Running reflections

I'm all packed and ready to go--ready to leave town for my first marathon. Can you believe it? I can't. Really, I can't.

Let's take a walk down SP's running memory lane, shall we?

My first race! A Memorial Day 10k. (look how skinny I was! I would pay to look like that again--no double chin or anything!)

Crusin' down to the finish line of my first race ever (I heart downhill finishes). This race was so fun. No Garmin (didn't have one yet) just me and a steady pace. I finished strong and even got 3rd in my age group--whoot! I felt freaking awesome.

4th of July 10k (where I got heat exhaustion--awesome). I think the heat exhaustion sums this one up. But, it was my first race with the Dallas Running Club and aside from the fact that it was freaking hotter than hell, it was a fun day. I ran with my friend Matt who joined the club with me and it was his first race. The DRC has such great volunteers and I was really impressed with them. (again, skinny!)

After my first 15k (7/18)--loved this race! I was fast, it was fun, the weather was great and it was perfect. The 15k will always hold a special place in my heart because of this race.

Finishers medal and all--after my first half (8/23). I still have mixed feelings about this race. I was fighting a cold and the course was emotional torture, so, it's not my favorite memory, but, it was my first half and I am so happy that I did it. (look, you can see the chub start to increase)

Second 15k. I was really sick that day, so, naturally, I hate the pictures and the race wasn't great, but, whatever--I finished! (10/3) (sausage arms!)

After my second 15k with my dear, dear friend and her sweet puppy. I mean seriously, she showed up to cheer me on early on a Saturday morning--that's friendship!

I hate foot pictures, but, I'm weirdly proud of this one. This was from my first 20 miler and it left me with a blister the size of New Hampshire. It actaully wraps around my toe. It took me all day to figure out why I was walking funny! It hurt like hell. Battle scars, I tell ya.

Look! There's me! Run, SP, run! (longest finishing chute ever!)

After the DRC Half (11/1). (we rock, obviously).

I've come a long way--that's for sure. It's surreal to think that in 48 hours I'll be full on into my first marathon.

Hard work, early mornings, retarded toes, injuries galore, illnesses--you name it, I've dealt with it while training for a marathon. It's been a really hard road. And, I'm not afraid to admit that I've wanted to jump ship a time or two, but, am so glad that I never did.

I couldn't imagine a Saturday without an early morning run. I never thought I'd be a "runner", but, just like that, I am. I'm not fast, but, I lay it all out there on the road. I give it my heart and soul and that's all that matters. Finishing this marathon will be one of the best days of my life.

I'm excited to have it under my belt, and so excited for things to come: tackling one of the hardest trail runs in Texas (yeah, I didn't know it was one of the hardest when I signed up--for someone who does a lot of research at work, I don't so much apply it in my own life); running a gorgeous course on Catalina island for OperationJack; running several Texas staple races--Cowtown and Big D, and running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and meeting d-a-r in the spring.

This may seem lofty considering I have yet to complete a marathon, but, I've loved the training, I've loved the 20 milers (I know, who am I?) and I've loved the experience--good times and bad. And, I know I'm going to love training for Catalina (lots of hills!) and will be excited to run some new courses in my beloved Texas. So, why not? Exactly.

I'm getting kind of emotional about all this--my dad is flying in today and we're all driving to Tulsa together. I chose this race because it's the Route 66 Marathon and when my dad would drive me to college, we drove parts of old Route 66--and when he was a kid, every summer, they drove to Iowa via Route 66. It's special to share this with him, but, it does hurt so much that my mom isn't here. It's hard grappling with the reality that I'll be 25 next week and will finish a marathon this week, and she's not here to experience all this with me. But, I know she'd be proud. And that's all I ever want.

So, here's to a great run! Thank you all so much for your support, friendship, advice, jokes, comments--the whole nine. I never knew that writing a silly little blog would introduce me to such amazingly wonderful people. I'm grateful for each and every single one of you. Know that I'll be thinking of you as I chug along 26.2 miles. My phone is ghetto, so, I won't be able to Tweet or blog while I'm running, but, I'll try to get some updates in as soon as I get back to the hotel.

26.2, I'm comin' for ya.

Game Time

Well, running isn't necessarily a 'game', but, whatever.

It's game time. Oh hell yes it is.

Today was my last run before the marathon and I had a freaking kick ass run--totally makes up for my lackluster performance on Saturday. It was cool, quiet, there wasn't anyone else out (well, except for my weird neighbor who steals newspapers, but, whatever--seriously, he does, I'm not joking), it was perfection.

Luckily, the forecast for Tulsa has changed (no rain!) lows in the 40s, high in the low 60s. Perfection.

I've got my bag packed, my snacks and race fuel packed, my Powerade ready to roll now all that's waiting is me.

My dad gets into town tomorrow afternoon, and then my posse (um, dad, husband and sis in law) will pick me up and we're headin' north.

I'm actually really not that nervous. Excited, but, not nervous. I'm sure it'll hit me when we get up there, we get to the Expo and I get my race number. I'm sure I'll have a massive panic attack (per the usual), but, then, we'll move on and it'll be fun.

I have a time in mind that I want to come it at or under, but, I won't tell y'all what it is--all that matters is that I have fun and I run a great marathon. And I'm cautiously optimistic and I will have fun and run strong. After all, my last 20(+) miler was awesome.

It's been a really hard week, work-wise, which isn't ideal going into something this intense, but, I had a bright shiny happy pair of shoes waiting for me when I got home last night, which made it mildly better (pre marathon gift to myself--I always buy myself something before a race).

So, it's here. I can't believe it. I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure it's real. Funny.

Thank you to everyone for your support, your kindness, your encouragement and your friendship. It sounds funny, but, I really, really couldn't have done it without you. So, thanks.

And check back tomorrow for a walk down my running memory lane (are you sick of this running talk yet? Don't worry, next week will be about my love of In N Out--undying love I tell you).

Happy The Office Watching Day (er, Thursday).

And Happy early Birthday to Sam who celebrates on Sunday--go wish him a happy birthday and remind him that he's NOT old!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

And this has little to do with Christmas.

My birthday + Thanksgiving (which means a few days off work) + People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive = I'm a very happy little girl.

Call me crazy (no, it's OK, you can), but, during college I would pick up this issue at the DFW airport and stash it in my carryon only to ecstatically pull it out when I got home and my momma was waiting at the airport for me (OK, so, that only happened once since she died 1 month later, but, whatever). Every year, we would read this issue together. No fail. I haven't not purchased it in probably 10 years or so.

Earlier this month, the sis in law and I put our top picks out there: Ryan Reynolds, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman (you know my never dying love for Hugh), etc, etc and were eager to see who would win.

And then last night, she said that the cover had been leaked it that it was that terrible creepy vampire man (I'm sorry, I'm not into Twilight at all--and creepy vampire man kind of grosses me out--the only vampire I like is Brad Pitt circa Interview With). And we vowed we would not purchase said magazine if he was the winner (gag)--thus breaking a 10 year streak.

So, like a little child on Christmas morning, I was thrilled, thrilled I tell you when one of my all time favorite celebrity crushes was named this year's Sexiest Man Alive. Again.

Le sigh....

Admittedly, I'm shallow sometimes and I just can't help it (even if that creepy vampire did manage to get his mug on the cover--grr).

If you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.....

Musings & Monday

Guess what? It's race week! It's race week! It's freaking race week! I cannot believe that it's here. I cannot believe I've survived (well, this far at least). I am just so giddily excited that seriously taking today as a "rest day" is pretty much torture. But, it's here. It's Route 66 Marathon Week. And I'm going to kick that hilly and intense course--I totally am. I think. I hope. Yikes.

1. Had my last "long run" before the marathon, and let's just say, not my best work. I was just not into it at all. It was pretty much the worst run of my life. I opted to avoid my trail and run my hilly neighborhood because, well, hi, Tulsa=crapload of hills. Good in theory. And, I suppose good in reality because it totally kicked my butt....It was just a "blah" run. My pace wasn't great and it took every ounce I had to stay in the run. Eh. Whatever. Not every run is going to be great. I had a fab 7 miler on Wednesday, so, that was probably my good run for the week. Of course it was.

2. Picked up new running shoes after the disastrous 10 miler. Don't worry, they won't be worn before the marathon, but, since I've got a half a few weeks later, and I fully intend to run like a crazy person while in Arizona over Thanksgiving because, well, In-N-Out Burger (obviously), I needed a new pair of shoes because my pretty pink ladies are going to be toast. And, my new shoesies were on sale--bonus!

3. My sis in law has an interview today--yay! Happy shiny thoughts her way, please. We drove up to where the interview is last night so she knows where she's going and feels comfortable and everything--very excited and happy for her.

4. It is race week, but, it's also crazy week--I've got to pack for Tulsa and Arizona since I will have less than 48 hours between getting home from the marathon and leaving for Thanksgiving. I also have to fit in school and work in this time. Yeah, right.

5. I even managed to buy two Christmas gifts last week. Pretty sure that is the extent of my holiday shopping this year considering I have no clue what to get for anyone, but, hey, at least I got two!

6. I think I had Mexican food overload this week. Yes, I didn't know it was possible, and I'm still debating if it really is, but, in the last 7 days, I have had Mexican at least 5 times. Including a lovely dinner out on Saturday with the husband.

7. Nope, not possible, I could totally do Mexican for lunch or dinner today.

8. Too bad I have class.

9. We get to learn about airline marketing tonight. Excuse me while I try to contain my excitement.

10. And since I don't have much more to ranble about toda because my mind is filled with all things marathon, I leave you with two photos from our family photo shoot on Saturday taken by the lovely and talented Ren Morrison and my hair and makeup is credited to the lovely GlamorousNewylwed--y'all know I can't look like this on my own!

(yeah, the only time my hair will ever look that fantastic!)

(and my totally insane and crazy dog family--Ella Mae is full on attacking me, and Butch is just smiling for the camera. Their personalities, exactly)

Shoes, glorious shoes

(note: it's yummy Friday at my office. I may have baked pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I also may have taste tested that batter until I'm pretty sure there were only 11 muffins in the tin versus the 12 the batter was supposed to make--maybe, I'm not sure. Yeah, goal weight by next week? That's funny.)

I was on the hunt for protein powder and epsom salts the other day, and where do you think I ended up? Well, at Target of course (y'all know I'm cheap, a literal tub of epsom salts is $3.88 at Target versus $5.99 at the grocery store--I tell myself this to justify the other crap I come home with from Target).

And I might have strayed from the food aisles and made my way to the shoes. Maybe.

Sidenote: sausage legs + sausage feet + end of day = hilarious imagery of me trying to cram my feetsies into shoes. Lesson learned.

So, I left with my tub o' epsom salts, protein powder, dry fit tee (because how many is too many?) and a plethora of ideas of shoes I will purchase for the holidays.

If I can shove my lil marathoned feet into actual shoes that is.

Way to go, Target for having cute and affordable shoes!

I leave for Tulsa in one week, kids, one week! I am actually dreaming about running (last night I dreamt I was on my high school's CC team--funny since our CC coach was also my track coach and hated me with a passion... and the feeling was semi mutual).

I'm probably going to take today off because my 7.17 hilly miles yesterday kind of aggravated my IT band (and by 'kind of' I mean that walking is a slight challenge) and well, I've got a 10 miler tomorrow and I want that last "long run" to really be kick ass. (plus I got about 3 hours of sleep and did not feel like waking up at 5)

I missed a day of running this week. There are worse things (also, how much of a grown up am I for even thinking this?).

And, the sausages have improved. My feet are still a touch puffy, but, not really that bad at all. Seriously the weirdest thing ever!

Happy Friday (the 13th)!

PS. Who else loved The Office last night? Hilarious (as always)!

Yipee Skippy! I jump for joy!

I didn't let onto this on the blog, but a few months ago, my stepmom was having trouble breathing and she went in for a checkup and the doctors found some blockages around heart and an unknown mass in her lung. Of course they did.

Cue me freaking out because a) I've already lost one mother, and if I lose two, I honestly will go insane b) um, if my dad loses his wife, there's a good chance he'd pack up my sister and move in with us, and c) well, crap, we just don't need any of this right now.

Luckily, the blockages were nothing and that is A-OK. The mass in her lung was what gave them concern.

My stepmom has never smoked, never been around smokers and lived a healthy life--heck, this is the woman who would join me for 4AM workout sessions when I had 6:45AM classes! So, seriously, lung cancer, are you kidding me?

They'd run every test in the book and every time they said "well, we'll need to do another test to rule out cancer". So, they made arrangements to get tested at some state of the art place in Santa Barbara and we all waited around on pins and needles. My family was stressed--my stepmom was down in spirits (also, they had to put her beloved cat down a few weeks ago).

But, last night, my dad told us that the results of the biopsy are back: not cancerous! Just some weird mass--which is still weird, but, not going to hurt her.

Her breathing is better and everything seems to be A-OK. Which is fabulous because we were really scared that we'd spend the holidays doing chemo--which of course, is fine, but, honestly was scared to death that my stepmom had cancer.

Also, yesterday morning on my run, I saw a shooting star. That's gotta be a good sign, right?

I still have sausage legs. Which is why my 9 mile tempo run did not happen this morning and why I am now sucking down a Diet Coke.

I'll do a short run after work and hopefully get in my tempo run tomorrow AM.

I don't want to push the sausages.

But, the sausage legs don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. My stepmom is healthy. And if sausage legs are the biggest medical concern we have right now, that's fine with me (even if they are freaking annoying).

Happy Wednesday!

(and thank you to all our Veterans--I'm eternally grateful)

And, Happy Birthday to Erin @ BlueEyedBride--I hope it's a fabulous day--you deserve the best!

Sausages! Sausages! Sausages!

First of all, thank you everyone for such wonderful and supportive comments on my post yesterday. I didn't know a birthday was going to hit me so hard--but, alas, it did, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the support, the advice, the encouragement--it truly means so much to me. Thank you. Really, really, thank you. I am so grateful for all of you.

In other news...Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that my feet were oddly puffy. My right ankle sometimes gets swollen after a long run, but, this was both feet, and not just the ankle, but, the entire foot--as in, the buckle on my shoes was on the loosest clasp, and there was still an indentation. Weirdest thing ever.

The swelling got worse and when I got home from class last night, I had full on cankles.

This morning, I went for a hilly 4 mile run (awesome!) and let me tell you, running with sausage feet is freaking hard! Every step made them feel like they would explode and they felt like they weighed 500 pounds. Only to come home, take a shower and get dressed, realizing that my entire lower body is puffy! My legs are totally 100% swollen. Thighs, calves, feet--the whole nine. I've never experienced anything like this ever in my life. And it's painful! I have sausage legs. My poor little leggies and feet are just stuffed into my skin like sad little (er, big?) sausages.

I have no idea. I'm drinking my normal amount of water (which is a lot), haven't been pounding the Diet Coke (I know, shocking), haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary--no new meds or anything. Weirdest thing.Ever!

Has anyone ever had this happen before? Any ideas on what I can do? I couldn't even shove my feet into my largest flat shoes today!

I mean, it is hilarious, because, of course, I would just randomly balloon up, but, um, seriously, not cool.

I look like the damn Michelin Man. No joke.

And no, there will be no pictures, you'll just have to take my word for it. My lower half? Sausages.

I don't even like sausages.

Sad little plea: help. :)

Unprepared

(warning! warning! warning! possible honesty and emotional overshare. warning!)

So, as y'all know, it's birthday month (which, um, yeah, I haven't done crap to celebrate said birthday month other than my awesome half marathon--hmph, not cool), and soon enough, it will be marathon week (next week!) and then birthday week (um, the week after that). And then because I really am a child, birthday week shall extend into early December, 'cause that's when I can have my actual fun birthday dinner that will not take place at some shanty in Middle of Nowhere, Arizona. Just sayin'.

But, to this end, I'm feeling wildly unprepared for my upcoming birthday. And before I launch into my little schpeel here, let me clarify, that I am fully aware that I am young and have years ahead of me (hopefully)--fully aware. K. Thanks.

It's my 25th. On the 25th. Which, in and of itself is a big deal as far as I'm concerned.

However, I have fallen short on the list of things I wanted to do by my 25th. Yes, I've done a lot of things (changed legislation! bought a house! graduated college! started graduate classes!)--so, I'm not belittling that at all, but, I must admit that I was and still am completely unprepared for the emotions that would flood me as I reflect on my upcoming birthday.

2009 has been tough. We lost our sweet sheltie girl, Hanna. We lost dear family friends. I've battled a mystery illness which keeps me up most nights and has caused me to wage a never ending battle with my weight (considering I'd managed to lose 10 lbs from January-June--then August just ruined it all) which of course has led to depression--and well, we don't really need to go into that.... Yeah, 2009? Hard. We're fortunate enough that I have a job, but, my husband, who graduated top of his class, with honors, with awesome work experience, still does not. Thus, all the fun things we wanted to do to our home, we cannot, as we cannot afford them. We aren't any closer to having children than we were one year ago, which makes me sad, and I haven't made it to Italy yet. This is the real crime.

I look at so many of my friends who have gorgeous houses, graduate degrees, good jobs--and are my age, or just a smidge older and it can be hard. Who am I kidding, it is hard. There, I said it. And yes, it can be hard to be grateful for what I do have, because I know that really, it is a lot. I am a very blessed little lady. No denying that. And I am grateful.

Problem is, each year, I set goals (this problem also arises around December 31st), and I achieve none of them. Doesn't fail. No matter how simple (paint upstairs bath, anyone? How hard is that, really? I can promise you it won't be done by December 31st, 2009 as I said I would last year), I cannot accomplish them for whatever reason. Sure, things happen, money goes elsewhere, things pop up, life happens. Sure. But, why, oh why is it so hard for me to stick to things (like writing my book, for example)? I have no idea.

But, I do know this: I know that on Saturday, I completed yet another 20(.3) mile run. I ran my little heart out for 20 miles (well, the first 6 sucked, but, I found an Oreo at our water stop and I kid you not, it was like angels sang down from heaven and everything after that totally kicked butt. Note to self, have husband post up at mile 6 and 20 with Oreos). I finished strong, with my last mile being my fastest (was I just dying to be finished? I'll never know for sure). I felt freaking awesome (I can walk today!).

I know that God blessed with me with a body that can run 20 miles. And that will run 26.2 miles in less than two weeks (gulp). I know that one year ago, the thought of running 6 miles made me want to crawl under a rock. I know that I've gained some weight, my butt is freaking huge, my legs are chubby and my love handles are out of control, but, I can run 20 miles. I don't really know what all this means, but, I'm really trying to make myself feel better since I was told by a certain work colleague that I'd love marathon training because I'd be in the best shape of my life. I beg to differ, because I looked way better in May, but, whatevs (slightly bitter, what can I say, at least I'm honest).

I know that for once, I will have completed a goal. A milestone. A finish.

It's not what I set out to do on my 24th birthday, or even on December 31, 2008, but, it's what I set out to do and I'm doing it.

I don't think I've ever been so giddily excited over anything. Seriously. This is right up there with my wedding day (which was really a blur, and I'd like to watch the video of it sometime because I remember exactly .5% of the entire day).

I can't believe that almost another year has gone by. I can't believe that I haven't achieved nearly anything that I wanted to by this time, nor can I believe that in 13 days, I will run a marathon. I can't believe that I have completed two half marathons, two 15ks, and two 10k races this year. Never in a million years.

Sometimes things don't work out.

But, sometimes they do.

Sometimes, you find yourself in the most unexpected places.

Like in a pair of hot pink running shoes (which are sadly going to be laid to rest on November 23rd, 2009 as they have served their purpose--and considering I recently lost one of two remaining toenails, am pretty sure I should have retired them in October--oh well).

You just never know.

Obviously, Texas didn't get the 'fall weather' memo

Seriously! Only in Texas is it November 5th, and there are girls out sunbathing at the gym. It's November 5th! I understand that it's 77 out, really, I do, because I'm regretting bringing my jacket to the office because I'm schlepping it around--so, no, I understand that it's mighty warm.

But really.

Must we sunbathe? (and don't get me started on the skin cancer yuckies, because I will) And, to that note, how much of a tan can you really get in November on this side of the equator, cause, I'm thinkin', not very much. Anyone know? Maybe I should conduct a focus group.

To that end, it's November, and I'm thisclose to popping some Christmas music into my computer whilst data monkeying away this afternoon.

After all, it's only 49 (via SantaClaus.com) days until Christmas. Yes, I Googled it.

I'm awful merry this year--this is strange. I'm never merry. In fact, I'm rather Grinchy. This is odd. I'm a bit worried.

Hm. Take advantage of this while you can, my dears, who knows how long it will last!

Either way, I'm listening to Christmas music.

At least it's not August.

Thoughts?

P.S. I ran 5.5 miles at lunch. Whoot!

Losing the Chub = Goals

OK, my necklace is sold out in the color I want, so, pfmph! I am now dramatically crossing my arms over my chest like an angry child.

But, I suppose this is a good thing. I don't really need to be spending $$ right now--especially thanks to Ella's $700 vet bill. And you know, the holidays and all. I have no gift giving ideas--I'm usually an awesome gift giver--this year, I've got no ideas.

Anyways, I have a point, I swear.

See, I have about 5 million things that I want to put on my Birthday/Christmas list, and most are pretty basic: new black cardigan since I have worn mine to shreds, a yummy wrap sweater for yoga, shoes, etc, etc. All of these things I could buy for myself. I should really use my list to ask for things that are a wee bit out there--like a new camera ::makes grabby hands:: I need a new camera like nobodies business. Are you reading this dad and step-mom?

So, because I still want to lose 5 lbs in the next few weeks (lofty? yes. reasonable? possibly.), I've decided that instead of asking for a yummy sweater or anything else like that, I will purchase said sweater/shoes/necklace only if I make my goal weight by marathon day.

This is annoying because a) there's a good chance everything will be sold out by then--but, beneficial, because if everything is out of stock, I'll save $$ and b) I'm kind of an instant gratification kind of gal. I don't like to wait. Also, this is why my slow cooker annoys me.

I think I can do it. I haven't gained since last week, which is wildly impressive considering I ate us out of house and home on Sunday and didn't run but once last week before the race.

And, I ran 8.5 miles of intervals/tempo this AM. Totally awesome. Was supposed to be 9 miles, but, I thought I had an early meeting and was short on time--of course, I was wrong about the meeting--but, I still got in 8.5 miles. This is like a record--do you know how long it's been since I've managed an 8 miler before work? Months!

Hopefully, the pounds will just run away (hardy har har).

And then I can resume my shopping habits just in time for the holiday rush.

Anybody else ever set any goals like this? Did/does it work?

Over the weekend...

I ate too much candy--but not as much as last year!

Tortured my dogs (don't call the SPCA on me, the whole doggie dress up lasted less than 1 minute)....
Including cross dressing Butch for exactly 45 seconds (doesn't he look thrilled?)...

Carb loaded on some fabulous pumpkin bread made and delivered by BFF, C and daughter Z.
Ran a super fun Half Marathon (you can read the recap here)

Baked some cookies (post 13.1 miles)....

And had a lovely dinner with one of my favorite people and her sweet family.

What a fantastic way to start Birthday Month!!

Yes, that's right, it's November.

It's Marathon and Birthday month. But, it's not just me who will be celebrating, BlueEyedBride has a birthday coming up, as does Mrs. Mojito and Sam's birthday is my marathon day. Any November babies that I'm missing?

Looks like November will be a busy month.

Hope your weekend was just as fun!

DRC Half Race Recap

Whoot! Another half marathon down--the full is in three weeks. Three weeks ::has panic attack::.

OK, now that I have cleared that up....

I'll have pictures tomorrow, hopefully, but, I wanted to get this all out before I forget, because, well, let's be honest, it's me. 90% of the time, I can't remember my own phone number...I take after my mother in that regard. It's as if I have blonde roots or somethin', I tell ya.

Anyways!

Went to bed rather late for pre-race on Saturday, but, the extra hour of sleep sure did help--I wasn't really tired at all that morning (bonus!). The hubs and I managed to get out of the house quickly and got to the race site plenty early. It was frrrrrrrrrreeeezzzziinnngggg. And of course, this all takes place by the lake, so, it's all very shady, so, standing in the sun to warm up was not an option.

I felt good, and ready to kick some half marathon booty. I lined up with a certain pace group and was ready to rock it. Now, let me just explain to you how this pace group worked, or, in this case, did not work. Given, I have never been a pacer, and I would probably suck at it, so, I don't have a lot of room to talk, but, I would except the pace leaders to you know, be able to keep their pace under control. Well, let's just say, that didn't happen. I always try to start slowly as to not burn out--that's how I run the best, and how I finish the strongest--rather common sense, but, it's like I have to burn it into my teeny little brain or I will go all out and then suck it the rest of the race.

Yeah so. So. So! This pace leader started out waaaaay too fast and for the first three miles or so, we were running about 1:30 faster than the pace--um, yeah, I'm slow, let's get that clear--and you're asking me to run over a minute faster than the actual pace, and you want me to hang? Not going to happen. I can hang at the correct pace for 14+ miles--I know because I've done it on training runs before I figured that with the race adreniline, I could totally rock this pace for 13.1.

Funny. We lost them around mile 4 ish (I was trying to pace a friend of mine--it was his first half. I think it helped for him to run with me, although I'm sure he could have run faster, he'd never gone further than 10 miles and I didn't want him to burn out). This was slightly disheartening because I knew I would have been able to maintain the correct pace for the whole thing, but, since my leggies were already wondering what the crap was going on, I knew it would be rough go the rest of the way. I'm not trying to sound like I blame my lame performance on the pace leader, I totally don't--I should have tried to tone it down myself and been more aware of the fact that it was too fast and backed off. But, I'm stubborn and honestly, wanted to see how long I could do it. I never said I was the smartest person out there. I'm stubborn. This is not good in racing.

After I made peace with the fact that I was not going to finish with that group, I managed to keep us on a pretty consistent pace the rest of the way--however, because of the additional speed in the beginning, my stomach started acting up around mile 5, and I had to fuel then--which I did not enjoy, but, whatever, I needed it. The next few miles were hard and hilly, and I hate to admit, but, there were a few walk breaks (mainly because holy moly, I thought I was going to hurl). Luckily, no real IT pain!

We cheered once we reached the halfway point, and it was pretty much literally downhill from that point. We knew the course perfectly from this point and it was just about finishing.

I had gone through all my Shot Blocks by mile 11 and was starting to feel lethargic. I told myself 2 more miles--this is easy!

I wish I could say it was, but, it really wasn't. I started to get light headed and queasy, and my legs would just not turn over, no matter how hard I tried.

Then, around mile 12, it hit me. Heat exhaustion. Little rant: only in Texas, could it be freaking 40 degrees at the start of the race, and 75 degrees at the end. Seriously.

I've only gotten heat exhaustion one other time, and that was during a 4th of July Race in 90 degree Texas summer with hardly any water along the course.

I took water at all the stations, plus my fuel belt this time--I did not see this coming. I was not overly dressed either--capris and a dri fit top. I was frrreeezing for the first half of the race.

Anyways, I was getting the cold pricklys, and flushing insanely my vision started to get blurry. Worst.Feeling.Ever. I told my friend who I was running with and we stopped for a second so I could suck every little ounce of water out of my bottle and then we took off. We were going to finish strong.

And we did. The damn finish chute seemed to go on for days, but, we saw our spouses cheering us on and we crossed the finish line proudly.

And then I downed the most fabulous cold bottle of water ever. It took me a few minutes to get my bearings and I kind of wandered around like a lost duck for a few minutes. Heat exhaustion can kiss my bum. For real. I'm still honestly in shock that I managed to overheat myself on November 1st.

I didn't get the big PR I had hoped for, but, I shaved a few minutes off my time, and considering this course was substantially hillier than my previous half marathon course, I consider it a victory.

The leggies weren't hurting, and I was proud of myself.

Of course, now, my IT band is killing me and I'm literally gimping around like I have a peg leg (sure). Yes, I stretched, yes, yes, I did the foam roller--everything. I think my IT band just has it out for me. Bastard. Any advice??? I'm supposed to do 22 miles this Saturday--last looooong run before taper time. Yikes!!

Also, quick rant: so, the pace leader who I started with, yeah, my husband said he finished on pace, but, with none of his group with him--they were all trailing in like me. Which leads me to believe he slowed down towards the middle or the end to get back on pace. Not cool dude, not cool. I shouldn't rag on him, being a pace leader is tough, but, it really did bug me that he started out so fast, it was clear that I wasn't the only person who got burned out by him.

But, I finished. And, I PRed.

It was a great day.

(sorry, that was really long)