Well, it was not pretty and it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but I finished.
After an entire summer of working really hard I really started slacking about the time I was suppose to kick it into high gear. I ran about 6 miles total in the last two weeks prior to the race.
I read the newspaper and the average time for the half was 2hrs and 18min. My time was 2hrs and 28min. I do not like to be below average in anything I do, which makes this bittersweet.
The race itself was amazing. On Saturday morning my father-in-law drove me downtown and I jumped out of the truck about 3 blocks from the stadium. The streets were packed with cars and the sidewalks were full of people heading to the starting corrals making it difficult to get any closer by vehicle.
I watched as the 4 mile race started and waited with thousands of others for our turn to enter the gates. I felt very alone as I noticed most people had one or more running partners. I could not even see the starting line from corral "L" where I stood anxiously waiting for directions. At 8 AM we started with a cannon start which was drowned out by the cheering and yelling going on all around.
After a couple minutes I was at a quick walk as I approached the starting line.
It was like a place I had never seen before.
The downtown streets were packed full of people and nearly ever block had some form of entertainment. I saw singers, dancers, cheerleaders, and the most obscure award went to the over 65 ladies doing clogging in front of a church.
It was awesome to see that kinda thing while you are running down a main road in a city. After we got out of the immediate downtown (about 5 miles) I was very happy I had my iPod. You can only listen to other people's conversations for so long.
I felt nothing for the first 8 miles. Then I heard someone say, "those first 8 went by so quick". I immediately started to notice some people cramping up and stopping along the road to stretch and/or walk a bit.
At this time I was stopping at every water station and slamming a Gatorade and then a water to chase it down and my legs were very tight
I ended up walking maybe 100 yards up an incline and we were in a new neighborhood which was more like a different planet.
A man wearing a giant top hat and a tuxedo greeted the runners with a tambourine and welcoming us to his neighborhood. There were wild paintings on the road and parties in the front yards. A man in a cat in the hat costume doing the robot. People doing shots of beer on the side of the road and giant signs everywhere. I felt new motivation and started running again.
By this time the 10k had merged with the half marathon and people were flying around me, making me want to give in even more. But just as I thought about walking again I could see the stadium coming up and hear the crowd cheering people on.
This was probably the best time I had ever had running on a baseball field. My wife, son, and in laws were in the stands and the overwhelming sense of accomplishment came over me. Finished. Goal Completed.
I do not believe I'd do another race that was this long or longer unless I had someone to run with. The last part was nearly unbearable and I needed some additional motivation to keep going. I would also need to train harder. I didn't feel like I was going to die, but I would want a better time.
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