At least it didn't rain

While the race on Saturday did not go at all smoothly, I had decided early on that I was just going to run it for fun and that my only goals were to finish, and to take notes for my half marathon in February. I was able to accomplish both goals.

Eye on the prize.

Not only did the race experience not really go as planned, neither did my feelings on race morning. I woke up nauseous, which wasn't improved at all by the long drive in the backseat of a minivan to the race. I was in such a rush to get in the car after my alarm didn't go off, that I accidentally left the bagel that Kara had so awesomely smothered in peanut butter for me, on her counter. When we stopped at a Wawa to meet the rest of our group and to get some other breakfast items, all I could stomach was a soda AND I had forgotten my wallet, so Kara had to front me the money. I'm such a horrible person when I'm rushed.

Upon arriving at the race (and thanking the good lord that I was finally on solid ground for a while), I grabbed a banana, with hopes that I would soon be able to eat it without wanting to barf. All I could stomach was half of it, so that's all I was being fueled by for 9 miles. Oh and I also had..umm..."cha cha cha" issues. Kara and Kari had suggested that I grab Gatorade at the water stations, which was my plan, until the water stations were all empty when I got to them.


To break it down:


Mile 1.5: I dropped my gloves and, accidentally, my hat. This is also where I lost the rest of my "team"

Kara, I did not Photoshop this one. You're welcome.

Mile 3: My legs were not cooperating and I had to switch to run/walk intervals. A lady came up behind me and yelled, "Go sexy bitch. You can do this!" Unfortunately she was running way faster than me or I would have tried to stick with her for a while for the motivation.

Mile 6ish: Cramps in both my sides and hips. I actually stopped to stretch a couple of times. By this point I knew my time was going to be crap anyway.


Mile 7: I was ready to drop out. I was so incredibly close to not finishing. I think "pissed off" is a good way to describe it.


Mile 8: I finally pushed through the wall and was feeling great. I never thought this would happen. By the time I got to the mile 9 marker, I took off.


I ended up with a 1:39 time (10:41 pace. horrible!), but I know for a fact that I can do better than that. Next time around I plan on actually eating before the race and hopefully feeling a lot better. Oh, and also running a much better race with a much faster course (The terrain for my half in February is basically entirely flat :).


Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control, Kara and I weren't able to get our chocolate after the race. Seriously...WORST. RACE. EVER.

I hear lots of these were given out. I'm in mourning.

One good thing to come out of this race: meeting "in real life" three awesome people that I already considered friends. (Kara and I had previously met in college. We go way back).

Oh, and my mom and I went to a local running store on Sunday to see if they had "15k" car magnets. The lady behind the counter said, "I'm sorry, we don't, but boy do you deserve it after yesterday!" Umm...yes, we do deserve it, and so I created one.

I found the website Stickylife.com and went to town. After I created it, using their online template, I couldn't help but order a few. After I receive them, it sounds like I may need to order more due to the positive response. I think it'll be an awesome new addition to my back bumper :)


I promise tomorrow's post will be about the epic "blogger sleepover" Friday night. Be prepared to be very jealous.