Memorial Half

The Memorial Marathon was yesterday. I love this run. Partly because it's here at home and secondly because it's easier to get people to participate. Sadly this year I ran it alone. I didn't like it so much. It marks the first time I ran with music and actually it helped a lot. I'm usually a talker but with no one to talk to I was left with me and my music. I also didn't train....like at all. I checked my runkeeper app and the last time I ran was April 6th I did 3 miles but it was in 48 minutes so I was mostly walking. I remember that day I wanted to run, it was the first nice day we'd had in a while. I helped out at Koda then went home ate, made the mistake of having a beer and then tried to go for a jog...as you can see I walked. A lot.
I started thinking about how I'd put off training for this or that reason. I had no training partner and seriously lacked the motivation to do such on my own. The Friday before the race I left at lunch to pick  up my packet totally void of excitement. I hated that I felt this way about the run. It was supposed to be a fun thing to support OKC and how strong we are. All I could think about was how much I dreaded getting up at 4am to be downtown by 5:30ish to run in the cold. Alone. For 13.1 miles. But I didn't want it to be a total waste. And besides I didn't train last year and still ran it. What's one more time to test how well crossfit has kept me in shape?
Saturday slightly hungover I went to sprouts and bought my pre and post race necessities. Lots and lots of coconut water. If was going to run the next day knowing how crappy I felt at the time I'd never make it. I'd end up walking a lot. After my shopping trip I went to Luby's (my favorite) for turkey chopped steak, mashed potatoes and fried okra. I ate it at home watching QVC. I've completely turned into an old lady and I just barely turned 30...And it's a wonder I have issues in the romance department. I'm old fashioned even before my time. I sometimes think I was born too late. The Wonder Years helped me to that conclusion.
Anyway, I take my Benedryl no later than 6pm and I'm in bed by 8. Wake up at 4 to make my egg and turkey bacon breakfast taco and have my coffee. I'm out the door by 4:45. On the road I have a little chocolate protein shake. I didn't want to have too many eggs before the run. Eggs make me gassy and I don't want to run 13.1 miles holding in a fart or dealing with some sort of gas bubble.
Arriving early had it's perks. I got a bomb parking spot! Once parked I took out my pvc pipe and rolled out right there. I later thought this was a smart idea because it made me get used to the cold. After rolling out for 30 minutes it was getting close to 6:10 and I needed to 1. take my pre-workout drink 2. find a bathroom 3. down one last water and 4. find the corral and make my way to the back because lord knows I'm gonna be running a strict 13 minute pace....I got all this done in time to find my spot in the back and remembered to not get stuck in the 5k corral.
As the event was beginning they play U2 which on the norm I'd change the station if that song came on but standing in the crowd amongst complete strangers it's empowering. So much so that I put my music on pause to fully embrace the moment. The buzzer goes off and the race begins. Of course since I'm in the back it takes a long while for the crowd to start moving towards the start line. As I pass the gate it's 6:49 and the race starts at 6:30 if that tells you anything anything. It's always hard to not run fast to pass people and get going. This year that inner fight was not that big. In my mind I was playing back all the turns I have to make all the blocks I have yet to pass. Knowing I'm running from Sheridan all the way to 50th with a bunch of what seems like zig zags really puts it into perspective and I keep my pace to a nice jog or as some would call it a fast walk but whatever.
I'm not going to go over every mile. Long story short I just tried to keep motivated to run. I surprisingly took only a few walk breaks mostly to stretch my calves and on the water breaks as to not splash Gatorade and water all over me. Oh and I stopped to put Vaseline on my lips since they were really chapped and hurt real bad. I kept my run keeper app on and as I ran the gal would tell me every 5 minutes my avg pace which was always in the 13's and how far I'd gone. To my surprise the 1st 6 miles went by really fast. I'll also need to mention I took a jello shot around mile 5 I think and a vodka shot around mile 6. I figured I'm running this for fun. I might as well make it fun. In the end I think the shots helped. As I found myself rounding the corner to Broadway I was happy to be done. Happy that I might finally run into some people I knew. When I got to 10th I took out an earbud. Hearing the crowd cheer is motivating. It's hard to try to sprint to the finish line. My problem is I start that sprint too soon and with less than 100 meters and I'm gassed. I end up looking silly slowing down just before crossing. So this time I didn't sprint. I just jogged kept my pace. As I crossed the finish line I pulled out the other earbud, stopped  my activity on the run keeper app and closed pandora. I was so glad it was over and I'd done it alone. I saw the time 3:02....dangit! Then I remembered I didn't cross the start line till way after. I followed the herd to get my medal, gabbed a banana and a water and sat on a curb.