woke at 5:00 am, ate my hard boiled egg white and some oatmeal, drank some water, got ready. I was ready early, trying not to feel nervous, but I felt ready. Woke up Franklin, kissed him goodbye with the strict warning not to oversleep and went outside to wait for James, Bob and Steph to pick me up. I was too antsy to wait outside my condo so I walked out to the street and stuck a thumb out as they pulled up in the dark. Changed into my SMS team shirt and we were off!
Bob's wife owns a building in downtown San Jose where we were going to park the car so we were able to get up in the office building and use the bathroom and chill for a bit before going out to the street. Even before 7am, the streets were teeming with volunteers setting up the water stations, and runners. at 7:20 we went down and joined the crowd. I was amazed at the number of runners out there RUNNING to warm up! Of course, those were probably the ones that flew past me at mile 5 on their way back to the finish line!
We found our corral (I was originally in #11 out of 12 based on my estimated finish time but I switched to Steph, Marga and Maha's corral of #7), then Steph and I walked a couple of blocks to look for the gear check because we both had our swag bags with a few things (mine only had my long sleeved shirt and the duct tape and marker) but Steph had brought flip flops (oh how I missed them) and a change of clothes for the concert after. I didn't even THINK of changing my clothes after, just figured we'd hang as is. Oh well.
A pit stop and then back to the corral. Tons of people were now all around, the lines to the thousands of outhouses long, and that was one thing I was really concerned about, the condition of the port-a-potties. I had visions of disgusting things all over the seat as I really needed to use one. Steph has told me stories. I just prayed I would get a clean one :/
In the corral the energy was electric; people stretching, hugging hello, waiting nervously. I was so excited to begin. We finally found Marga and Maha, and thankfully Maha had a camera and took a couple of pre-race photos, which she tagged me in FB so I'm happy to have those since I was feeling a bit naked without my iPhone. The National Anthem was sung, and we were off! Since we were in corral 7, the crowd began by walking toward the starting line, but it only took 2 minutes for us to get there and then we were off! I have always been used to walking for 1/2 a mile to warm up but didn't have that luxury because the entire crowd started running so I had to. Right away I could feel my chest acting up, from the violent coughing and puking from earlier. My cough hasn't gotten any better, but usually only bothers me at night but I was fatigued almost immediately. I thought "Crap this isn't good" so before we even got to the 1 mile mark I had to walk for a bit.
the first 2 miles were actually harder than I thought, for some reason. I think it's because I was running with the flow of the crowd, then running with Steph, and that always kinda messes me up because even though it's not fast, it's at a pace that is not as comfortable for me and I seem to do better when she runs ahead of me and I can get in my groove and plug along longer. I do get that with the race, and all the runners, it was easy to get caught up in the flow. So I think I started out at a pace faster than I was accustomed to. I learned quickly to stay to the right and hug the cars, almost, so that runners could pass me. I did fall into the trap of getting a little bummed that so many people were passing me up, when I knew full well I was in this for me and not to compete with anyone. I guess the competitive part of me was bothered by that fact, even though I was a newbie and there was no way I could expect to perform at the level of so many others.
The first 3 miles were through a pretty poor part of town, run down houses and older schools. There were bands at about each mile marker and so I would have to pause my iPod so that I wouldn't miss my music but also so I could hear the bands. Some were good, some were crappy, but there were people all along the streets, either sitting outside their houses watching and banging on instruments, or actual little cheerleaders in uniform and pom poms giving high fives, school bands, people with signs at corners, all calling out encouraging things like "You can do it, you look great, GO!" It was pretty cool. Lots of little kids with signs for their mommy or daddy.
We ran back through downtown around the starting point again, past the HP Pavilion. I was lost at this point (well not really because you just follow the crowd) but I don't really know downtown San Jose so I had no sense of where I was. I think around 6 or 7 we were in a really nice area of San Jose, big houses with huge front lawns and porches, people out sitting in their robes drinking coffee and mimosas!! There was one band around mile 7 in the nice neighborhood that was playing a Tom Jones song (Kiss, which is SO much better when Prince does it) but anyway, it kinda cracked me up that the band in the ritzy area was not the hard core rock band but the one doing Tom Jones!!! Probably strategically placed!
Right when we got to mile 8 I felt a twinge of a charley horse, first in the left calf then in the right and had to stop and stretch. For whatever reason, that sent me bursting into tears. I had been feeling some hip flexor pain for about a mile or so and that, coupled with the potential leg cramp, just did me in. Steph tried to be light, telling me "There's no CRYING IN RUNNING!!" but here we go, the second time on a run that I lose it. Oh well. The stretching held the cramps off so we walked a bit. In fact, I walked more than I wanted to between 7-9, running in bursts as my hip would allow, but I didn't stop and stretch after the calves because I knew I would start to stiffen up and just wanted to walk it out.
At about mile 9 I had to stretch those calves again and there was a lady wearing the green RnR shirt and she commented how hard it was and we were almost there. I think she was by herself. We exchanged encouraging words and then kept going.
Mile 10 came up and I remember thinking that soon, at 10.5, I would finally be going farther than I have ever gone, and that was exciting, but I knew Steph wanted me to run non-stop the last mile so I was worried because more body parts started hurting. Now it was my feet, which have NEVER hurt (other than my heel but never during a run), my hip flexor, and both knees were talking to me. At about 10.5, Coach James came running back to us. He had finished in 1:33 and as a Team in Training Coach, put on the purple coach jersey and came backwards to run in members of his team. So he came with me and Steph. Now, I told him he could go because at this point I was walking because of the pain, but he was so nice and encouraged me and kept walking with us. I literally walked 10-12, with bursts of slow running, which I DIDN'T want to do but I knew I could not run the last 1.1 mile if I didn't try to conserve some energy. Actually, my endurance was fine, it was the pain I was feeling that prevented me from running.
Up until mile 9 or so, my time was averaging around a 14 minute mile. God, so slow. The walking from 10-12 added so much time, but what could I do? Maybe the next event, I will have progressed with my training to the point where I can walk less. Up to this point, I was listening to the playlist I made for the event. Franklin had had fun the night before adding songs for me, and kept adding classics like Adam Ant, B-52's and Voice of the Beehive. What struck me, as I worked myself up in my mind to begin running at the 12 mile marker, was that the instant I passed that point, Franklin's portion of the list began: Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes. The timing of his songs, plus the moment that I knew there was no turning back, kinda momentus.
I began my running from 12-13.1. Steph was on one side of me, and Coach James on the other. I had to comment to him that I was running (ok, who am I kidding, jogging) at the same pace that he was walking! So embarrassing but I couldn't do any more than that. At several points along the race course, different cheerleading squads were cheering with pom poms and high fives for the runners. Pretty soon after we passed the 12 mile marker, there was a double line of cheerleaders (can't remember what school) for the runners to run through and get high fives. I was in the middle of the road but when I saw them, I cut to the right so I could run through them and get some high fives and motivation to keep going. I didn't know this at the time, but in James' blog after the race, he gave me a shout out and said that when I ran through that line of cheerleaders, my pace doubled and gave me an extra burst of energy.
James kept talking to me through that last stretch, telling me to look ahead because after we turned right at the next corner, then left, the finish line was up ahead. "See those white tents? You're almost there! That's the finish line!" For some reason that really kept me going, knowing how close I was to the end.
And it was the weirdest sensation - after 12 miles of running, walking and struggling, that last 1.1 mile actually was the shortest. At least it felt like it. It was the hardest, in terms of how I was feeling, but it seemed to go by so quickly that I was taken by surprise. After we rounded the last curve, and saw the 13 mile marker, James waved us off and went to the right. The last home stretch was a straight shot, and I just kept plugging away. I heard my name called out and I saw James and his wife Reesa on the right side, waving at me and yelling how great I was doing. I didn't even see James make his way to the sidelines. That was a nice boost.The music playing was a very loud "Celebration" and Steph moved me from the middle of the road to the left because that's where the camera was at the finish. I had already started to get emotional and teary at this point, and as we were running, I heard "Baby!" and looked off to the left, saw Cassie on Franklin's shoulders with balloons and flowers, and I waved, cried harder, and kept going. The lady in the green that had stayed pretty much with us since mile 9 or so was right next to us but Franklin said after we passed them, I went in front of her. Janet and Jeanett were on the other side of the road and when Franklin yelled at them that I was coming, they looked but we ran right past them and they didn't see us go by! We approached the finish line, I didn't even see the time on the clock because it was so unimportant. I remember putting my arms in the air for the camera (which is the picture at the top of this blog) and then Steph grabbed one hand and we ran together over the finish line. In watching the finish line video, which is not worth buying for the 5 seconds you see me, I turned and even before I high fived Steph, I turned around and high fived the lady in green. Now I wish I had gotten her name at least; I felt a bond with her as we ran the last few tough miles together. Oh well.
Immediately after we crossed, there was an ice station but there were a ton of people there. We grabbed ice cold bottles of water before working our way through the secure runner's zone. First, people were putting the medals around the runner's necks. Then, people were there taking pictures in front of a RnR background, passing out bags of Wheat Thins, which we tore open and started eating. I was feeling a little sick to my stomach at that point, I was so hungry. The next ice station we came to I stopped at and I could have had ice over my entire body but settled to have ice wrapped on my hip flexor, which was an interesting place to try to tie a bag of ice. The EMT wrapped it so tight around my thigh that I had trouble walking and by the time we made it to the family reunion area I had to rip it off. Steph and I left the ice station and kept walking, people were there with Odwalla bars, more Wheat Thins, etc. and after grabbing a couple of each, we got to the end and I saw Franklin, Alexander and Cassie on the left. Big hugs were given, and Franklin and I just were so teary. He told me how proud he was of me, Alex gave me a big hug and Cassie, a little bent out of shape that she was not the center of attention, made sure I knew that she picked out the balloons and the flowers!
We walked to the letter H and met up with Janet and Jeanett. Jeanett was sick and I was so amazed that she came out to cheer me on. I was so happy to see them both, they have been so supportive of me through this whole journey. We posed for pictures, with the Hoover gang, then me and Steph, and then me and my family. I was feeling the pain now, for sure. Steph and I had to walk about three blocks to the area where we left our gear bags so we left them and did that and then came back, said goodbye to Janet and Jeanett and then made our way to the beer station for our free beer (gave mine to Franklin, since I don't drink and why would I want a beer after all that running?)
The Blues Travelers had started playing by that point, and Cassie hates the loud music, plus I was starving, feeling quite nauseous by this point and in some desperate need of ice by this point. We ran into James and Reesa so Steph decided to stay with them for the concert and we headed to the car. Once I got to the car, I retrieved my iPhone from Alexander, who had been MORE than happy to keep it for me all morning and saw I missed a call and a text from Pam, who was there at mile 13 but didn't see me pass by! We had already driven off by the time we connected so we turned around and met her in the parking lot where she parked her car. I was blown away that she came all the way out to cheer me on! And then I felt bad that I didn't connect with her on the course, but so happy that I did before we left. I am so blessed to have so many people that care for me and support me :) Alexander got a fairly decent video of me running past them to the finish line. So cool that he thought to do that for his mom :)
We left Pam and headed home. Well, we headed to the soccer field because what is a day without soccer in my family? Franklin had to drop some player cards off at the field, and as Cassie and I waited in the van, she had to go to the bathroom and of course I was already stiffer than anything but I dragged my butt out of the car because what are you gonna do? I tried to call Franklin but he left his phone in the car and by the time we got out of the bathroom, I WAS DONE. I needed to go home so badly and I was so irritated that he was watching the game from the sidelines. I yelled at Alexander to come on, Cassie was whining because she wanted me to take her to the playground, but I didn't even think I could watch her play. I just needed to go home.
We finally left and I immediately got in the shower, came out to ice and it felt sooooo good. Alex had to go for the quince practice so Franklin left to take him to Union City and we decided to go out to dinner so I could rest for the afternoon. I ate a little leftover pizza, iced, stretched, watched tv and tried to sleep, but Cassie would have none of it and kept waking me up after a few minutes of snoozing. When Franklin finally got home, I laid down again but couldn't sleep.
We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, with Alexander and his friend Maynor and unfortunately my steak was too fatty but I ate a sweet potato and a salad and 3 yummy rolls and enjoyed every one! I usually don't eat the bread, but after burning 2200 calories on that one event I earned it!! In fact, my day's total was 4000 calories and 35,000 steps - a personal record :)
I weighed myself on the morning of the run, and again today (Tuesday) and I have lost 6 pounds! Crazy. Of course, I have been having some issues........Sunday afternoon, whether it was my system acting up after the run but I was sick to my stomach for a couple of hours. Was fine at dinner and on Monday.
Monday I had a well deserved spa day, with a hot tub and massage in Santa Cruz, which was wonderful. Lunch after was not so great, because we ate at a taqueria and I ordered a carne asada tostada and when I picked it up to eat, it was swimming in grease. I knew better than to eat it, but tried to sop it up with napkins and was so hungry that I ate most of it. Big mistake. Then we went for ice cream before we headed home, and I haven't eaten full fat ice cream in forever. Big mistake #2. Tasted good at the time.
By the time I got home, I was cramping and spent a good deal of the rest of the night in the bathroom. I didn't know if it was the food, if I caught the stomach flu or if it was post race stomach sensitivity. Ended up calling Lynne to come again for me today because I didn't think I would make it. This morning, I finally vomited and sure enough, my undigested lunch was in front of me. No wonder I felt like crap. So I learned another thing the hard way - do not eat food that you are unaccustomed to. The grease did me in. I don't think I will be able to ever eat in a little greasy taqueria ever again. Yuck. Spent all of today on the couch, sleeping, barely eating anything because the oatmeal I ate at breakfast gave me pains. Drank a ton of water. Feeling better tonight so I guess it's back to school tomorrow. Have a raging headache, though. Still coughing so that may be it.
Whew. This was an incredible journey for me, and it feels strange, sad, bittersweet. Like it's all over but I know it's not because my journey will never be over. I need to set the next goal, whether it's another 1/2 marathon, or a focused goal to get back to Body Pump, or some other goal. I cannot believe it's over, so it's not. It's a new direction, a new focus, a new road to travel. And I am excited!!
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