I wanted to write a different re-cap, in fact in all the ways I played out my first Half Marathon going, this was never one of them. The thought never even crossed my mind that I would have to tell everyone that I did not finish my first half Marathon, let alone barley get started.
Race: Yeungling Shamrock Half Marathon
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Weather: 55 at the start....Beautiful
5:30- up and at 'em, not tired, excited, nervous, excited, need coffee.....nope nope coffee make me gag this early...Gatorade and an apple that works!! Potty one more time hurry Dad and handsome along.....
6:15-kiss sleeping babies and leave the hotel room
6:40 -Waiting in corral six excited, nervous, excited, nervous excited, excited, excited
6:55-kiss handsome once more knowing I will see him about mile ten, kiss Dad and tell him to have a great race and to run his best I will see him at the finish.
7:00 - The gun goes off and were moving, so excited and feeling great.
7:08:38- Mile one......holy balls 8:38 mile one....let's back off a little...I can still see Dad up ahead.
7:17- hey 17 is my lucky number and we are at mile two in 9 mins still going waaay to fast!!!
7:23- about 2.5 miles in...ouch, ouch, ouch what the hell is that...my knee?? Why is my knee bugging me?? ugh..keep moving, it will shake out....
With each minute the burning intensified.....come on come on you worked for 15 weeks, there is no way your quitting1 almost 3 miles in.
7:28- Mile 3 Medic tent......do I go? should I go? I better go?....I hop into the medic tent...where I burst into tears and medic Tom is being as sweet as can be, it pokes he prods, and says "let's give you some Tylenol and do a hefty tape job and see if you can keep going, you are going to have to walk every water stop, and listen to your body".....I nod praying the tape and Tylenol is all I need to at least get across that finish line...
7:35- I am back on the course, and trying to run, I am taped everywhere and my gait is so weird, but trying to get through the motion hoping it will feel a little more natural.
7:36-Pace group 2:30 passes me and I probably had the lowest moment of my running career...to know that I had been so far in front of them that I had gone three miles, and been in the med tent and had to start walking before they caught me was a huge blow to my self esteem it was my only goal to stay in front of them....the tears started flowing as the pain was still searing....and I started walking.
:7:40-I start to self talk...ok fine if you have to walk the whole damn thing fine at least you will cross the line...
8:10-mile 4......I am only at 4??? the last mile took me 25 mins to "limp/walk" pick up the pace you can walk this ....
8:30....mile 5 tears and pain....do I quit....the little voices, no, no, don't quit you can do this...I start bawling as I realize had I been running I would be more than half way done around mile 8 or 9
8:50 Mile 6.....some overly nice lady tells me "it's ok, when you don't think you can do any more you just keep going....I was too distraught to explain, that I was hurt not a quitter....."
9:00- I sit on the side of the road and rip off all the tape Medic Tom put on me in hopes that if I can just pick up and run with my natural gait all the pain will shake out and I will finish this thing after all....I see very few people still walking...
9:10- Mile 7 is in the distance and I am in more pain then ever...limp one, limp two, come on you can do this....
For the next 20 mins I cry out loud...and limp/hop as I look for a medic or race official of some sort....
9:40-Mile eight water station....I hop up to the first water passer outer and choke out the words "I need a medic".....her response "oh baby do you have a cramp??" to which I burst into sobs of "I need a medic I can't walk"......which freaked her out!!!! She started screaming............MEDIC!!!! WE NEED A MEDIC!!!! MEDICAL.....I told her to calm down I wasn't going to collapse, the medic put me in his truck and called for a Sag vehicle.....he was so kind...
9:48- I made the call that I never ever thought I would have to....."Hi handsome, it's me, I am hurt and cannot go on....I will be in a SAG van back to the finish line" I said that threw choking tears.....and "I am so sorry's" to which handsome said "please stop apologizing, I will find you when you get here."
10:15- I see the very last walker, walk threw water stop eight and although she is moving slow, she has so much pride, because she is doing this and doing it well, and scream as loud as I can "woooooohooooo great job....keep it up".
10:30- I see the first three elite Marathoners come through what would be mile 21 for them...and I am in awe to see how amazing their bodies are
10:35- Sag van shows up, and I cannot put pressure on my left leg at all..they help me to the van and I ride to the finish area....
10:50- I get out of the van and decide I can probably find handsome from here....except I can't walk....the Sag van driver takes me by the arm and puts me back in the van and calls Handsome him self....then he wraps me in a space blanket because I am freezing..Handsome makes it moments later...and they discuss the fact that there is no way I can walk back to the hotel.....I sag van it back to the hotel and Handsome with a baby on his back helps me hobble to our room. At this point I am still thinking there is a way for me to hobble down the board walk and cross that line...................
I will have to continue the rest of my long story tomorrow hope you come back to hear all my drama :) Congratulations to all the races this weekend!!
