I finally got it done - 13.1 miles - check.

It is exactly 3 years since I started this journey with running after I broke my ankle.  I had to take a week off from blogging to allow myself to think about the experience and take in everything leading to the race and the race itself. This past Sunday March 19, 2017 was the date I was able to conquer one of the biggest challenges I had set my mind to do this year which was the half marathon distance (13.1 miles/21 kms).  I had been told by my Coach Karen in the fall last year that she believed that I was ready to do a half marathon this year and that as long as I trained for it I would be ok.  All the people I have run with in the past year or more believed in me more than I believed in myself and I decided to stop putting myself down and do my best.  This journey has not been easy and there is no way I would have done this if I had not surrounded myself with people who are not only there for me but influenced me to push myself and do better. 

In the past several weeks I have shared with you how it felt like when I went up in mileage in preparation for the race.  The half marathon was done in Sarasota, Florida which meant I would have to fly out of the Washington, DC area to go to Florida for the race.  I traveled with a couple of friends and we spent time visiting friends'parents as well as touring and going out to eat.  Having a busy weekend was a distraction for me so I was not able to focus on the big race on Sunday morning. 

Race day:

Saved until the end

The start time was 6:45 am and we got there by 6:00 am.  I was nervous but not too nervous until when we came out of the car to get ready to drop off our bags and meet other friends.  In the process of looking for where to drop off our bags it was only natural for me to start looking at runners bibs to notice who were running the half and those who were going to run the relay. Most of the people who were out there had what I defined as athletes bodies and never looked like I did physically. I could not relate to anybody and felt totally intimidated.  I remember saying I had not seen any plus size person and the ones I saw were going to be spectators.  I panicked and actually got emotional because at that point I thought I had bitten more than I could handle.  Jackie had to calm me down and remind me that I was ready since for some reason I just could not stop crying and that I should hold my tears for when I was done.  I had all the members of team remind me to trust my training and that I was going to do great. 

The race started and I had no choice but have my game face on for the race.  It was not easy but it got done. Seeing the band members while on the race course gave me energy while we cheered for each other.  I was doing ok until about mile 8 when I felt I was getting too hot.  There were two couples who were in front of me and one of these couples were wearing sweatshirts.  I just didn't understand how they would still be wearing sweatshirts while I felt I was melting and was running with the sun.  By mile 9 I had cooled off since there was a breeze and I had stopped judging these couples who were still ahead of me.  Mile 9 was tough for me until when I got to mile 10. I had to change my mantra to "trust your training you got this" and that is what I kept telling myself. I knew what it felt like to run 12 miles and all I wanted was to get there and will figure out how I will get to the end. I got a burst of energy and went past the two couples who had practically run most of the race near me.

Getting to mile 12 was emotional for me because I knew had done most of the race and just had to finish the last 1.1 mile.  This mile was dedicated to my friend Corynne who was not with us on the trip and usually says you can slow down but don't stop and you cannot quit.  I did not quit and kept going until when I saw the mile marker 13.  I could not believe that I had actually made it to mile 13 and could not control myself but start crying.  My amazing friends saw me and just started screaming and cheering me on while I approached them.  They then surprised me with a sign and I don' think I will ever forget how I felt at that time.  The love, the support, the excitement that I was almost done is what gave me the energy to cross the finish line.

I once heard Steve Harvey on the radio station talk about how you are able to know a person’s character by the people they surround themselves with because you became just like them.  I am proud to say am a runner and have the most amazing running support group anybody would wish for in their lives.  Some have asked me if I would run a half marathon again and my answer right now is that I know I can do it but am not sure I will do it again just yet.

One step closer!

It was 7 weeks ago when I decided to start this blog to document my journey to my first half marathon and I cannot believe that the week before the half marathon has finally arrived and I have mixed feelings.  I can't believe the 10 weeks of training have already come to an end and now I just need to trust myself, trust my training and believe that I am ready.  I am excited that I get to experience this with an amazing group of people who have been there with me from day 1 during my journey. Am I scared? Oh heck yeah I am so scared but I believe it is normal to freak out before you start something new in your life.  I will treat this as just another weekend run and remember to enjoy the moment during the journey.  Two years ago if you asked me if I would be running a half marathon (13.1 miles or 21 kms) I would have laughed at you and my response to you would have been are you out of your mind??.

The weather this week has been crazy from warm temperatures to frigid temperatures.  Our mid week training was track workout.  I have mixed feelings about running on a track because you just keep going round the track over and over again without any scenery.  When we are out on a trail we complain about rolling hills and how tough the trail was and when on a track we still complain about running on the track.  Nobody can win either way because we shall still complain no matter what but at least get it done.  Great coaches always listen to us and are always able to rise above our complaints and make sure we do what we have to do to get the work done. I believe that in order to be successful in life your hard work as well as being consistent despite the challenges you face a long the way you will get to where you want to be at the right time.

Start temps in C & F- chubby fingers after the run

Roles were changed this weekend while the rest of the 10 mile program participants had 9 miles to run I had 6 miles to run. I never thought that I would say that "am only running 6 miles today" and make it seem like it is not a big deal.  I was excited that after a few weeks of doing more mileage compared to the rest of the participants I get to finish early enough before the group and be there to support them when they returned from the run.  It was so cold and nothing like what it was 2 weeks ago weather wise.  The trail had rolling hills and looked different from what I recall the last time I was out there last year when it was full of snow. I only started listening to music from mile 3 and actually didn't have to spend too much time thinking about how hard or long or gruesome the run was compared to last weekend when I had to run 12 miles.

Mother Nature seems to be sending us some mixed messages this week. We started the weekend extremely cold, there is a winter storm warning for early this week but we won't know until when she decides on what to do.  Either way I plan to hydrate, eat well and get enough rest in preparation for next Sunday.  Those who know me know that I call my negative voice Zeek and whenever, am lazy and don't want to do anything and feel like giving up I know that Zeek is winning.  I hope to channel positive energy despite my anxiety as well as excitement and will let you know how everything went when am done.  It might be the battle of Zeek before or running the race but this girl is determined to win and finish what she started.  Stay tuned.
 

12 miles (19 kms) is no joke!

This weekend was yet another milestone weekend and I wasn’t even sure how I was going to deal with the distance. 12 miles (19 kms) is no joke and I don’t know how runners get to run marathons or even longer distances.  This not only needs physical strength but also mental strength and a great support system. 

I thought the rock was yelling at me

To have a good run one must prepare for it before it happens. Some of the things one must do to get ready is to make sure they have hydrated well during the week, eaten well and most of all had enough rest.  I did my best with hydration during the week and but didn’t hydrate well on Friday.  I went out on Friday night with a friend to watch a song writing competition so by the time I got to bed it was way past midnight and this was going to be a second night where I was operating on about 3 hours of sleep for two nights in a row.  Talk about doing the opposite of what am supposed to do to prepare for the long run.  I didn’t roll myself out or even stretch the whole week and my muscles were so tight I think I was already wobbling before we started.  Talk about being ready for a milestone distance…ha!

.

Early Saturday morning I got encouraging messages from friends telling me I would be ok and will do just fine.  One of the messages that stood out for me was “don’t think just put your shoes on and run”. My first 5 miles went by so fast because I had the best company running with me.  Our conversations during the runs are usually super interesting but as they say what is said out on the run remains on the run.  We found a dead snake, lots of large animal poop and a pickup truck.  The driver of the pickup truck parked to wait for us to go by and our reaction at that point was he has a long time to wait since there is no way we could move faster than what we were already doing at that point.  Shortly after that I was to run on my own for the next 7 miles which I called the great trek.

Oh no when do I finish??

I was doing great between mile 6 and 7 until when the wind picked up and it was brutal.  I tried to keep a positive attitude and tell myself that I was a warrior until when I got to mile 9 and it as tough.  It was so windy and with cold temps it felt a lot colder and was the start of my discouragement.  The trail is beautiful however, having water on both sides of the trail made me feel like I really needed to pee.  I kept on thinking about giving up and the feelings about wanting to pee made it worse.  Mile 9 was also a reminder that although I was almost done I still had 3 miles to go and when you are exhausted and feel like you can’t do it anymore the 3 miles feel like 100 miles.  I decided to walk for about 2 minutes but then with all that cold my nose just started running.  When I stopped to wall my nose would run and when I run my nose would stop what the heck??  My left hand got cold, I had to put on 2 gloves on my left hand while the right side was ok and since that was the side of my tight quad muscles I started to think that maybe I was getting a stroke while running.  The things one’s mind can come up with when they decide it is the end of the road.  So not only was I almost crying, dealing with a ridiculous snorty nose, want to pee now I think am getting a stroke my world is going down.  You can’t come up with such thoughts when you are sitting on a couch watching a movie and eating juicy food…LOL. Was there going to be any hope?

I was finally able to get out of my funk by listening to my Thumb Print radio station on Pandora that had been playing some African and Latino music.  I needed some pick me up music and some of my favorite gospel songs started playing that helped me sing along on my way and helped me change my attitude.  It is hard to cuss and be negative while listening to gospel music..hahahha.  By mile 11, I was in a good mood and was able to get to the end with some energy and could still smile.  Priceless moment for me was seeing friends bundled up and patiently waiting to see me finish the 12 miles.  Love you guys! The body aches later that day and into the rest of the weekend have made me walk like a cross between a duck and a penguin.  Major lesson learnt this weekend is to make sure that I hydrate, get enough rest and eat well before the next run.  I look forward to taper week and I believe I will be ready in two weeks for the half.