Gulf Coast Lulu's Half Marathon

I don't know why I'm like this but every race I do I get butterflies the day of the race.  With longer races, it begins the night before.  Well, this one was no different regardless of the fact that this was going to be a training run [and I needed to get in an extra 5 miles AFTER the race in order to get the 18 I needed].  With that in mind, it made no difference because I think a race is a race...no matter how you want to run it.  If you race, it's hard to separate intentions from adrenaline.  Right??

I knew my friend, Mo, was going to be there as we picked up our packet at the same time on Saturday. We are heavy competitors; we are in the same age group and run about the same pace. She had said that she was running real slow now and I told her that I was doing this one as training for a marathon coming up. With all of that said to one another, the stress seem to be off for the race...at least that sounded good.   

I was super excited about having my friend Deleica come join me on this one.  We've not raced together before [except for the marathon] and she's just now getting her running legs back from having been off for many medical reasons.  She's such a trooper and a great motivator!  She's, also,  a great runner and will be outrunning me soon...as she should being 10 years younger.  With that in mind and the fact that I wanted to keep a slower pace to get in all the miles I needed, the thought was that we'd be a good partner. 

Two things were new to me.  I'd never done a training run in a race before nor have I partnered up to run "with" someone except for the marathon.  And, NO...I'm not calm...anxious and excited but, by no means, calm.  So we got the day started with a pic before the humidity had time to take its toll on us...AND IT DID! 

The race hardly started before we started up and over the bridge over the Intercostal Waterway.  Man, that was a tough incline.  This gave the humidity a great opportunity to attack.  Needless to say, the "anticipation" to see this thing one more time when we returned was not the way you want to think throughout the entire race.  After all, running is a lot mental...right?? 

It wasn't long after we got off the bridge that I KNEW we were going way to fast for my training.  I kept looking at my watch and we were about a minute faster and all I could think about was I'm not going to make it 18 miles today if I don't slow down. 

Off and on I'd told D that I needed to slow down so I could do this...BUT...it didn't happen.  It's so hard to run slow when you're racing.  Racing mentality just seems to take control no matter how hard you try. 

The humidity was probably one of the toughest I've run in.  It was 98% and the temp was 69!  We could hardly breathe.  I was struggling quick into the race.  Close to the 5 mile marker I told her that it looks like I may have to stop and walk some but would wait til I got to 5 miles.  When I got there, I felt the same and told her to go on.  I stopped and took 2 steps and ran again.  When I caught up with her [shortly], she laughed and I told her that I just couldn't do that!!!  Walking is just not my thing especially since it was so early in the race and I was running about a half marathon every week in my training already.  I mentally grabbed hold of facts, refocused and kept going.  Little did I know that we were getting into a very bored part of the race.  I'm so thankful for my iPod!! 

About 2.5 miles left to go, a change was made in my race.  I settled into my training pace, which was a little slower, and I began to feel strong again.  Many people had stopped to walk all along the way but it seemed to increase as we got to the 11 mile marker.  I caught up with one lady and she said this was real tough.  Said she trains in Chicago at 10 degrees and this was real hard.  Within a few steps, she was walking.  Then...the bridge appeared and reminded me of the challenge that laid in front of me.  It was here that MANY more people decided to stop and walk up the bridge to save strength.  Everyone was worn down.  It got harder and harder but then I began to think "it's not going to beat me!"  As it got tougher and tougher, my mind was telling me to walk a little because everyone else was doing it; but it made me stronger.  My thought was "it's not going to bite me in the butt!!!"  Push after push, it wasn't long before I reached the top.  Finally relief and all I could think was "I did it!!"  Everything from here on out was easy peasy. 

As I got a half mile from the end, my friend Mo came up on me.  She was huffing and groaning really bad.  I asked if she was okay and she said, "yes", but kept going.  I was not interested in racing so I let her go on by though she was only a few steps ahead.  She finished right in front of me.  As she crossed the line, she bent over double and I went to check on her.  She had almost overdone it.  Here are pics of me, Deleica and my new friend, Jeff, as we crossed the line.  Thanks, Honey!

The medal was great and I was so thankful to have one handed to me after this hot race.

Oh, and this is the shirt front and back. I LOVE the colors!  They are neon, but it appears as though they're pastel. 

Here is our post race pic and meal pics.

When I found out I was getting an award we hung around for the ceremony.  I still had to get in 5 more miles and soon.

I'm so glad Kent felt like coming. He's getting stronger now and I'm so appreciative of the pics he took.

Chicken and sausage jambalaya was great! It was spicy and so good. And, I couldn't get enough oranges and Coke. It was so hot all I wanted was some cool relief.

Mo found out that she got second place. Not shooting for a time in this race, I figured I got third since I came in right behind her. But as it turned out, I got first and she got second!! Having chips recording the times, it showed that I beat her by ONE second!  I must have started before her.  I couldn't believe it!  It was a bittersweet win though. She had run so hard and almost overdid it just to beat me and it was all for no good. The good part is that this is the first time I got First Place in a half marathon and my time was terrible...but woo-hoo!!

Here's my award.  Had to put in a white paper towel so you could see it.  It has the same turtle on it that is on the back of our shirts. 

And, here is what got me my first place!!  The chip on the back of this little ole bib...

As soon as this was over, we headed out to the beach to get in the rest of my miles. And, yep, I was stoked after receiving First Place even though my legs were getting a little heavy.  Eighteen, here I come.

A hot shower never felt so good as it did today.  Wish I could have stayed in it for a loooong time.  Now, off I go to work on this training.  Until later, go

Run 4 It